I still kinda prefer the fit of regular AirPods to AirPods Pro
In 2018, I was a late buyer of AirPods, Apple’s wonderous white earbuds that became a cultural phenomenon and the apex of the Bluetooth earphone world. They had been around since late 2016, but I resisted buying them due to the issues I ran into with past Bluetooth earphones. Buggy connections, ugly design, and, even though wireless was used in their description, they still had a wire connecting each earbud. I just wasn’t ready to buy in.
After two years on the fence, when I did, my mind was completely changed. Apple had really introduced a truly wireless experience that solved most of the Bluetooth connection issues and offered up a good-looking design, if not polarizing, that I could live with.
The first-gen AirPods served me valiantly for nearly three years until this summer when they started to truly show their age. The connection had become spotty and the battery life was a fraction of what it used to be (1 hour of usage without the case instead of the initial 5 hours of use). Around that time, that’s when my birthday came along and my lovely wife gifted me a new pair of AirPods Pro, the updated design from Apple that offers all kinds of new features: new in-ear design with rubber tips, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and additional software features like Spatial Audio.
From the get-go, I was blown away with AirPods Pro. The ANC alone was worth the purchase. The in-ear design also helps isolate noise, and they just feel more substantial from a build perspective. That was until I ran into the only issue I’ve had with them: the fit.
I have always preferred in-ear headphones as they isolate noise better, making it easier to get lost in whatever you are listening to. It’s one of the reasons I was so excited for AirPods Pro when they were announced. However, the new design with the beefier middle base that houses all of the components just fits more snuggly in your ear than the first-gen AirPods, and that’s led to some discomfort.
In the area in the ear where this part rests, I’ve been experiencing fatigue and some minor pain. I initially thought it might be due to the ear tips, but after swapping them out and testing out the different sizes, the comfort issue still persisted.
I narrowed the main scenario causing the pain: It starts when I use the AirPods Pro in bed lying down. If I use them sitting down, there is no issue whatsoever. But after an hour or so of lying down in bed and watching a YouTube video or TikToks, the pain returns. My rough hypothesis is that lying down compresses my head enough to move my ears slightly to make the fit too snug for comfort, causing the pain.
It’s the only fault with the otherwise perfect AirPods Pro. It pains me to say that because I love them, but I’ve had to adjust the way I use AirPods in bed. Mainly, I just use my old ones. I’ll admit, it’s a clunky workaround, but it’s the only one I have bothered to find while I faintly hope my ears continue to get used to the new AirPods Pro and stop the mild discomfort.
For the time being, I still kinda prefer the fit of the regular AirPods to the AirPods Pro.
