AirPods Pro are small but packed with powerful features.
Sarah Tech/CNET
Apple’s AirPods Pro remain one of the best headphones Apple has to offer. Even with the arrival of the AirPods 3 last fall, the AirPods Pro still hold their own when it comes to features. (Check out this in-depth study comparing the AirPods 3 and Pro.) That’s because the AirPods Pro have some unique features that might make them a better choice, including active noise cancellation and interchangeable silicone for an improved listening experience Earplugs for a more comfortable fit.
Whether you’ve owned AirPods Pro for a few months or just bought a pair, there’s a lot to learn in terms of features, controls, and making them work best for you. That’s where this guide comes in. We’ve rounded up everything you should know about AirPods Pro, including how to properly pair them with your smartphone, take advantage of spatial audio, or navigate to music.
Pair AirPods Pro in seconds
Pairing takes just seconds.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
After unpacking the AirPods Pro, unlock your iPhone or iPad ($240 at Amazon) and open the earphones’ charging case. After a second or two, a prompt will appear asking if you want to pair the earbuds.
tap connect Start pairing and you’re done. AirPods Pro not only work with your iPhone, but also pair with all of your Apple devices signed in with your iCloud account.
Press, don’t touch on AirPods Pro
Both AirPods Pro earphones have a button that isn’t a real button.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Instead of tapping one of the AirPods, use the stem of the AirPods Pro as a button. There are actually no buttons there. Instead, it’s a pressure-sensitive section that replicates the way you use the buttons. This is similar to the trackpad on MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro not physically moving to click.
Squeeze the flat grooves on each AirPod with two fingers. You’ll hear a click in your ear every time you press it. Here’s what each button press does:
- single press:Pause playback
- double click: fast forward
- triple press: jump backward
- Press: Switch between noise reduction and transparency mode.
How to Monitor Battery Life
One of the best features of the AirPods Pro is battery life. Between the battery in the case and the battery in each earbud, you can get hours of use without recharging. Apple has a few different ways to monitor the battery life of each AirPod Pro as well as the case.
Whenever you want to check the power of your AirPods Pro and the charging case, unlock your iPhone or iPad and open the charging case next to the device with your AirPods. An animation will appear showing the charge level of each AirPod and charging case.
Battery life is officially five hours.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
You can also add a battery widget to your iPhone’s home screen. When the AirPods are actively paired with your phone, each earbud’s remaining battery life and case will be displayed in the widget.
How to use Active Noise Cancellation
The main feature of the AirPods Pro is its ANC. When it’s on, noise cancellation blocks out nearly all the background noise you’d normally hear with regular earbuds or standard AirPods. For example, it can help stop chatter and distractions if you work in a noisy office, or a home office you share with a partner and kids who are learning remotely.
Control Center makes it easy to switch between modes.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Long press one of the AirPods buttons to turn off noise cancellation, or use Control Center on your iPhone or iPad. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your device’s screen; then, when Control Center appears, long-press the volume slider. At the bottom of the screen you will have three options: Noise Reduction, Off and Transparency. Click the setting you want to use.
read more: AirPods 3 vs AirPods Pro: The big difference between Apple’s wireless earbuds
When you switch to Transparency mode, you will be able to hear some sounds in the environment, but still hear the audio playing in the AirPods Pro, which is what you would use when walking down a busy street, so you can listen to To for example, when you need to listen for gate changes, in traffic or at the airport.
You can switch to transparency mode by long-pressing the AirPods’ button or using the toggle in Control Center.
Spatial Audio is an impressive experience
Spatial audio provides an immersive surround sound experience with a 360-degree soundscape that adjusts to your movement. The experience is relatively new and available on AirPods Pro (and the recent addition of Dolby Atmos to Apple Music)—just enable the feature in your settings.
Turn on spatial audio by going to set up > Bluetooth > Tap the “i” next to AirPods Pro, then slide the switch next to it spatial audio to the On position.You can then choose to listen to the demo to see how the feature works See and hear how it works.
You can toggle spatial audio in the same place you control ANC.
David Canoy/CNET
Now, when you’re watching videos in apps like Apple TV and using your AirPods Pro, you should hear audio in surround sound, moving around you with what’s happening on the screen or moving your head.
If you’re having bad luck with Spatial Audio, you may also need to update the firmware on your AirPods Pro, but that’s something your iPhone handles on its own. My advice? If you don’t see the Spatial Audio feature in the settings, put the earbuds in the charging case, but leave them on and place them next to your iPhone. I had to do this for about an hour before my AirPods Pro were updated.
Even your Apple Watch can help you change modes.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Control AirPods Pro with Apple Watch
If you have an Apple Watch, you can tap the AirPlay icon in the Now Playing app to toggle between Noise Cancelling and Transparency when using AirPods Pro.
MacOS Big Sur adds a dedicated AirPods control that appears when your wireless earbuds are connected to your Mac.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Control AirPods Pro with a Mac
When using AirPods Pro with a Mac, you can switch between Noise Cancelling and Transparency Mode without squeezing the AirPods Pro. On your Mac, you’ll see an AirPods icon when your earbuds are successfully connected to your computer. Click it and change the mode.
Get the right fit by switching tips
Two additional sizes of eartips are included in the box with the AirPods Pro; the medium comes pre-installed. Try them first, and if they don’t feel comfortable, you can switch to a different size. There is no trick to removing the tip from each AirPod, just pull it out and push it to fit the other pair. It feels like you’re going to rip it off, but from the few swaps I’ve done, they end up falling off.
The eartip fit test will tell you if you are using the correct size eartips.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Conduct an earbud fit test to find the best fit
If you dig into your AirPods Pro settings, you can do an earbud fit test (try saying it out loud a few times). The test will play some sound using the AirPods’ microphone and then tell you if the fitted earbuds fit your ears.
To run the test, open the Settings app on your iPhone, select Bluetooth and tap the “i” next to the AirPods Pro name. Select Ear Tip Fit Test and follow the prompts.
I’ve tested them with medium and small earbuds and both passed. So don’t feel bound by the first earbuds you tested; there may be another size available and feel more comfortable.
read more:
Check the charging status while wirelessly charging the case
The case that comes with the AirPods Pro will charge wirelessly on the same wireless charging pad as the iPhone. It also works with MagSafe chargers, just doesn’t stick to the charger magnetically like the iPhone 12 or 13. Place the charging case on the charging pad with the small light facing up and start charging. When it’s first placed on the mat, the case’s light will turn on to let you know it’s charging. However, it eventually times out and shuts down. Tap on the charging case to check the charging status of the charging case (green means fully charged).
There are a lot of other features on the AirPods Pro. These other tips and tricks apply to all AirPods and should help you fully master your new wireless earbuds. If you have a new iPhone, be sure to check these settings. Then find out how iOS 15 affects the way you use your headphones.
Now playing: Watch this: Comparing AirPods 3 vs. AirPods Pro: Which is right for…
13:27