The AirPods Pro 2 retails for $249 starting tomorrow, September 23rd. However, at launch, the new headphones will not support the two features on iPad and Mac.
- What is happening? Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 will go on sale tomorrow, Friday, September 23, with two new features not available on iPad and Mac.
- Why care? Because you might expect to use all the new AirPods Pro 2 features from day one on all devices, but that won’t be possible until October.
- What to do? Wait until Apple releases iPadOS 16 along with macOS Ventura sometime in October to use the missing features on iPad and Mac.
Personalized spatial audio on iPad and Mac coming in October
Apple’s spatial audio gets even better with the new AirPods Pro. Spatial Sound uses various filters and effects to simulate a 360-degree soundscape.
And with a new feature called personalized spatial audio, you can now create your own sound profile for even more immersive spatial audio. It uses the TrueDepth camera on your iPhone to determine your ear’s unique characteristics and create a custom sound profile just for it. Read: What is spatial stereo and how to use it?
Your sound profile is automatically synced across Apple devices running the latest iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS operating systems.
Personalized spatial audio is already in iOS 16.0 and works great. To use it on iPad and Mac, you’ll need to wait for iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura to release sometime in October. This feature is supported on 3rd generation AirPods, all AirPods Pro and AirPods Max models. The Apple support document has more information on how personalized spatial audio works.
Also in October: Finding a charging case for iPad and Mac.
Apple has redesigned the charging case to include a built-in speaker and Apple Find My so you can quickly find your lost charging case.
The charging case supports both Qi and MagSafe wireless charging, in addition to wired Lightning charging, and comes with a strap loop.
In iOS 16, you can use the Find My feature on your iPhone to find your lost charging case. But putting the charging case into Lost Mode on iPad and Mac won’t be possible until iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura release in October.
Better noise reduction and other improvements
In addition to the new charging case, the AirPods Pro 2 are equipped with a new Apple headphone chip dubbed H2, which enables advanced audio computing features.
You get 2x better active noise cancellation, improved transparency mode, and an extra hour of battery life, for a total of six. And these headphones now come with a new extra small ear tip size so you can now choose from four sizes (XS, S, M, L) for an even better fit.