Since they were first released, Apple AirPods have become a status symbol – a piece of jewellery that happened to play music.

For many years, despite being a fan of Apple’s computers, phones and tablets, I avoided the AirPods because I thought they were overpriced for what they were.

I don't think that's unreasonable, with the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) retailing on Apple’s site at $479.

But Apple has now loaned me a pair, so I finally get to see whether I was right.

                                        A design that is somehow both distinctive and generic at the same time, which isn't a bad thing. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Design 

Almost everyone knows what AirPods and the case look like, and while I’m not that fussed about the look, I don’t dislike it either.

I wish they came in colours other than white, but that’s about all I have to say about aesthetics.

What I do find interesting is the way that the design changes the user experience.

For example, the silicon tips that go into the ear – on most earbuds those are entirely soft and kind of stretch over the connector to the plastic – have a little ring of hard plastic at that connection point.

This means that those silicon tips are very secure and won’t come off accidentally or (as I have experienced with other brands) come off in your ear when you remove them.

                                                                                        It looks secure, it feels secure. (Image: BusinessDesk)

They are also well balanced, so they don’t feel like they are fighting against gravity when in your ears and feel secure even after a vigorous head shake.

As you would hope with nearly $500 earbuds, they do feel nicer in the ear than any other earbuds I have used.

Unfortunately, they use lightning to charge, rather than USB-C.

Usability

As usual with the Apple ecosystem, if you are using these earphones with Apple devices, they are superb.

The switching between Apple devices with the same iCloud account logged in is incredible and intuitive, and the fact that they work with the Find My tracking app is a huge bonus for the absent-minded among us (like me).

Surprisingly, they also connected quickly to my Android phone and then, when I wanted to connect them back to my iPhone, I just held them close, opened the case and they switched right back.

The auto pause when they are removed from the ear works well, although the buds are so small that when I take one out and hold it in my hand, I often find that it triggers the audio to start again.

I don’t feel comfortable holding the bud by the stem because it's so small, so it’s a minor annoyance I have to deal with.

Speaking of the stem, the touch controls on them are well-calibrated and responsive and being able to swipe up and down for volume is brilliant.

                                                                                                         What's in the box? (Image: BusinessDesk)

Despite my initial scepticism about the AirPods, it’s the simple functionality that helps me understand why people prefer them over other brands, especially if they have multiple Apple devices.

One feature I don’t really get is the spatial sound. It’s hard to explain, but it is trying to mimic what it would sound like if you were listening using speakers and turned away from the speakers.  

When watching a video on an Apple device, if I turn my head, it appears that the sound is coming only from the direction of the device. 

It achieves the goal but why anyone would want that, I have no idea.

Sound and noise cancelling

To test the sound, I compared them with two other devices – my beloved Sony XM5s, which are over-ear headphones, and another pair of true wireless headphones that are about $200 cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2.

The AirPods outperformed the cheaper pair by a long way – the sound was richer, deeper and cleaner.

Whether it was $200 better really depends on how important sound is to you, but I would say that it was.

Unsurprisingly, the XM5s outperformed the AirPods Pro 2 and though the difference was noticeable, it wasn’t as pronounced as I was expecting considering the size of the AirPods.

I was half expecting to scoff at the quality you get for $500, but I was impressed. That said, if you want to spend around $500 for sound quality specifically, the AirPods are not it.

The active noise cancelling (ANC) was also surprisingly good and while not as good as the ANC on the XM5s, it was far better than any other true wireless headphones I've tried.

Final thoughts

I’ll be honest, I kind of wanted to say: "AirPods are all hype! They are overpriced and purely bought by people who want to show off!”

But instead, I have to say that AirPods Pro 2 are bloody great, especially if you already use a variety of Apple devices.

Are they overpriced? Maybe a little bit, but probably not as much as many commenters on social media would have you believe.

They are comfortable for several hours in my ears and secure enough they don’t slip out by accident.

The sound and ANC are very good for the size, they are easy to use and integration with the Apple ecosystem is superb.

If you’re willing to compromise on one or more of these aspects, you could save a few hundred dollars by going to another brand.

If sound, comfort for hours of use, and ANC are more important, I’d say go for a good pair of over-ear headphones.

But overall, if you have been eyeing up a pair of AirPods Pro and are unsure if it’s worth it to pull the trigger, I believe that you won’t be disappointed and maybe even pleasantly surprised if you do.