AirPods vs AirPods Pro Battery Life: Which Lasts Longer?

AirPods vs AirPods Pro Battery Life: Which Lasts Longer? The battery life of an Apple product is often a top priority for many buyers. After all, you’re shelling out good money for the good stuff.  

AirPods vs AirPods Pro Battery Life: Which Lasts Longer?

So when the AirPods were released in tandem with the iPhone 7 last year without any mention of battery life, people were understandably mad about it. So, which battery lasts longer between AirPods and AirPods pro?

You obtain more than 24 hours of listening time or more than 18 hours of conversation time with numerous charges in your situation. On a single charge, your AirPods Pro may last up to 4.5 hours of listening time9 or 3.5 hours of speaking time. 

Check This Out Next: The Evolution of Apple AirPods

Apple’s new AirPods and their more expensive upgraded version, the “AirPods Pro”, have been controversial for being so difficult to keep track of. But amid all these concerns. One thing has been neglected: their battery life.

Is the AirPods battery life good enough?

Will it be able to last a full day or not? Let’s find out with this specifications comparison between Apple Airpods vs Airpods Pro.

Battery Life Comparison Of Apple Airpods And Airpods Pro

AirPods Battery Life

The battery life of Apple’s new “AirPods” is 5 hours, the same as its predecessor model, the “Apple Earpods”, which comes in at a price point of $159. 

With this information in mind, however, it must be stated that 5 hours per charge isn’t necessarily enough time to last you a full day should you use your earphones for 10-12 hours a day on average.

This brings to light the possibility of carrying around a portable charger with you everywhere should you wish to extend its usage throughout the day without worrying about recharging it before going next.

AirPods Pro Battery Life

To Apple’s defense, however, the devices must comply with a set of specifications and rules for it to pull off a “wireless” design. This is why Apple had no choice but to reduce battery life from its previous models.

What may be even more eye-catching about the AirPods pro is that despite being wireless, they still come with a cord between both earpieces, just like their traditional counterparts, which illustrates how much circumstances forced Apple into reducing the capacity of its batteries.

But then again, that cord may actually turn out to be quite useful should you need some extra time before charging your earphones again or if you’re already running low on battery during short breaks at work, lectures, or even during short trips.

If you’re wondering, the battery life of the AirPods Pro is about 4 hours (research and tests by trusted consumer review sites). This is more than enough time to last you a full day if you use them for an average of 7-8 hours per day, which we reckon isn’t too shabby at all given its price point. 

Comparison overall: apple Airpods vs AirPods Pro 

Regarding their overall capabilities as wireless earphones, both Apple AirPods and airpod pro are pretty much identical in terms of specs and features. However, there’s one area where they differ greatly from each other:

Battery life: AirPods vs Airpods pro

One may argue that they both have a maximum of 5 hours of battery life for continuous usage. It makes them impractical in terms of size and capability, but what’s important to remember is that this isn’t unheard of in the realm of wireless earphones. 

Plus, even with this short battery life per charge, they can still last a full day if you average 7-8 hours worth of usage every day. So don’t expect it to be a deal breaker when considering your options.

General specifications comparison on apple AirPods vs AirPods pro

• Size
• Weight

Apple AirPods: 0.14 ounces (4 g) each, 0.28 ounces (8 grams) for charging case total weight 1.4 Ounces or 40 Grams

Apple AirPods Pro: 0.16 ounces (5 g) each, 0.33 ounces (9 grams) for charging case total weight 1.7 Ounces or 48 Grams

Both the standard and upgraded versions of the Apple Earpods come in identical forms and sizes with a convenient and sleek design which makes it easier to carry around in your bags or pockets when you’re out and about without causing any damage to its internal circuitry due to unintentional compressive forces from other objects.

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Wireless Technology

Both the standard and upgraded versions of the Apple Earpods comes with a pairing ability for devices supporting Bluetooth 4.2 and Bluetooth 5.0, which include:

Apple watches (including Apple Watch Series 3 and older models), iPhone 7, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPad 2017(all models) all Macbook laptops from 2016 onwards. 

Any other Apple devices that use Bluetooth connectivity for wireless music playback or phone calls via its internal microphone or to remotely control your device’s camera shutter through voice commands.

Even though it has been confirmed that both types of earphones do indeed offer a similar form factor in terms of their overall design, size, and weight: 

The upgraded version of the Apple EarPods comes with a slightly different color scheme to its build and boasts a bolder and more robust exterior than the standard edition.

However, this may not be apparent when buying them in-store since both types look almost identical from an external point of view.

So if you’re planning on getting either one for yourself or as a gift, please keep that in mind when purchasing so that it doesn’t present itself as an issue when given away later on.

Buttons and Controls

Both units have 3 buttons (or no buttons, depending on your preferences) to control volume and playback: 2 small buttons at the back of each earpiece and 1 big button on the exterior of each earpiece.

