Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation

The ANC performance on these earbuds is off the charts—97th percentile, literally best-in-class. Sound quality is a strong 85th percentile, and they integrate perfectly with Apple gear. But buyer beware: rampant fakes have crushed user sentiment to 1st percentile, so only buy from trusted sources.

Apple's AirPods Pro 2nd gen are a bit of a paradox. On paper, they deliver some of the best noise cancelling we've ever tested, landing in the 97th percentile among true wireless earbuds—that's top-of-the-charts territory. And the sound? A solid 85th percentile, meaning they outclass most competitors you'd put them up against. But while the specs are stellar, the real-world buying experience has become a minefield.

We've crunched the numbers, and the ANC is frankly wild for this price point. With a retail range of $160 to $258, you're getting performance that rivals earbuds costing $300. However, our user sentiment analysis paints a grim picture: a lot of buyers are winding up with fakes, defective units, or accessories that aren't genuine Apple. If you get a legit pair, these are excellent. The trick is making sure you do.

In our testing, the ANC performance is best-in-class, blocking out low-end rumble better than the Sony WF-1000XM5 by a noticeable margin. With ANC in the 97th percentile, it's one of the absolute best on the market. That means you're effectively muting airplane hum and traffic drone to a degree few earbuds can match. The mic quality is respectable too, landing around the 80th percentile—not groundbreaking, but perfectly fine for calls.

Sound-wise, these aren't quite top-of-the-line (85th percentile), but they're impressively balanced with Spatial Audio that's genuinely immersive for movies and music. Battery life is a pretty standard 6 hours with ANC on, enough for a full workday with case top-ups. It's in the 78th percentile, so you're not going to panic about being stranded, but the Sony XM5s last a bit longer. But the connectivity is where it stumbles. Limited to AAC and SBC, it's a solid performer with iPhones but falls behind the LDAC-capable competitors on Android. This puts it in the 68th percentile—not terrible, but you won't be getting the best wireless audio quality outside the Apple ecosystem.

At a street price as low as $160, these earbuds offer incredible ANC and sound for the money. Compare that to the Sony WF-1000XM5 at around $200+ or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra at $200+, and the AirPods Pro 2 are a steal—provided you buy from a reputable source. But that's the catch: the spread of prices from $160 to $258 reflects a chaotic market where the risk of ending up with a counterfeit or poorly refurbished unit is real. If you can snag a genuine pair at the low end, the value is unmatched.

Against the Technics EAH-AZ100-K, the AirPods Pro 2 dominate in ANC but fall behind in build and comfort. The Sony WF-1000XM5 edges them out in sound quality and battery life, but the AirPods' noise cancelling is simply more effective. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is neck-and-neck for ANC supremacy, but Bose's comfort is leagues ahead. For iPhone users, the seamless integration and Adaptive Audio give Apple an edge, but if you're an Android user, the lack of LDAC or aptX and the middling connectivity score make the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro a more sensible pick.

If you're an Android user, skip these. The connectivity limitations and lack of high-res codec support mean you're leaving a lot of performance on the table for the price. And if you're someone who values build quality or comfort above all, the 33rd and 28th percentiles respectively are hard to ignore; the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 or Bose QC Ultra will treat your ears better. Finally, if you're not willing to pay full retail from an Apple Store, the counterfeit risk is just too high—don't roll the dice on a $160 pair that might be fake.

The AirPods Pro 2nd gen are technically brilliant earbuds with ANC that's best-in-class, sound that's strong, and a feature set that ties deeply into the Apple ecosystem. But here's the harsh truth: our user sentiment data shows a staggering number of buyers are getting burned by fakes and shoddy refurb units, dragging their trust score into the 1st percentile. That doesn't mean the product is bad—it means you have to be paranoid about where you buy. Stick to official Apple channels or authorized retailers, pay the $200-250, and you'll love these. Stray into sketchy deals, and you're rolling the dice.