My Favorite AirPods Are Cheaper During Amazon's Big Spring Sale
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As someone who has fully bought into the Apple ecosystem, my earbuds of choice are, obviously, AirPods. But it's not just because I'm a fanboy (although I definitely am one): AirPods, particularly the AirPods Pro 2, are fantastic earbuds for so many reasons. And while they're usually a bit pricey, Amazon currently has them on sale for a very reasonable $170, down from $249.99, during its Big Spring Sal
Apple might slap their "Pro" moniker on most product categories these days, but AirPods Pro at least come with a lot of features to live up to the name. They may not be for "professionals," but you do get features you don't get on other AirPods models.
For one, the AirPods Pro come with excellent noise cancellation. Although, honestly, the in-ear seal from the silicone tips blocks out enough background noise that I hardly ever turn on Noise Control. In fact, because the seal is so good, you also get Transparency Mode, an option that pumps in the sounds around you, so you can be aware of your surroundings—or even have a conversation with your earbuds in.
Speaking of conversations, one excellent feature exclusive to the second-gen Pros is Conversation Awareness: When you start talking while listening to something, your AirPods will turn down the volume and boost the voices of the people you're talking to. When everyone stops speaking, your AirPods will return to normal. It's great. Another automatic feature is "Adaptive Audio" (previously Adaptive Transparency) which can reduce any sound above 85 dB, while maintaining other sounds at the typical volume. That way, you can follow a conversation or even watch a TV show with your AirPods in, but if an ambulance races by you, its sirens will seem to be a very tolerable 85 dB. You'd think you'd get these two features on the AirPods Max, Apple's flagship over-the-ear headphones, but you don't: You need the second-gen Pros for that.
Like all AirPods, the Pros easily jump among all your connected Apple devices. You could be watching a video on your Mac, then take a call on your iPhone and start chatting through your AirPods. If you have an Apple TV, you can switch to your AirPods, too, which I frequently do, since I prefer the experience to my soundbar.
While all these features are awesome, what it really comes down to for me is sound quality: The Pros just sound great, especially for such low-profile earbuds. And, because they block out so much sound on their own, I feel like I can appreciate the quality of the music I'm listening to in a variety of situations. I used to pause my music with my old AirPods whenever a loud truck or bus would drive past me on a walk. That's not a problem with the Pros.
Plus, now that it's been FDA approved, you can even be able to use these AirPods as hearing aids. Not a bad perk for $169.
Other great Prime Day deals on AirPods
That's not to say other AirPods are a bad choice: If you don't like the tight seal of the Pros, you may prefer the more traditional fit of the AirPods 4. They're on sale for $150 for the Spring Sale, or $100 if you opt for the version without noise cancellation. There's also a deal on the USB-C AirPods Max, which are down from $549 to $480. I love my AirPods Max, but they're tough to recommend at their ridiculously expensive MSRP. Now, they're a bit of an easier pill to swallow, especially because they just got lossless audio over wired connections.
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