How AirPods Pro became Apple’s best-selling headphones

During its September ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, one of Apple’s vice presidents of hardware engineering shared an interesting fact, AirPods Pro (2nd gen) are the company’s most popular and best-selling headphones. Maybe this wasn’t surprising to you, but it was astonishing to me.

Apple’s best-selling iPad is its entry-level $349 model, and its best-selling computer has always been the base configuration of the MacBook Air. With price being the primary reason those two products are number one in their categories by sales, it felt safe to assume AirPods 2 or 3 would’ve been the best-selling pair given their price points.

Still, it’s great to hear AirPods Pro 2 are so popular. So much so that I wanted to look at how AirPods Pro became Apple’s best-selling AirPods.

AirPods Pro (1st-generation)

Released publicly in October 2019

The first generation AirPods Pro released in October 2019 with much anticipation. Apple’s original AirPods, introduced in 2016, were around three years old by then, and consumers were excited about what the company would do next with its truly wireless headphones.

AirPods Pro debuted as a redesign from the original AirPods look. While maintaining the white color, AirPods Pro replaced tapping gestures with haptic buttons on a noticeably shorter stem. The AirPods Pro were also much more bulbous than its non-pro counterpart.

Of course, what made AirPods Pro stand out was its support of Active Noise Cancelation (ANC), supported by new silicone ear tips in small, medium, and large sizes, providing a better seal in the wearer’s ears. The AirPods Pro were also the first time we saw Transparency Mode and water resistance in AirPods.

AirPods Pro (2nd-generation)

Released publicly in September 2022

Just shy of three years after the AirPods Pro’s release, Apple unveiled AirPods Pro 2 in September 2022. This refresh brought a new H2 chip, delivering better audio quality, improved ANC, and dramatically longer battery life. The inclusion of this new processor enabled adaptive transparency mode, personalized spatial audio, and listening time to increase by 1.5 hours from 4.5 hours to six.

This was the year Apple also significantly improved the charging case, making it water-resistant like the pods it stored. It also integrated precision finding support by incorporating a U1 chip. Additionally, if a person miss-placed their AirPods, they could play a sound emitting from a newly included speaker. Battery life for the included charging case increased by 6 hours, going from 24 to 30 hours of total listening time.

Furthermore, the pods themselves received some welcome updates. The AirPods Pro 2 introduced the ability to adjust volume by sliding your finger up and down the stem of a pod. We also saw the included ear tips add an additional size of extra small in addition to the small, medium, and large previously included.

Apple’s AirPods Pro today

More features are coming later this year

Circling back to Apple’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, the company announced three new health features coming to AirPods Pro 2 later this year. These features focus on improving a person’s hearing experience.

There are three aspects to apples upcoming hearing health features:

1. Prevention: AirPods Pro 2 helps to actively reduce loud environmental noise between the ANC powered by the H2 chip and the passive noise reduction offered by the silicone ear tips.
2. Awareness: AirPods Pro 2 will offer a scientifically validated Hearing Test feature with a compatible iPhone or iPad to empower people to quickly and easily check their hearing.
3. Assistance: AirPods Pro 2 will soon be available as an over-the-counter hearing aid for users with mild to moderate hearing loss.

While these new hearing features aren’t for me, at least not for now, it’s still incredible to see Apple make such impressive leaps with AirPods. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has stated on more than one occasion that Apple’s most significant contribution to the world will be in health. For a long time, we’ve seen that play out, most notably with the Apple Watch, supported by the iPhone; now, we’re seeing that story carry over to the AirPods Pro.

The story of how AirPods Pro became Apple’s best-selling headphones is one of continuous iteration and improvement. The AirPods maker uses its Pro line to showcase the best wireless headphones can offer, making it the go-to product for nerds, enthusiasts, and feature-focused consumers alike. AirPods Pro will likely continue to be the company’s best-selling headphones as they continue to be industry-leading in features, form, and functionality.