You can probably tell from the flurry of blogs, that I’m catching up on a few things I drafted over the last few weeks! The Apple AirPod Pro was my lastest purchase, which I picked up from the Apple store last Thursday (31 October), the day after they were launched!
I blogged about the original AirPods here, just less than 3 years ago, and have been a big fan ever since. They were my first truly wireless headphones, and after 3 years of using them almost daily on my commute to work, or when out walking the dog alone, I only really have one complaint – the battery life.
When they were new, they pretty much lived up to the 4-5 hours, with around 24 hours available from a fully charged case. My commute is less than an hour, so this wasn’t an issue, and whilst they charged up in the case, I put them back in more to keep them safe than I needed them recharged.
Fast forward 3 years and they barely last the journey to work, and if I’m delayed for even a short time, will have given up before I get there. I’m lucky if both last an hour, and even if they do recharge pretty quickly in the case, only 25% of the original capacity after only 3 years is pretty poor.
They’re not repairable, so are probably going to end up in a draw for the next few years, maybe used a couple of time, before eventually being thrown away. They can’t even be handed down, as they just don’t last long enough anymore.
This was the single biggest reason for not picking these up on the day they launched. I was trying to convince myself not to buy them, but with all the great reviews, and my original ones failing me, I couldn’t resist.
I’m hoping that these will be better, and I won’t be writing a similar blog in 3 years, but I’m not hopeful if I’m being honest. £249 for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones is expensive, but I don’t mind paying that if they work well and last me some time.
I have some Bose QC15s that up until 6 months ago were my main travel headphones. Nowhere near the convenience of the AirPods, but for a long flight hard to beat. My daughter was starting to steal these though, and I fancied an upgrade to something wireless, so bought some Sony WH-1000XM3s about 6 months ago (can’t believe I didn’t blog about this, and my side-by-side comparison with the Bose QC35 IIs).
The AirPod Pro’s noise-cancelling can’t match either of these, but neither of them can fit in my trouser pocket! It works well enough though, especially the transparency mode. They also sound a little better than the original AirPods and for the time being more than last on my daily commute.
No pictures in this blog, but they aren’t as big as the original AirPods, so don’t look quite as daft sticking out of my ears, I think! Fingers crossed that I’m not blogging about new AirPods in 2022 🙄
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