I have found AirPods the most ergonomic of the earbud offerings and use them for phone (extensively), audiobook and music. There is a lot of emphasis across all kit on display quality for eyes but sound quality can be overlooked. The value of privacy and not disturbing other people means that comfort when used for long periods is also important.
I moved up from AirPods to AirPod Pro after finding that the former tended to fall out when walking (regardless of cup fitting) and the greater sound quality was an incidental benefit.
The first generation of the Pro have been excellent and I would probably not have upgraded but the holder and pods inside did not survive a cotton hot wash when left in a jeans pocket (don’t try this at home). I tried drying them by putting them in a bowl of rice but no luck.
Generation 2 was imminent and I made do with a different make for a month. Although not inexpensive, the stand ins fell well short of AirPods in terms of comfort, staying in the ear, weight and simplicity of use. I had to refer to a manual because the design was not intuitive.
AirPod 2 prompted an upgrade to my Iphone OS for full functionality (you can proceed without but don’t benefit from all the enhancements). Once done, pairing completed in seconds and a brief tour popped up explaining ‘on stalk’ controls.
There are all sorts of jargon reviews about spatial sound field depth and so on. All I know is that, from recollection after a month’s gap, the sound quality and immersive sense was better. This could be partly the stand ins but I used them far less because they were not up to AirPod user friendliness. I used the pro 1 for a long time and I can identify a material improvement to an already good sound stage. Phone calls and audiobooks are not much of a challenge and to put the new generation through its paces I chose a few tracks that would test out bass, high notes, quiet and wall of sound music. To my ear, these very light earbuds are high quality hi fi and on a par with a Bose unit we use. The difference with the Pro 2 seems to be a sense of openness - more akin to listening to 3D sound versus an enclosed headphone experience.
Noise cancellation - good in generation 1, it is dramatic for its ability to negate external sounds in the new incarnation. It also seems to be less artificial. Rather than a cotton wool effect, it is more as if external sounds are removed and that the degree of cancellation in some way takes account of the level of ambient noise rather than a blanket effect.
There is no noticeable difference in size, weight or mass of the kit and the stalk seems to be much the same. One change is a further ear cup size, accommodating to a wider range of fitting needs.
Most controls (volume, pause, skip) are available on the stalks. I have always found it easier to operate these from the phone and it took a degree of practice to test out ‘stalk control’. It works and may be useful for the gym and running.
I think generation 1 AirPods were waterproof but not the charging case. Both are now certified water (rather than splash) proof. I wouldn’t risk them in a long boil wash again but a waterproof case reduces the need to safeguard it when out and about. Not tried them in the shower or swimming and will leave this to anyone prepared to risk new kit in the interests of reviewing.
Charging is, as per previously, possible using a charging mat and the spec states markedly improved usage per charge - 6 hours listening/4.5 talk time for the AirPods and 30/24 for the case. Slightly less with spatial audio and head tracking (?! - think ‘cinema surround sound’).