by Matt Weik
I sit here staring at my Apple Airpods Pro with a joyful yet painful expression on my face as I type this article. I’ve been an Airpods fan since the very first version was launched (which I still use to this day). When the launch of the Apple Airpods Pro happened, I sat back and waited. Ok, that’s not true. I went out and bought them the first week they were available. I love everything about them, but not without a few pain points. I wear them for everything, including workouts. You’d think I would recommend them, right? But maybe I don’t. Here’s what you need to know about working out with the Apple Airpods Pro.
The Apple Airpods Pro Are EXCELLENT for Workouts
Do I regret purchasing the Apple Airpods Pro? Absolutely not. I wear them for phone calls, to listen to YouTube videos, jam to music, to cancel out all of the noise in my office and house when I need to concentrate on work, and of course when I work out. From a usage standpoint, I can’t find a reason why I would ever choose something over the Apple Airpods Pro.
Now, I’m also a HUGE Beats fan. In fact, I have two of the same version (only one is wired, and the other is wireless). Do I love the bass that comes with the Beats when I work out? I sure do. But the issue is, when I move around or lay down on the bench, they start moving and shifting on me. Now, I know what you’re going to say, “Well, Matt, why not just get the Beats earbuds?” And you got me on that one. I very well could have purchased them. However, I think they look horrible (my personal opinion).
When I work out, I don’t want to worry about my earbuds/headphones from moving around or falling out. The Apple Airpods Pro comes with several tips that allow you to choose the tip that suits your ear canal’s size. Once they are in place (assuming you have the correct tip on), you will have zero worries about them coming out unless you want them to come out. I’ve run in them, jumped around, and put them through a bunch of tests, and they wouldn’t come out. Did they get a tiny bit loose every once and a while when I forcefully moved to try to get them to shift? Sure. But nothing that would worry me that they were about to fall out.
The Apple Airpods Pro is full of some great features that aren’t available in the earlier versions. The most significant selling point for me and the true reason why I actually moved forward with purchasing them was due to the noise cancelation feature. I love my music, and I like it even better, distraction-free. That said, when I’m working out, I don’t want to hear the people around me. I don’t need to listen to the 135lb man grunting with his 20lb dumbbells like he’s giving birth. I don’t need to hear the horrible gym music that sounds like it belongs in an elevator. Plain and simple, I ONLY want to hear MY music.
Does the Apple Airpods Pro completely eliminate ALL surrounding noise? No. If you want something that will eliminate EVERYTHING, you may want to look at a pair of Bose over the ears (but as mentioned earlier, they aren’t the most ideal as they will shift around on your head when you work out).
The battery life on the Apple Airpods Pro is pretty dang solid. Let me put it this way, once they are fully charged, they last so long when used for workouts that I can’t even remember how many days I get out of them – it’s A LOT. Charging the case is simple and quick. In no time at all, you’ll be back in the game with your earbuds once they are plugged in and charging.
The Most Frustrating Thing with the Apple Airpods Pro
Here’s the part many wouldn’t tell you in this type of review article, but I’m not one of those people who only says what it does well and neglects aspects that they don’t like or things that have gone wrong. And I’ve had some issues with the Apple AirPods Pro and have questioned numerous times if I made a mistake purchasing these earbuds and should have gone with a different brand. When I purchased these, they were at $250 (about the same price you will find them at today).
What was my issue? My issue was that the Apple Airpods Pro kept failing (on more than one occasion). It was almost like a buzzing sound every time bass would hit in any song. Most of the time, such a sound would mean you blew a speaker, only this was different. The noise was so annoying that I had to reach out to Apple Support for help. I asked them what the deal was. At first, they said it could be that dirt was stuck in the Airpod and needed cleaning. Well, I did that, and nothing changed. Then they told me to reset the Airpods and see if that works. I jumped through a bunch of hoops trying to get them to work – nothing helped.
Eventually, Apple Support said they would replace them since they were under warranty. The next thing I knew, a new (single) Airpod showed up to replace the one that was having issues. I sent the busted one back for them to look at. In the meantime, I searched online and found that quite a few other people were having this very same issue with theirs (hmm, interesting).
A couple of months after getting the one Airpod replaced, the other one took a dump on me. I contacted Apple Support, and again, I went through the same process, and they sent me a replacement.
I will give it to Apple Support, my experience with them was fantastic. They were easy to work with and helped me out every time I contact them. As of today, my Apple Airpods Pro is working just fine, the issues I was having with the buzzing have not come back, and I have my fingers crossed that I’ll get many more years out of these Airpods.
Would I Recommend the Apple Airpods Pro for Your Workouts?
Absolutely! Again, had Apple told me to pound sand and I’d have to buy a new pair following my issues, I’d probably be telling you to avoid these. But I love everything about the Apple Airpods Pro and can’t recommend them enough. They are small, discrete, block out noise well, transparency mode is great when you need to hear what’s around you, and they fit snug and don’t come out during workouts.
If you have an iPhone and workout intensely, I truly think you’d really enjoy the Apple Airpods Pro and everything they have to offer from a day-to-day usage as well as from a pair of workout earbuds.