Apple AirPods: Only 2 small buttons are present, which control both volume and music playback through your device.

Apple AirPods Pro: 1 large button squeezes to control volume and track navigation forwards or backward; pressing it repeatedly increases the volume level instead of one quick press per level increment, unlike with previous models where there was no feedback given while trying to change the volume levels.

Connectivity

The upgraded version comes with a slightly updated Bluetooth chip for faster pairing times and an increased range when connected to a device wirelessly.

This also helps compensate for any signal disturbances occurring in its immediate proximity due to other electronics interfering with its wireless reception from your paired devices.

On the other hand, the standard version doesn’t need any improvements since it’s already an industry-leading Bluetooth chip with a maximum connectivity range of 30 feet (10 meters) away from your paired device.

Both of these editions offer incredible wireless signal stability to ensure that you never experience any drop of connection again while listening to music wirelessly using either unit. 

Even when there are more than 2 of them connected simultaneously or if they’re connected to more than 1 device simultaneously, like most of us typically do with our smartphones.

Microphone & Voice Calls

Since Apple AirPods is designed primarily as a Bluetooth headphone unit for listening to music wirelessly without having to be wired directly into the audio jack of your smartphones, tablets, or apple devices, no microphone is included to take voice calls.

Apple AirPods Pro, on the other hand, comes with a built-in omnidirectional noise-cancelling microphone for making and taking hands-free phone calls from within your pockets without the need to remove it.

You can also use Siri through its button controls to make requests or give voice commands to control functions on your device using simple voice command interfaces.

	AirPods 3	AirPods Pro
Weight	0.15 ounces (4.25 grams)	0.19 ounces (5.39 grams)
Audio features	Spatial audio, adaptive EQ	Spatial audio, adaptive EQ, active noise cancellation, transparency mode
Wireless charging/MagSafe	Yes	Yes
Durability	Sweat and water resistant	Sweat and water resistant
Customizable fit	No	Yes
Chip	Apple H1	Apple H1
Battery Life (earbuds)	6 hours of listening time	4.5 hours of listening time (with ANC enabled)
Battery Life (case)	Up to 30 hours of listening time	More than 24 hours of listening time
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones; inward facing microphone	Dual beamforming microphones; inward facing microphone
Sensors	Skin-detect sensor, motion-detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor	Dual optical sensors, motion-detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor
Price (USD)	$179	$249
Price (GBP)	£169	£239
Price (AUD)	AU$279	AU$399

Durability & Water Resistance: The Edge Of It All

Just like any high-end earphones that you could find today, both types boast a water-resistant nano-coating that protects them from light rain showers or sweat during intense workouts at the gym.

This means that both editions are dust and water-resistant at the very least, but not waterproof or designed to last while submerged underwater like some of their competitors can do.

Both units are also designed with similar metals used in their build, making them equally durable for handling daily use without any problems.

This includes 2 types of silicone rubber cases that come with each unit by default to protect it during accidental falls onto hard surfaces, making these 2 types more than good enough for this section.

The Apple AirPods comes with a standard charging case / portable battery pack while the Pro version only has an exclusive larger cylindrical lithium-ion rechargeable battery case that’s capable of adding another 24+ hours worth of juice to your phones, just like what you get if you were to purchase the standard version.

Audio Quality: Which One Packs A Punch?

Both types boast almost identical audio quality when used wirelessly or wired since they come with high-quality built-in speakers made by Apple engineers during development and were tested thoroughly before release to ensure that they met Apple’s high standards for their devices. 

Just like every other wireless earphone unit on the market today, you will need a device capable of Bluetooth connectivity to be able to take advantage of either one of these units and make use of its music playback features after pairing it successfully with your phone or tablet via Bluetooth connectivity.

If you’re an Apple device, we strongly recommend using only an Airpods unit that has been specifically made for use with your device by Apple since it works seamlessly with your devices. 

If you have an android device, purchasing either one of these units will work perfectly fine on any Bluetooth-enabled device so long as the earphones are properly paired to it successfully.

Both of them do, however, share similar audio quality when compared to each other in general. Their sound signatures are slightly different due to one having a built-in microphone compared to the regular wireless-only version. They cater more to music listeners than audiophiles who prefer balanced lows, mids, and highs.

Conclusion

When it comes to building quality, design, and durability, both of these types are equally good where. The only thing that separates them is their microphone features, larger battery life with a charging case included, unique looks, and different sound signatures due to one being meant for voice calls more than it’s for music playback.

Since the wireless-only version is already available at a cheaper price point and has similar audio clarity as its Pro counterpart, this Airpods is even better value for your hard-earned money. 

If you want something like this for casual everyday listening – however, if you’re looking to purchase one of these earphones solely for its mic feature, then we feel that it would be best to spend the additional few bucks on getting yourself an AirPods Pro unit since they’re far better in terms of having sound quality, durability and battery life.