Like most Apple products, the second-generation AirPods Pro work pretty seamlessly out of the box. But once you dive below their surface-level functionality, there’s a lot more to explore. Here we walk you through a few tips and recommendations that can help you get the most out of your earbuds. Some are quick fixes, but others require a bit of experimentation and hunting through menus.
1. Switch to Adaptive Transparency Mode
Apple’s Adaptive Transparency mode is useful for tamping down whatever loud noises you might encounter as you walk through city streets or work out at the gym. It lowers the volume of any sounds that exceed 85dB (such as from jackhammers, sirens, or particularly loud talkers) without dramatically altering their timbre or envelope. In practice, this mode lets you sense the urgency of important noises, such as sirens, without facing the full effect of their volume.
Hands On With the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)But this capability also unlocks the potential for the AirPods Pro to serve as protective, active earplugs at loud events, such as concerts. We tested the mode’s efficacy by blasting music from nearby speakers at very high volumes and it successfully cut back transient and sustained sections without squashing the dynamics. It’s almost shocking how much better this mode conveys loud, nearby music than the regular Transparency mode.
We’d love Apple to show what sounds this mode reduces in real time via an app or even let you change the volume threshold, but as is, Adaptive Transparency mode deserves high praise.
2. Readjust Your Earpieces to Improve Noise Cancellation
The AirPods Pro can seal off your ear canal and ensure a secure, comfortable fit at many different angles. And because the stem position doesn’t impact the in-ear seal, the overall audio performance won’t change much no matter how you wear them.
But in-ear positioning significantly affects the noise cancellation profile. The reason is simple: Two mics on each of the bulb-like earpieces (one outside the canal and one inside) work together to cancel out surrounding noise, and any adjustments drastically change what they detect.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
Because the AirPods use an adaptive approach to active noise cancellation—and a fairly aggressive one compared with competitors like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II—they quickly adjust to significant new sounds in the environment. So, for example, if someone starts running a vacuum cleaner nearby, the AirPods react to cancel out that noise.
Just as loud sounds trigger the AirPods to recalculate, so too can slight positional changes. This trick came in handy a couple of times in testing. Occasionally, the noise cancellation profile simply didn’t impress me. But a slight adjustment prompted the AirPods to re-measure my surroundings and dial up a new, far more effective one.
Apple likely won’t officially promote this tip, but it works quite well. The only caveat pertains to situations in which the noise cancellation profile is already effective. Don’t get greedy—repositioning them in your ear can lead to no improvement or even a change for the worse. Of course, if the latter happens, simply keep playing with them until they become effective again.
3. Turn Off Settings You Don’t Need to Extend Battery Life
Apple doesn’t go out of its way to explain which features drain the AirPods Pro’s battery life the most, but it does offer some clues on its website. In the footnotes of the specs section, for example, you learn that all of the battery life stats Apple provides assume a listening volume of 50%. That’s a respectable amount of volume, but most people are likely to exceed it because decibel levels vary wildly across media. For instance, some classical recordings with quiet passages might be difficult to enjoy at that setting.
Aside from reducing the volume, you can also try these other changes to extend battery life:
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In the AirPods setting menu, turn Noise Cancellation off. And yes, that includes the Transparency and Adaptive Transparency modes—both eat up just about as much battery life as the main Noise Cancellation setting. All of these features are useful, but you probably don’t need to use them all the time, especially if you’re trying to preserve battery life. And if you can’t take the time to dive into the settings menu, simply tap the volume icon from the Control Center to toggle these modes.
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Turn off the head tracking component of the Spatial audio feature. Keep in mind that some apps default to using the head tracking feature if it’s on, so we recommend turning it off entirely and then just enabling it when you want to use it. You can toggle the head tracking feature from the Control Center, too.
With these two changes, you can extend the battery life from roughly five-and-a-half hours per charge to seven hours. And if things get desperate, turn the volume as low as you can tolerate.
4. Make Your AirPods Harder to Lose
Don’t worry if you’ve never set up a device with the Find My app; it’s simple. To start, enable the Find My Network setting in the AirPods menu and then tap the Show In Find My option. In the Find My app that launches, verify that your AirPods appear in the device list and that their location status is With You. Then, to test the feature, place the individual earpieces and the case in various safe places throughout your home.
(Credit: Tim Gideon)
Finally, tap on the case’s icon in the Find My app and select the Play Sound option. You should hear a high-pitched rhythmic chirp until you press Stop. Both earpieces can also emit rhythmic chirps that help you find them.
Just to get creative, I placed one earbud inside my mini fridge and closed the door, and the repeating tone was still audible from the next room. It might be faint depending on how far away you are, but if you specifically listen for these chirps, they’re hard to miss.
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If you’re having trouble getting your AirPods to show up in the Find My app, disconnect them in the AirPods settings via the Forget This Device option, re-pair them, and then try again.
5. Fine-Tune Accessibility Settings
The Accessibility tab inside the AirPods menu lets you change how the on-ear controls work and how quickly they respond to gestures, which can be helpful if you have trouble gripping their slippery surface. The Press Speed parameter, for instance, lets you select Slower and Slowest options; both give you more time to complete double or triple taps on the stems. Similarly, you can shorten the amount of time a press-and-hold gesture requires—choose between the Short and Shorter options to increase the detection speed.
Farther down the menu, you can increase the delay between swipes and volume adjustments so you don’t accidentally change the level again. The two settings beyond the default are Long and Longest. This same menu allows you to adjust Tone Volume, as well as toggle the Follow iPhone settings for Spatial audio (which treats your iPhone as a directional audio source). You also get the option to enable Noise Cancellation with only one AirPod in your ear—Transparency mode is the default for this scenario to ensure a balanced listening experience.
(Credit: PCMag)
The broad Audio Accessibility Settings section hosts even more options, including the ability to shift the audio balance between ears, enable mono audio mode, and play calming background sounds (Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, and Stream).
Enable the Headphone Accommodations option to choose between the Balanced Tone, Vocal Range, and Brightness settings. You can also control how much the earphones boost soft sounds—slight (the default), moderate, or strong. The menu plays a sample whenever you adjust these settings and lets you choose to apply changes to phone audio, media audio, or both.
Finally, a Transparency mode section lets you configure Amplification Level, Brightness/Darkness, Stereo Balance, and Ambient Noise Reduction settings. Most notably, you can also turn on Conversation Boost, which emphasizes the human vocal range. Many competing earbuds put these types of features front and center; they’re deep in the Accessibility menu here. You have to navigate to Settings > AirPods Settings > Accessibility > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations > Soft Sounds, and make sure the AirPods are in your ears and that the Automatic Ear Detection feature is on. Only after that can you customize the Transparency mode.
More Apple Tips
Now that you’ve mastered using your AirPods, check out our top recommendations for your other Apple devices, including 25 tips every Apple Watch owner should know and hidden iPhone tips and tricks to make you an iOS pro.
