At a glance, there doesn’t appear to be much going on with the AirPods Pro (2nd generation). The physical design hasn’t changed dramatically, but nearly every other aspect of the earbuds has been improved in some way. The result is the best version of the AirPods Pro yet.
Posts tagged with "AirPods"
Hands-On with the Second-Generation AirPods Pro
Apple’s September 2022 Event: All The Small Things
As usual, Apple covered a lot of ground quickly today, and since the event concluded, more details have emerged about everything announced. We’ve been combing Apple’s product pages, Twitter, and other sources to learn more about its services, iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods Pro, which we’ve collected below:
iPhones
- Hardware frames are now available for the iPhone 14.
- Kate Matthews has created a handy guide showing the relative sizes of each iPhone 14 and 14 Pro model.
Apple Watch
- Not technically from today’s event, but yesterday, 9to5Mac reported that Apple is distributing a GymKit Certification Assistant app in the App Store to help gym equipment manufacturers integrate with Apple’s health and fitness products and services.
- Hardware frames are also available for the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra.
- MacRumors reports that the Apple Watch Ultra ships with a charger that includes a braided cable, an Apple Watch first.
- Benjamin Mayo reports for 9to5Mac that the Nike Analogue, Bounce, Compact, Digital and Hybrid watch faces will no longer be tied to Nike versions of the Apple Watch and will be available for everyone when watchOS 9 is released September 12th.
- I’m not sure there will be too many people pouring one out for the Apple Watch Series 3, which has worn out its welcome in Apple’s lineup, but as Juli Clover reports for MacRumors, it was officially discontinued yesterday.
Third-generation AirPods
- Apple quietly released version of the third-generation AirPods that charges using a Lightning cable only, according to MacRumors.
Services
- MacRumors reports that AppleCare+ has expanded from two to unlimited repairs for the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac.
- Fitness+ will be available later this fall on all iPhones whether or not you have an Apple Watch in all 21 countries where it is available.
- On Monday, September 12th, Fitness+ will add to its Artist Spotlight series with the music of Mary J. Blige, The Rolling Stones, and The Weeknd and add a new Pilates for More Than Your Core Collection of workouts.
You can follow all of our September 2022 Apple event coverage through our September 2022 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2022 Apple event RSS feed.
Apple’s September 2022 Event: By the Numbers
Apple sprinkled facts, figures, and statistics throughout its presentation today. Here are highlights of some of those metrics from the event that was held online at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California.
iPhone
iPhone 14
- 6.1 and 6.7” displays with 1200 nits peak brightness and 2 million:1 contrast ratio
- A15 Bionic 6-core processor
- 12MP TrueDepth camera with a 𝑓/1.9 aperture
- 12MP Main camera with a 𝑓/1.5 aperture
- 49% low-light performance improvement with the Main camera and 38% better low-light performance with the front-facing camera
- Cinematic Mode can shoot video at 4K at 30 fps and 4K at 24 fps (also available on Pro models)
- Crash detection (also on Pros) with the ability to detect 256 g of force
Next-Gen AirPods Pro: The MacStories Overview
As rumored, Apple announced a next-generation version of AirPods Pro today. The new AirPods feature a new Apple-designed H2 chip, improvements to sound and battery life, and more.
On the outside, the new AirPods Pro look just like the original model, coming in with exactly the same dimensions but with a case that weighs only about 5 grams more. But don’t let those looks deceive you. There are changes both to the inside and outside of Apple’s popular wireless earbuds.
Apple’s September 2022 Event: Apple Announces iPhones, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro Availability
Apple announced the following pre-order and availability dates for the products announced today:
iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max
Pre-Order: September 9th
Availability: Friday, September 16th, except for the iPhone 14 Plus which is coming October 7, 2022
Apple Watch Series 8 and SE
Pre-Order: Today
Availability: Friday, September 16th
Apple Watch Ultra
Pre-Order: Today
Availability: Friday, September 23rd
AirPods Pro
Pre-Order: Friday, September 9th
Availability: Friday, September 23rd
You can follow all of our September 2022 Apple event coverage through our September 2022 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2022 Apple event RSS feed.
HiRise 3: Twelve South’s Space-Saving, Three-in-One Charging Solution
Not long ago, Twelve South introduced a new 3-in-1 charger for the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro called the HiRise 3. I’ve used a Belkin 3-in-1 charger on my desk for a few years and love it, but it takes up quite a bit of space. So, when Twelve South recently offered to send me the HiRise 3 to test, I jumped at the chance to check out its more compact design. After using the HiRise 3 for the past few weeks, I’m happy with it overall and think it’s a great choice for most users, but it comes with a couple of limitations that you’ll want to consider before buying one yourself.
AirBuddy 2.5: A Refined Experience That Adds Shortcuts Integration and Other New Features
Today, Gui Rambo released version 2.5 of AirBuddy, his Mac menu bar app for connecting and managing wireless headphones and other devices. AirBuddy has come a long way from its origins as an app that simply connected AirPods and some Beats headphones with your Mac. The app still does that well, but as I wrote about AirBuddy 2.0, the app is a fantastic way to monitor the charge status of a wide variety of devices and hand their connections off from one Mac to another. With the latest version, the app’s core features are faster and more reliable, the UI has been refreshed with a Monterey-friendly design, and there are some excellent new features, too, so let’s dig in.
