Even after spending just about two hours with the new AirPods Pro, I can tell that they improve on the originals in a few important ways.
The new design feels lightweight and comfortable and even more secure than their predecessors. And the noise cancellation is bound to make them much more useful compared to regular AirPods, especially for those who plan to use them in a noisy gym, during a bustling city commute, or to drown out distractions in a busy office.
The real question is whether or not they're worth the higher price, and that largely depends on what you're priorities are and how much you're willing to spend. Chances are, if you have an iPhone, you're probably already eyeballing a pair of AirPods over rivals like the Galaxy Buds and Amazon Echo Buds, both of which are priced at $130.
I'll have to spend more time using them before providing a more definitive recommendation, but if that's the case, you'll probably want to take a look at the Powerbeats Pro as well — they run on the same chip as the AirPods but offer longer battery life and are a bit cheaper.
If you're deciding between the AirPods and AirPods Pro, your choice will boil down to how important features like noise cancellation and wireless charging are to you. If you're the type of person that wears headphones throughout the work day, it might be worth spending the extra $50 to get noise cancellation compared to the $200 second-generation AirPods with the wireless charging case.
But if you just want the basic AirPods experience — headphones that connect to your iPhone quickly and effortlessly and offer decent sound quality, without frills like wireless charging, it may be worth sticking with the cheaper $160 standard pair.
Our full review will have more details about how the AirPods Pro compare to the regular version, what the sound quality is like, and more.