Consumer Reports thinks AirPods Pro are great, but not Galaxy Buds great

By

AirPods supplier confident of booming business through 2021
A massive improvement over the original.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Consumer Reports has issued its verdict on Apple’s AirPods Pro — and it’s a positive one. The nonprofit consumer-testing publication praised the AirPods Pro as sounding “really good.” It also lavished praise on the sound-cancelling tech and the earbuds’ transparency mode.

However, it still thinks you could do better with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds.

Despite thinking the AirPods Pro sound great, Consumer Reports seemingly isn’t totally convinced by the “pro” part of the name. At least, not in terms of audio. That’s less of a fault with the AirPods than it is the earbuds form factor, though. It notes that:

“Like a majority of Bluetooth headphones, the Pros still might not suit the most critical audiophiles. But the significant improvement in sound paired with the features consumers love from the older AirPods should make this model a serious contender if you’re in the market for a pair of true wireless earphones.”

The review also praised the transparency mode, which uses built-in microphones to play outside sound. “Apple didn’t invent this feature, but on the Pros it works particularly well,” writes Consumer Reports.

Overall, the publication awards the AirPods Pro a score of 75 out of a possible 100. It certainly likes them a lot more than the original AirPods which it said “just don’t sound great.” According to Consumer Reports, the original AirPods offered audio “nearly identical to that of the $30 wired earbuds that used to come free with Apple iPhones.”

However, the publication’s highest praise — at least in audio terms — remains reserved for the Samsung Galaxy Buds. That’s despite the fact that they do not include noise-canceling tech. The Galaxy Buds scored 86 out of 100.

Do you take Consumer Reports’ recommendations seriously when deciding to buy a product? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Consumer Reports

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.