Tag / AirPods

by ibmacin

AirPods Pro 2 Impressions

I picked up a pair of the second generation AirPods Pro recently and wanted to share my thoughts on them so far. For reference, I picked up the original AirPods Pro in December of 2019 and have used them almost every day since. Before that I used the regular AirPods daily.

So why did I upgrade from the original AirPods Pro? My originals still worked great. I love the noise cancelling, transparency mode, and how well they work when you are in the Apple ecosystem. There was really only one major reason I upgraded and that was battery life. As I mentioned in my intro, I have worn my original AirPods Pro pretty much every day since I got them and boy does the battery life on them bear this out. They are constantly needing to be recharged, both the AirPods themselves as well as the charging case that they go in. It is truly unfortunate as other than the battery life, they are perfectly functional. I wish there was a way to replace the batteries in them but as far as I know, there isn’t.

Truthfully, I have been putting up with the bad battery life for months now as I definitely didn’t want to buy another pair of the originals at full price. So I was thrilled when Apple announced the second generation model. I picked them up about a week ago and have been putting them through the paces.

So what is different about the second generation Pros? Let’s start with the case that they charge in. While it looks almost identical and has the same dimensions as the original case, it has gained quite a few new features. It now supports the Find My network and has a new speaker on the bottom to help you find them if you misplace them. While I haven’t had any trouble keeping track of my Pros, I’m sure this is a welcome addition to the millions of people who have misplaced theirs. The case also supports adding a lanyard to the side. I know many people bought cases for their original AirPod Pro just to do this so it was a smart move for Apple to build it in to the case. Also, the new case supports charging via MagSafe as well as with an Apple Watch charger, both features my originals lacked and both welcome additions.

As for the AirPods themselves, they have gained both improved transparency and improved noice cancellation modes. The transparency mode, which was already great on the originals, is outstanding now. It is so good that it is sounds like you don’t even have the AirPods in your ears anymore. It’s that good. Likewise the noice cancellation mode is also greatly improved. Apple claims up to 2x better noise cancellation which I can’t exactly prove but I did immediately notice a big difference upon trying them. Certain sounds that the original Pros did not fully block out are now fully cancelled out with the new Pros. Other than those improvements, you can now control the volume from the AirPods themselves by swiping up or down on the stems. This has worked great for me without any false positives in my testing. Lastly and most important of all to me is the improved battery life. Apple says that the second gen Pros will get up to 6 hrs. on a charge now which is an improvement of 1 hour compared to the first gen Pros. But for me with my nearly 3 years old first gen pros, I’m getting closer to double the battery life than I am used to. It is so nice not having to constantly recharge them and is by far my favorite thing about this new pair.

In conclusion, while I truly hope that Apple can figure out a way to keep older AirPods from being wasted with some kind of battery replacement program, I never really hesitated on buying a new pair. For me, my AirPods Pro are at or near the top of my most used tech items. I use them all day at work, at home when putting the kids to bed, on walks, and so many other situations. They are truly a magical device and I am very happy to have my new pair. Thanks for reading!

by ibmacin

My Favorite Things of 2019

Hello all, I know it has been some time since I last posted here but I’m going to try and post more frequently going forward. I thought a fun way to get back into writing would be a list of some of my favorite items that I picked up in 2019. These are all things that brought me a lot of joy over the past year. Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

  • Giant Escape 3 hybrid bicycle: I got on a fitness kick in the second half of this year and this is one of my favorite fitness related purchases I have made to date. I picked this bike up secondhand and I absolutely love it! I have put over 300 miles on it already and I see many more in my future. I even started commuting to work some on this bike, which has been a ton of fun!

  • Brooks Adrenaline GTS 19 running shoes – My other favorite fitness related purchase, these shoes have been incredible for my running. I got these from a local running store where they do a gait test on you before they recommend what type of shoe you should go with. I was experiencing a lot of pain with my previous shoes and it turns out I had been wearing completely the wrong shoes. These have been a total game-changer for me!

  • Topo Chico – As part of my effort to lose some weight and become more fit this year, I gave up soda and caffeine completely. I quickly became bored of only drinking water so I started to try out various sparkling waters. It took some trial and error to figure out what I liked and didn’t. Topo Chico mineral water is by far my favorite drink now. I keep some stocked at both home and work now and I truly believe that discovering this wonderful drink has kept me from going back to soda.

AirPods Pro

 

  • AirPods Pro  – The newest item on this list. I picked these up just the other day. They are better in some ways and worse in some ways compared to the regular AirPods. The noise cancelling is absolutely fantastic and the sound quality is better to my ears. On the other hand, they are not as comfortable as the regular AirPods. Still, I’m very glad I picked these up.

  • North Face Field Bag sling – In an effort to get away from carrying a backpack every single day, I ordered this more compact sling bag after doing a lot of research online. I am absolutely in love with this bag! I can carry all of my daily essentials, save for my water bottle (more on that later), in a much smaller package than with a backpack. I carry my iPad mini, Switch Lite, sunglasses, battery pack, cables, keys, wallet, & AirPods and it all just fits perfectly. Embrace the man bag and live your best life!

  • Hydro Flask Tag Along Bottle Slings – I discovered these at a local outdoor gear store and fell in love with them! The Hydro Flask water bottles have been my favorite water bottles for years now and this is a great way to carry them around on walks with the family, at the farmer’s market, the zoo, or wherever you want to have a water bottle handy but don’t want to hold it.

  • Nintendo Switch Lite – The Nintendo Switch Lite is such a great little handheld! I am living the two Switch life now, with my original Switch pretty much always docked at home while the Switch Lite goes everywhere with me now. I love the compact size, how sturdy it feels in the hands, and the classic d-pad that they included on this model.

  • iPad Mini 5 – I thought we might never see the day but Apple decided to update my all-time favorite iPad this year! I have always loved the iPad Mini ever since Apple released the original one years ago. I had to give up my 4th generation iPad Mini a couple of years ago as it had gotten too slow for my liking but I happily picked up the iPad Mini 5 at launch and I am so glad I did. This thing is extremely fast, super thin and lightweight, and is much more than just a big iPhone, especially now that iPad OS is out. I take this guy everywhere with me!

  • Birkenstock Arizona EVAs – Full disclosure, I actually got a pair of these last year but really only started wearing them this year. The Birkenstock Arizona EVA’s have become my go-to summer shoe. I love how they look but more importantly, I love how they feel. They are incredibly comfortable! I wear them with or without socks and I picked up my second pair this summer. I also love how they are waterproof so if they get dirty, you can just wash them off and they look brand new. They are also relatively affordable compared to the leather and cork Birkenstocks.

Better Sweater

  • Patagonia Men’s Performance Better Sweater Hoody– I picked up this fleece sweater from Patagonia after doing a lot of research and it is very close to being the perfect sweater for me. I went with the performance hooded version of this jacket as it has some stretchy side panels which give you better movement compared to the regular version of the Better Sweater and I really wanted a hood. This, along with my Nano Puff jacket I got last year, are my go-to jackets and will be so for years to come.