Apple crammed larger batteries into AirPods Pro 2

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Apple crammed larger battery into AirPods Pro 2
AirPods Pro 2 aren't larger than their predecessor, but they do have bigger batteries.
Image: Apple

Apple promises that AirPods Pro 2 offer a longer battery life that the original version, and now we know part of the way this is accomplished. The 2022 version uses batteries with 16% more capacity.

But the truly wireless headphones manage to pull off a 33% increase in time between changes.

Longer battery life for AirPods Pro 2

Apple’s second-generation of AirPods Pro keep the same design as their predecessors but gain support for personalized spatial audio, touch controls, better audio and ANC, and precise location finding with an iPhone.

But the improvement users may notice most is longer battery life. Apple says users get up to six hours on a single charge. It promised 4.5 hours for the 2019 version.

Larger batteries surely helped extend the time. Each AirPods Pro 2 has a 49.7 mAh battery, according to a filing with the Compulsory Certification of China (3C) as found by MySmartPrice. The original model used 43 mAh batteries.

The new charging case for the wireless earbuds includes a 523 mAh battery, an improvement of less than 1% over its predecessor.

Apple does not reveal the battery size of AirPods – possibly because it wants buyers to focus on battery life, not a hardware spec that doesn’t tell the whole story. The only way to find out the exact capacity with regulatory filings or teardown. And the iFixit teardown of AirPods Pro 2 makes no mention of battery  capacity.

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