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Apple announces AirPods Pro with noise cancellation, coming October 30th


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Apple announces AirPods Pro with noise cancellation, coming October 30th

 

Apple_AirPods_Pro_New_Design_102819.0.jp

 

Apple has just launched the rumored noise-canceling AirPods Pro — not with an October product event, but via a press release. The premium earbuds are set for release on October 30th for $249. They’re up for preorder starting today. And yes, they still only come in white.

 

Apple has built microphones into the AirPods Pro that detect external sound, and the earbuds then cancel it out. The system used here sounds very similar to the noise cancellation in the new Beats Solo Pro headphones, just miniaturized to a much smaller form factor. Apple says noise cancellation is adjusted up to 200 times per second.

 

The AirPods Pro feature a transparency mode that will let you hear your surroundings while wearing them. The earbuds have a “force sensor” that you can use to control music playback and activate transparency mode.

 

 

The company is promising fantastic audio quality from the AirPods Pro for that $249 price. They have a feature called “Adaptive EQ” that “automatically tunes music to the shape of your ear.”

 

Unlike the current AirPods, these will come with flexible ear tips for a more secure, sealed in-ear fit. Three sizes of silicone tips are included in the box. Apple even says there’s a software audio test that can tell you if you’ve chosen the right-sized tip by “measuring the sound level in the ear and comparing it to what is coming from the speaker driver.” This should reduce any guesswork or confusion for customers.

 

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Like the second-gen AirPods, the AirPods Pro support wireless charging and hands-free “Hey Siri” voice commands. Apple says they get around 4.5 hours of continuous listening battery life. (You can see that the active noise cancellation takes a bit of a toll there.) But as usual with AirPods, the case has enough extra battery for around 24 hours of total listening time, including those recharges.

 

The AirPods Pro are sweat and water resistant — get ready to start seeing these in gyms everywhere — and they include “an expanded mesh microphone port that improves call clarity in windy situations.”

 

They still charge via the Lightning connector, but they now come with a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box.

 

Apple’s new AirPods come just as noise cancellation — long a convenience offered by over-ear headphones from Bose, Sony, and others — has begun making its way to truly wireless earbuds. Sony’s noise-canceling 1000X M3 earbuds cost $229. And Amazon’s Echo Buds, with Bose noise reduction (not full-on cancellation) technology, are about to hit shelves for $129.99. AirPods have seen a meteoric rise in popularity since they were first released, so it’s safe to assume that Apple is about to have another smash hit on its hands.

 

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Source: Apple announces AirPods Pro with noise cancellation, coming October 30th (via The Verge)

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Apple announces AirPods Pro

They're in in-ear headphones with active noise canceling, and they aren't cheap.

Today, Apple published a surprise press release announcing the imminent arrival of AirPods Pro, the company's long-rumored, noise-canceling, in-ear headphones.

 

AirPods Pro will sync with Apple devices in exactly the same way as AirPods, and they will use the H1 chip found in the second-generation AirPods and some Beats headphones. The H1 is a successor to the W1, a chip that allowed for some creative workarounds for the limitations of Bluetooth for easier syncing with devices. H1 moves from Bluetooth 4.2 to Bluetooth 5, and it enables "Hey Siri" hands-free voice commands.

 

The new headphones will include an additional feature called "Adaptive EQ," which will tune low and mid frequencies to match the shape of your ear—similar to how speakers like the Sonos One scan the room and adapt their output accordingly.

 

Whereas AirPods were external earbuds, AirPods Pro will be in-ear headphones. They will come with interchangeable tips in three sizes: large, medium, and small. Apple will include an audio-testing tool to help users determine which size is best for them. And the headphones will use a "vent system" to "equalize pressure" and "minimize discomfort," Apple's release claims.

 

The key pitch, though, is active noise cancelation. Previously a feature of expensive, over-ear headphones, noise cancelation has been getting into in-ear headphones more recently. The microphones in AirPods Pro will listen to external sound and work to block it in the user's ear, updating up to 200 times per second.

 

Users will be able to swap between this active noise cancelation and a "Transparency" mode, which allows more external sound, either with a new force sensor on the hardware itself or by bringing up a software menu on the iOS, watchOS, or iPadOS device with which the AirPods Pro are synced.

 

Apple promises battery life of 4.5 hours of listening time per charge for the buds themselves, and like AirPods, the buds will come with a charging case. With multiple in-case charges, the company claims up to 24 hours of total listening time.

 

AirPods Pro will cost $249—and will come only in the colour white, despite earlier rumors that they might come in additional colours. They're available to order online today, and orders will ship on October 30. They'll also be available in Apple retail stores on that date.

 

Listing image by Apple

 

 

Source: Apple announces AirPods Pro (Ars Technica)

 

(To view the article's image gallery, please visit the above link)

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  • Karlston changed the title to Apple announces AirPods Pro with noise cancellation, coming October 30th

Older post split into this one.

 

(Announcement is different enough to warrant  a new topic)

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