This year seems to be the year I realize I am no longer a professional. I didn’t switch from iPhone 15 Pro to iPhone 16 Pro; Plan to pre-order iPhone 16. I didn’t buy that sweet satin black Apple Watch Ultra 2; Pre-ordered Apple Watch Series 10 In total darkness.
Now, I’m even considering giving up my AirPods Pro 2 for new AirPods 4. I’ve pre-ordered it and am ready to replace it with the last Pro Apple product I’ll ever own (it’s basically the Pro Apple Watch after I switched from the Pro iPhone to the Apple Watch Ultra).
The AirPods Pro 2 have some software upgrades and still have seemingly better noise cancellation, so why would I want to get rid of them? Well, it has to do with two things.
Noise reduction and fit are factors
The first (and most important) reason I considered replacing the AirPods Pro 2 was because of the fit. While the AirPods Pro 2 are great, the biggest problem I’ve always had is that they fall out of my ears whenever I do any type of exercise or chew too much gum.
If I go for a run, I adjust the AirPods Pro earbuds over and over again. If I go hiking, I’ll get the same deal. Don’t even try to do sit-ups or push-ups – no matter how hard I try to protect them, these babies will come out.
I find open-back earbuds to be more comfortable, so I really wanted to try the AirPods 4 to see if they not only fit that bill, but if they were actually more secure in my ears. This is a big deal since the AirPods Pro 2 offer four different ear tips for a more customized fit, but I’ve heard from a lot of people that the regular AirPods actually stay in better than the Pros. In the ears. I’ll have to see if I fall into that camp.
The second reason I considered switching is that the AirPods 4 gained a feature that really stuck with me on the AirPods Pro: noise cancellation. This is the most important feature of my headphones, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Nowadays, being able to drown out external noise is a necessary feature when trying to concentrate at work, on a plane, or during sports.
With the open-back design of the AirPods 4 offering noise-canceling features, I wonder if they would be a better option for someone like me who had issues with the fit and comfort of the AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods 4’s noise canceling won’t be as good as the AirPods Pro 2’s, but as long as they’re good enough, I’d sacrifice a little performance here.
This is my current situation. If the AirPods 4’s noise cancellation is adequate for my use case and resolves the fit and comfort issues I had with the AirPods Pro 2, they might make me jump from the Pro to a non-Pro Apple product again.
We’ll see what happens when they launch on September 20th. I’ve made a reservation now!