AirPods Pro 2 with MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C)

Apple changed the socket on the AirPods Pro 2 in September 2023 and kept the price at $249. The case moved from Lightning to USB-C, the same connector the iPhone 15 had switched to the week before, so a phone could now charge the earbuds over a single cable that worked for both.

The dust rating changed too. Both the earbuds and the case went to IP54, where the pair before them had been IPX4, which covered sweat and rain but said nothing about dust. The X in IPX4 means dust was never tested, so this was the first AirPods Pro rated for it.

Lossless audio was introduced with this version, at 20-bit and 48kHz with low latency, but only when paired with the Apple Vision Pro. No other device could use it, and the Vision Pro itself was still four months from release when Apple announced the feature.

What Apple led with that September was not exclusive to this model at all. Adaptive Audio, which blends noise cancellation and transparency as the surroundings change, Conversation Awareness, which drops the volume when the wearer starts speaking, and Personalised Volume all arrived with iOS 17. A footnote in Apple’s own announcement confirmed that the AirPods Pro 2 with the Lightning case got all three as well.

Everything else carried over unchanged, including the H2 chip, the four sizes of ear tip, six hours of listening and 30 hours with the case.

It was announced on 12 September 2023 at the ‘Wonderlust’ event. Orders opened the same day, while it was released to shops on 22 September, priced at $249.

Check out the AirPods Pro 3 that replaced it.