Apple’s October 2021 Event: All The Small Things
Yesterday, Apple covered a lot of ground quickly, and as usual, more details have emerged in the aftermath of the event. We’ve been combing apple.com, Twitter, and other sources to learn more about the new MacBook Pros, AirPods 3 and more, which we’ve collected below:
MacBook Pro
- According to TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Matthew Panzarino, the 14” MacBook Pro can fast charge using a Thunderbolt port, while the 16” model only fast charges via MagSafe 3.
- Jason Snell explained on Twitter that the difference is likely the result of the USB-PD charging spec.
- Battery life is a function of what you do with your laptop and The Verge’s Mitchell Clark takes a critical look at Apple’s battery life claims, putting them in perspective
- Apple’s 140W USB-C Power Adapter, which the company sells for $99, is its first GaN charger according to MacRumors’ Joe Rossignol.
- You can purchase a two-meter USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable from Apple for $49
- As MacRumors reported and screenshots in Apple’s press releases suggested, the MacBook Pro’s notch is hidden in full-screen mode by a black bar.
- Speaking of the notch, Apple’s Serenity Caldwell tweeted yesterday that there is new HIG documentation for developers looking to design for the menu bar on the new MacBook Pros.
- As MacRumors’ Juli Clover explains, the MacBook Pro’s HDMI port is HDMI 2.0, which supports a single 4K display at 60Hz, which is disappointing since HDMI 2.1 supports a 120Hz refresh rate.
- There’s a striking resemblance between the new Silver MacBook Pro and the Titanium PowerBook G4
- The M1 Max’s memory bandwidth (400GB/s) is nearyly as fast as the PS5’s (448GB/s)
AirPods 3
- Tim Hardwick at MacRumors reports that listening to spatial audio reduces the life of the battery in the AirPods 3 from 6 to 5 hours
- AirPods 3 require iOS and iPadOS 13 and later.
- As MacRumors noted, Apple has broken out AirPods on its website, giving it a tab that is separate from TV & Home
Everything Else
- The latest betas of iPadOS and macOS have brought back standard Safari tabs, relegating the compact mode to Safari’s preferences as Steve Troughton-Smith discovered
- Originally an exclusive Pro Display XDR accessory, now you too can own an Apple Polishing Cloth suitable for all of your Apple device screens for just $19. Coming soon, ‘Apple Polishing Cloth: The MacStories Review’
- macOS Monterey’s Universal Control is coming later this fall, according to Parker Ortolani
- Likewise, SharePlay and Photos Memories have also been pushed to later this fall in macOS Monterey
Hands On with AirPods’ New Find My Support
Yesterday, an AirPods firmware update was released, enabling new Find My features for Apple’s wireless headphones. Before the update, you could use Find My to see the last spot they were used, but that wasn’t always helpful if you carried them around for a while without opening the case before losing them.
With the firmware update, it’s easier to find misplaced AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. From Find My, choose your AirPods, and tap on the Find button. The app will begin searching for a signal and will suggest moving to a different location if it can’t find anything. In my tests, the time it took to locate the signal of my AirPods Pro varied from around 30-60 seconds when they were nearby.
Once Find My detects a signal, it will tell you whether your AirPods are nearby or far away, allowing you to move around to pinpoint the location. There’s also an option to play a sound through your AirPods to help locate them, which is handy once you’re close to them. However, with my AirPods Pro in their case, the sound playing from my AirPods Pro was understandably a little hard to hear. Also, you don’t have the benefit of the directional arrows you get when searching for an AirTag.
The feature worked well sitting at my desk with my iPhone and AirPods Pro sitting within sight of each other, but that’s not a realistic scenario. To get a better sense of the process, I put my AirPods under a pillow and blanket on our couch in another room on the same floor of our house. I went back to my office, opened Find My, and waited to see if it could pick up the signal roughly 10 meters away in a different room.
After about 30 seconds, Find My picked up a weak signal reporting that my AirPods Pro were far away. I began slowly walking through the house, watching Find My as it updated the distance to my AirPods from far to near and eventually ‘here.’ As I walked around and Find My updated, it provided haptic feedback with increasing frequency as I got closer to my AirPods Pro. I tried playing a sound on the AirPods Pro, but the pillow and blanket made the sound impossible to hear. However, the sound wasn’t really necessary because by the time Find My reported my AirPods as ‘here,’ I was right on top of them anyway, and they were easy to locate.
I also tried putting my AirPods Pro just outside my back door. Find My took a little longer to find a signal, and I had to be a little closer to the AirPods, but even though more walls, Find My picked up a signal.
I’ve only tested the new Find My feature in contrived scenarios so far, but I was impressed with the process. The feature isn’t going to pick up a signal if your AirPods are far away, but more often than not, I’ve simply misplaced my AirPods somewhere at home, and Find My should be perfect for that.