How To Get the Most Out of Your New AirPods Pro 2
Apple finally released an update to its popular AirPods Pro last month, the first update the earbuds have gotten since 2019. The second-generation AirPods Pro may look the same as their predecessor at first glance, but they are actually equipped with massive improvements and came at the right time for owners of the original earbuds to upgrade.
The AirPods Pro have an easy setup that works effortlessly for most people, but there are still a few tips and tricks out there for you to really take advantage of all the device's new features and offerings.
Free Apple Music Subscription
As you may be familiar with, Apple Music is the tech giant's own music streaming service that costs RM14.90 per month in Malaysia and S$9.98 per month in Singapore, with a free one-month trial for new users. What you may not know is that if you purchase an eligible audio device from Apple, such as the new AirPods Pro, you are eligible to get a free Apple Music subscription for a whopping six months.
However, the caveat for this is that you have to be a new Apple Music user, meaning you've never subscribed to the service before or even used the free trial. For those who meet these criteria, you can redeem the six-month offer within 90 days after pairing your new AirPods.
You can check out Apple's site to learn more about redeeming the six-month offer.
Conversation Boost
The new AirPods Pro have a new Adaptive Transparency feature that reduces some of the background noise while you have transparency mode enabled. But there is also another tool that Apple added last year that improves the practicality of transparency mode even further called "Conversation Boost".
Conversation Boost does exactly as it's named: it amplifies the voice of the person talking to you, making face-to-face conversations easier without needing to take off your AirPods. To enable it, you need to go into your AirPods Pro's settings in the settings menu, then go to Accessibility > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations > Transparency Mode. You can then scroll down and enable Conversation Boost.
Personalised Spatial Audio
Apple has added a new feature for AirPods and Beats devices that support spatial audio by taking advantage of the TrueDepth sensor on iPhones. Spatial audio can now be tuned to the shape of your individual ears, creating a personalised audio profile.
To set it up, you need to go into the settings of your Airpods Pro from your iPhone and turn on Personalised Spatial Audio. You will then be instructed to capture your face and ear data using the phone's camera and et voilà, you've just created an audio profile tailored especially for you.
Precision Finding
The new AirPods Pro come with the company's in-house U1 chip that enables Precision Finding. This lets you find out where the case is with detailed accuracy as long as it's relatively nearby. You can find this feature in the Find My app and tap on "Find" for your device. Because the AirPods Pro 2 case comes with built-in speakers, you can also make it play a sound to make it easier to find.
It's important to note that Precision Finding only works if you're using an iPhone that is also sporting the U1 chip, which includes the iPhone 11 series and later. If you're using an older iPhone, the Find My app can only tell you the general proximity of the case within the room.
Charging with Apple Watch Puck
While it's a bit disappointing that the AirPods still don't have USB-C, there are now a total of four different methods to charge the AirPods Pro 2. You could go for the conventional method of charging using a lightning cable or you can now also juice it up via an Apple Watch charger if you have one, a previously unsupported method.
The case is also compatible with an iPhone's MagSafe charger as well as any Qi-certified wireless charging mat.
To know more about the second-generation AirPods Pro, you can read our in-depth review of it here.