Apple AirPods Pro 2: My Go-To Travel Earbuds

I’m curious, am I the only one who has given up on traveling with bulky over-ear headphones, and now just uses Apple AirPods Pro 2 (or something similar), because they’re good enough?

My experience with the Apple AirPods Pro 2

I recently picked up the Apple AirPods Pro 2, after having the previous generation earbuds for some time, but losing them. I wanted to share my thoughts on these, as I’m quite impressed. For those not familiar, AirPods are Apple’s versatile in-ear headphones, and the Apple AirPods Pro 2 are arguably the best there currently are.

Just to cover the basics of the Apple AirPods Pro 2:

• They offer active noise cancelation (twice as good as the previous generation earbuds), though there’s also a “transparency mode,” if you want more ambient sound awareness
• They come with four different ear tips for a more customized fit
• They’re sweat and water resistant
• They offer easy setup for all Apple devices
• They come with a compact charging case that you can always easily keep with you
• They offer quick access to Siri by saying “Hey Siri”

What’s the battery life like on the Apple AirPods Pro 2?

• On one charge, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 can get you up to six hours of listening time or 4.5 hours of talking time
• The charging case can get you up to 30 hours of listening time or 24 hours of talking time
• Putting the AirPods Pro 2 in the case for just five minutes will get you an hour of battery life, while a full charge takes around an hour
• You can charge the case with a USB-C cable, which is the same as you’d use for an iPhone

As far as the cost goes, Apple AirPods Pro 2 retail for $249. However, they’re sometimes on sale. Right now I even see them on sale for $169, which is among the lowest prices I’ve seen.

I’ve ditched other travel headphones altogether

Back in the day, having Bose over-ear headphones was almost a rite of passage to being a frequent flyer. However, nowadays I’ve completely ditched travel headphones, and instead travel exclusively with Apple AirPods Pro 2.

Admittedly these earbuds aren’t cheap, and they don’t look that exciting, but my gosh, I find that they get the basics right:

• The sound quality and noise cancelation for playing music (or whatever else) are much better than you’d expect
• The microphone is excellent for making phone calls
• Thanks to the customizable tips, they do a good job actually staying in my ears, including when working out, doing cardio, etc.
• They’re so easy to use, as you don’t have to turn them on or off, you just put them back in the case, and they also automatically and easily connect to your linked devices

At this point, I’ve just ditched the Bose QuietComfort Headphones altogether. Do they have marginally better sound quality? Absolutely. But I’m all for traveling light, and I just don’t find that they’re worth lugging around, given how much space they take up, and the limited situations in which I use them.

If I’m walking around a city, or am trying to make a phone call, or am at the gym, I simply prefer Apple AirPods. So a huge pair of headphones is a lot of space to take up when traveling, for the limited amount of time I spend enjoying inflight entertainment.

I should also mention one useful accessory that could be worth having for travelers, in conjunction with Apple AirPods. While we’re increasingly seeing airlines introduce bluetooth audio with inflight entertainment (which I love), that’s still the exception rather than the norm. In other words, you can’t really use AirPods Pro 2 for inflight entertainment, and you’d be stuck with whatever (inferior) headphones an airline offers you (and in some cases you even have to purchase headphones on planes).

Fortunately there’s a useful accessory for that — AirFly is a wireless transmitter and receiver that offers audio sharing for up to two devices. This can be useful on airplanes, since it allows you to hook up your Apple AirPods to virtually any inflight entertainment.

Not losing Apple AirPods is the challenge

Now let me share my one point of frustration with Apple AirPods, or similar devices. They’re not wired and are super small, so the challenge is not losing them. This applies to the entire case as such, plus the individual earbuds, in situations where one might fall down.

I bought my first pair of the previous generation Apple AirPods back in 2021, and I only recently lost them, so I guess it’s not the worst track record on earth, but still, I hate losing things. When it comes to travel, my trick is to always store them in exactly the same place in my bag.

If I’m not using them, the entire case and earbuds are always in one specific pocket of my bag. If I am using them, I still always keep the case in the same place in my bag, and then just take the actual earbuds, so that I don’t forget the case. I’m curious if others have any tips I haven’t thought of.

Bottom line

This is a travel blog and not a tech blog, but I still like to share the accessories that I find really useful for travel. Personally I’m very happy with the Apple AirPods Pro 2, which I recently upgraded to. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting they’re life changing, or anything, but I find that they’re very good. For those of us in the Apple ecosystem, I think they’re worth having.

I used to travel with Bose over-ear headphones back in the day, but I just don’t find that to be worthwhile anymore. They take up a lot of space, and my Apple AirPods have excellent noise cancelation, and are much easier to carry around.

Where do you stand on Apple AirPods, and on the general value of still traveling with over-ear noise canceling headphones?