I bought my wife a new iPad Pro and was offered the AirPods Pro for less than 100€. I took that discount planning to sell them off. But Apple has some magic integrated in their packaging. It's just so fun unwrapping their seal and lifting their boxes. So I couldn't resist and had to open the APP myself.
What. A. Pleasant. Surprise!
Overall, the APP are just such a great product! It really shows that especially audiophile products have some catching up to do - though not in terms of sound quality, obviously.
The fit is superb. I use the large silicon tips and I don't even feel them. Passive isolation is really poor and the half-open design doesn't create any ear pressure at all. So at the beginning I kept wondering if I even have a seal, but every time I remove them, the tips even pop inside out. So the fit is so good that even though I am interested in the AZLA and Dekoni tips, I fear that there won't be any noticeable improvement for me personally.
I really like that these don't demand the deep insertion I usually go for with IEM. These are borderline open earbuds.
Since passive isolation is really poor, the effect of ANC is even more so remarkable. And switching between ANC and transparency mode is so easy, I can hardly count how often a day I switch between them. I definitely have some IEMs that have overall better isolation than APP with active ANC, but the comfort of switching isolation on and off is what really enhances the usability. However, if I were traveling a lot and I need to isolate myself, I would absolutely recommend to also pack a pair of CIEM.
I use these on a bike too and wind noise is better than I thought. Some passive IEM do much worse.
Bluetooth has also been very reliable so far. I have only paired them with my 11 Pro so far. I use them as a headset a lot and not one person has complained about the microphone quality - something that I am not used to. Battery life seems amazing too. Yesterday I forgot the charging case in the office so I just put the ear buds on my table at home. They remained connected and my iPhone always showed me the battery status. This morning, I wake up to 27%. I insert them before heading out and they played music all the way until I arrived in the office. My mind is blown!
The sound tuning is pretty good, too. Punchy, not overdone bass, accurate midrange and just the right amount of treble. Unfortunately, sound quality is rather poor. You don't get any good separation or clarity. Cymbals don't shimmer, bass strings don't vibrate, voices don't breathe, etc. But none of that is really important on-the-go. It's definitely a lifestyle product. But for me, living in Berlin, going with the subway, riding the bike, walking down lively streets, etc., the AirPods Pro have already become a very important gadget for me.
(My wife and I also share the Bose QC35 and AirPods 2 occasionally, but neither has the convenience of the APP!)
IMO, the most exciting thing about the AirPods Pro is imagining what will become in 5 years time. I can hardly imagine the progress Apple will achieve with a yearly revision. This is really exciting stuff! Perfect ANC and a transparency mode that can replace hearing aids? Boy oh boy.