I was pleasantly surprised to find the $399 AirPods Pro did not jam really deep,with the flexible tips (available in three sizes) pressing against the outside of the ear canal. I assumed Apple had prioritised comfort over noise cancelling,much like the comfortable but not all that effectiveBose Quiet Control 30. But I was wrong.
I switched on ANC while sitting outside — beside our old and rattling air conditioning unit — not expecting much. For a few seconds I could hear the AirPods configuring themselves (they only do this once) and then suddenly the air conditioner faded away.
I was shocked by the power of the noise cancelling coming from such tiny earbuds that weren't jammed in my ears. I was testing them with a podcast at first,and honestly it sounded as though I was in the room with the podcasters;all I heard was their voices.
I've been using them non-stop since,and it's been fascinating to see what audio makes it through the ANC. The background hum of a shopping mall becomes eerily silent,but I could still hear the checkout scanner. The rumble of our washing machine disappears,but the higher pitch sound of water streaming into it can be heard. A co-working space felt dead quiet,but I could still hear my keyboard taps. Overall,you'll always get better noise cancelling with over-ear headphones,and you can't go wrong with a pair from Bose or Sony,but the AirPods Pro can tackle most of life's little distractions.
If the fit doesn't feel right to you,and you're not getting the same level of ANC I've described,you can run a quick test to determine if you're wearing the right sized eartips in the iPhone settings.
Of course listening to music is the real test,and these passed with flying colours. These are the best sounding headphones Apple has ever made. They sound as good as my previous favourite truly wireless earbuds,the Jabra Elite 65t,while being far more comfortable to wear in long stretches.