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They’re almost perfect. Almost.
I recently listed five pieces of Apple tech that have changed my life, and the AirPods Pro were one of the first to make the grade.
You may scoff at the title of that blog post, but it’s true. This stuff has made a tangible impact on my day-to-day life. They’ve made things easier for me, more enjoyable, or simply helped me be more productive. In turn, that has made me happier and more successful.
AirPods Pro are the epitome of this. Their convenience, sound quality, and build quality make them a joy to use. Whether they’re soundtracking my run, enabling me to participate easily on a call, or shutting out the world while I dive into a podcast, AirPods Pro add the all-important Apple Magic to just about everything they do.
But I’m not 100% satisfied. Obviously.
Here are five things I want from the next version.
1. A fix for the rattle
Last December, I revealed that AirPods Pro have a big problem.
It’s a rattle. And it’s incredibly irritating.
I’m on my second pair now, and while it is less pronounced, the rattle has definitely returned.
For the uninitiated, the AirPods Pro rattle is something that develops over a period of time and reveals itself when you either cough or undertake some form of strenuous physical activity such as running.
It’s incredibly difficult to describe unless you hear it, but the AirPods Pro rattle sounds like a hollow metal ‘clang’ nestled deep within your ear. It doesn’t appear to negatively impact the sound quality or noise cancellation at all, but there’s a massive thread about it on Apple’s own support forums, which is where I first realised I wasn’t alone.
Although Apple has acknowledged the issue, it is clearly an inherent problem with the design of AirPods Pro. I hope you haven’t experienced it with yours, but I equally hope that Apple fixes the issue with the next iteration.
2. Different colours
Black. Pink. Yellow. Orange.
Just give us something a bit more funky please, Apple. Why do AirPods always have to be so boringly white?
3. A fix for the battery charging issue
I might be in the minority with this, but I’d love to hear from anyone who has experienced the same issue when it comes to charging AirPods Pro.
Occasionally, I’ll pull out one of the earbuds (I often use just one for calls), place it in my ear and find that the battery is completely drained, despite the other earbud – and the case – being fully charged.
A quick blow of the charging contacts within the AirPods Pro case appears to do the trick and remove whatever blockage was preventing the earbud from charging. But it’s incredibly annoying and is a rare example of where AirPods Pro sometimes aren’t particularly convenient.
This happens more often than I’m comfortable with. Blowing tech to make it work was something we used to do with SNES games. But a £250 pair of Apple earbuds in 2021? Come on, Tim.
4. USB-C charging
Please.
5. A better battery indicator
I love battery indicators that feature more than just one tiny LED.
Four or five to indicate the battery charge remaining is so much more helpful than a single LED that turns either green or amber, depending on the charging state.
Yes, I know you can ask Siri how much battery life is remaining, or check your iPhone battery widget, or pull-down Control Centre and see from there. But those are all a faff. I simply want to look at my AirPods Pro and gain an idea of how much battery remains. Immediately.
Apple will never do this; it’ll add too much ‘stuff’ to the case. But imagine if there was a tiny percentage reading for the case and each earbud. Heaven. Come on, Tim.
What do you want?
I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours.
What do you want from the next AirPods Pro? Or are they perfect for you?
3 Comments
1/. Never come across the rattle so can’t comment.
2/. White goes with everything, introduce colours and I’m gonna have to match hat and scarf and other parts of my ensemble.
3/. this is a problem with every hole in tech.
4/. Hands off my lightning port, all my accessories are lightning. USB-C is overkill for a lot of these bits of kit
5/. More than enough ways of easily checking your battery life than rows of led’s, which are so inaccurate. Is 40% or 60% not sure.
Yeah, I would be quite interested in seeing what the second generation of airpods pro will be like. As Apple accessories go, a pair of those would be far higher on my list than say, the apple watch.
I’ve read of a variety of issues with the airpods pro. Yes, the rattle is one of them, usage time on a full charge is another, and battery longevity before they have to be replaced is another. Whilst some of these issues are realities of the tiny design, problems such as the rattle really aren’t acceptable. Another issue I’m aware of is the airpods not always connecting automatically across a user’s ecosystem, particularly say from iPhone to a mac. This is one of the main reasons I would consider purchasing airpods instead of some arguably better buds. If they might, or might not work on a user’s ecosystem, it begs the question for me why choose them?
The colour White! Hmm, “iconic” or not, it’s just a colour that won’t suit some of us without looking a bit goofy while being worn. Perhaps a space grey might be less obvious in some of our ears? Just from what I’ve seen out and about, some people can wear them very successfully, others – erm??
So, I guess I will continue to observe for the moment.
I recently experienced precisely the same issue with the battery in my AirPodPros. The graphic said that the case was at 100%, the right one 100%, but the left one had no charge at all. It sometimes seems that Apple’s true innovations lie in how things DON’T perform as advertised!