Apple’s revamped AirPods Pro 2 USB-C has gained some significant upgrades over the outgoing Lightning model.
It was pretty easy to miss amidst the flurry of major announcements, but Apple had some interesting news concerning the AirPods Pro 2. Technically, it launched a new version of these premium ‘buds – an AirPods Pro 2.1, if you will – with USB-C connectivity added to the case.
“So what?” you might be thinking. “That just means I could potentially use my laptop charger to juice up my earphones”. While that’s true, a couple of additional benefits have since come to light that might well annoy anyone who plumped for the older Lightning model.
As highlighted in the accompanying Apple press release, the new AirPods Pro 2 have gained additional IP54-rated dust resistance for both the earbuds and the case. The original AirPods Pro 2 only has an IPX4 rating, with the ‘X’ meaning it doesn’t have any dust resistance rating at all.
These USB-C-equipped earbuds have also gained exclusive 20-bit 48kHz lossless audio capability with “a massive reduction in audio latency” when connected to the forthcoming Apple Vision Pro headset. You won’t get that same compatibility with the older AirPods Pro 2.
This means that if you picked up a brand new set of AirPods Pro 2 last week at full price – a not unreasonable prospect given that they’re only a year old, and there was a large three-year gap between the launch of the original AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro 2 – you’re already in possession of a second-tier product, albeit a very high quality one.
