Let me start off by saying that I love my AirPods Pro. Working in a music store, Best Buy, the Apple Store, and covering tech for iMore, I've tried plenty of headphones. Despite all of the headphones and earbuds that have come my way, my AirPods Pro are the ones that have always reigned supreme and stuck around.
It's a combination of a great wireless earbud with, admittedly, the benefits of living in Apple's walled garden. Not only are the earbuds comfortable, have good battery life, and sound good, but they also work with Siri and Find My. While other earbuds may do one or some of these things better, it's harder to find a complete package than Apple's own.
While I have been happy with my AirPods Pro, the shine has started to wear off over the last three years. Three years! It's crazy that these groundbreaking earbuds are already that old. And, because they are that old, other tech companies like Samsung and Google have been releasing their own takes on pro-level wireless earbuds for the past three years without an answer from Apple.
Seeing all of those new products and the advancements they are making have me side-eyeing the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Pixel Buds Pro. My AirPods Pro are starting to look a little old and beat up and those newer products look so shiny and modern.
Thankfully, it doesn't appear that I have to walk down the dark path of Android-based earbuds as Apple is likely to launch AirPods Pro 2 this fall. I'm excited, but I'm also nervous. We've been waiting three years for a second generation, and the second generation usually sets the tone for a product line. So, Apple really needs to bring it with this one.
Here's everything (that I can think of) that Apple needs to do to improve AirPods Pro with the AirPods Pro 2.
AirPods Pro 2 need to get lossless audio
While AirPods Pro feature some of the best audio quality out there when it comes to wireless earbuds, the audio quality could always be better.
Since the company launched AirPods Pro, they have also brought spatial audio with Dolby Atmos and lossless audio to Apple Music. While the AirPods Pro have been able to take advantage of the spatial audio enhancement, that hasn't been the case with lossless audio. In fact, none of Apple's headphones have been able to take advantage of lossless audio, including the $549 AirPods Max.
This has less to do with software and more to do with the capabilities of Bluetooth. However, Apple is rumored to be bringing new technology to its headphones that would enable at least some level of lossless audio quality with Apple Music and other services that support Hi-Fi audio.
This would open up a new level of audio quality, especially in a set of wireless earbuds. Of course, you never know just how much of a difference it is going to make until you put the earbuds on and hit play, but as someone who has worked with lossless audio in the past, I'm excited about the prospect.
AirPods Pro need more bass
While we certainly all use our AirPods Pro for video calls at work and chatting with family and friends over a phone call or FaceTime, most of the time using any pair of headphones is likely used for listening to music or watching a video.
I personally use my AirPods Pro most of the time when I am exercising. Whether I'm doing some weightlifting at the gym, going on a run, or enjoying a hike, I'm likely to pop my earbuds in and listen to some music that I'm hoping will motivate me to push a little further in my workout.
While the bass in AirPods Pro isn't terrible, it certainly isn't good. Even Apple's other earbuds brand, Beats, has products like the Beats Studio Buds that destroy AirPods in terms of bass levels. While I'm not saying that AirPods need to be Beats, a little more bass goes a long way when you want it to.
More bass, at least for me, garners a more emotional response to music. So, especially if I'm exercising, having that bass drop hit more is going to push me further in my workout. Bring me the bass!
AirPods Pro 2 needs to fix those connection issues
Holy shit, this is the worst part with AirPods Pro right now. I can't tell you the number of times that my AirPods Pro freak out and don't know what to connect to. Whether it's simply answering a phone call or trying to enjoy Apple's continuity switching between devices, this is an area that needs major improvement.
It's actually funny to think that the worst part of AirPods Pro is...getting to actually use them. But that's where we're at right now.
The biggest offender of this is when I need to switch audio from my iPhone to my best Apple Watch when I'm working out. I have my iPhone with me when I'm in the gym but, when I switch to a run, I just want my Apple Watch with me. The Apple Watch Series 7 is great as, just like many Apple Watches before it, you can get it with support for cellular connectivity.
That's what I've done so that, when I'm on a run, I don't need to have my phone bouncing around in my shorts or hold on to the thing for miles. A cellular Apple Watch on a run gives you everything you need: workout tracking, music, podcasts, or audiobooks. Best yet, you can stream all of it as long as your service's app supports it, so you don't need to mess around with making sure you downloaded the last podcast episode or song you're into right now.
However, almost every time I drop my phone off at home and turn to start my run with just my watch, my AirPods flake out. I don't know if it's less switching from the iPhone to the Apple Watch or from WiFi to cellular, but something in the chain of things that need to happen here is broken. The first few minutes of my run are usually spent playing around with my watch and earbuds to get things working.
It's relatively a small inconvenience but, when you know it's coming every morning when you're planning to run, it's incredibly annoying. If Apple can solve this, I will rejoice. This would be a magical "it just works" moment.
There's a lot more Apple can do
While those are the top three things I would personally love to see from AirPods Pro 2, there's a lot more that Apple can, and is certainly rumored, to be doing. From a new design, Find My capabilities on the charging case, USB-C, and health features, there are a lot of rumors surrounding what could be coming with the second generation of Apple's pro-level earbuds.
Thankfully, we're probably less than a month from finding out! Apple is expected to hold its September event on September 7, and AirPods Pro 2 are rumored to be one of the products unveiled.
If you couldn't care less about what AirPods 2 might bring and would rather pick up a different pair now at a discount, check out our list of the Cheapest AirPods sales for August 2022.
