The new Airpods Pro were recently announced by Apple on October 28th and officially were available for purchase in stores on October 30th.

The AirPods Pro are new premium AirPods that cost $249, which is $100 more than the usual AirPods. This increase in price comes with some improved additions, which some say are worth the hiked numbers. The AirPods Pro will have 5 hours of battery life, but with the provided case they will be able to be recharged for an extra 18+ hours. These new AirPods have 3 different silicone tips that are different sizes so your AirPods fit your ears. The look is also very different, with the AirPods Pro appearing shorter than the originals. They also have new tips to create a seal in your ear, allowing for noise canceling to help the owner focus on the music or podcast playing. 

Another new feature is the transparency mode, so owners can still hear their surroundings. This features helps keep owners alert and safe. There are vents built into the AirPods Pro that allow this to happen, letting you hear your own voice. Furthermore, these new pieces of tech are sweat resistant to keep the ear buds in your ears. There are also touch controls on the AirPods stem that answer calls and skip songs when you squeeze the tips. However, there are no physical volume controls.

Past Apple products, like the old AirPods and the iPhone 11, were criticized for their high prices, just like the new release. With high prices comes the concern that the professionals and the general public who need the technology will not be able to access it. This also turns off many consumers from buying the new Apple products. 

Michael Moschello ‘23, a once rabid Apple fan, wasn’t too keen on the new product. He mentioned how Apple is just catching up to earbud market standard, claiming, “Google sold their Pixel buds back in 2017 with similar features to the AirPods Pro, but at a price point of $159. There are many more examples, like the Surface and Galaxy Buds.” He wondered why people were even buying these new earbuds. In a different regard, Cy Westbrook ‘23, an Android owner, simply responded with, “It looks like a hairdryer.” The general consensus of the debut of the newest Apple products seemed to be relatively uniform.

Right now, Apple is heading down a risky spiral of increasingly expensive and mediocre products. The new AirPods Pro are another example of that, a product that is more expensive and exactly the same as products that were released by other brands 2 years earlier. With arguably no new innovation on Apple’s part and steepening prices, many disgruntled customers contend that the quality of Apple has gone down.

The Apple AirPods Pro are now in stores.

[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/28/apple-reveals-new-airpods-pro-with-noise-cancelation.html

[2] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-airpods-pro-review-145355568.html