The AirPods Pro is great — but this $25 accessory makes it perfect

The AirPods Pro is great — merely this $25 accessory makes information technology perfect

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The AirPods Pro is already an excellent pair of wireless earbuds. But when I found a trouble it seemed incapable of solving, it was a $25 ear tip that kept it from becoming useless.

I was late to the AirPods Pro political party, simply buying mine during Black Friday terminal year. Nonetheless, I quickly fell in honey. The sound quality is balanced just correct so it works for annihilation you want to mind to; they're piece of cake to employ; and the active dissonance cancellation (ANC) is surprisingly powerful for a pair of earbuds.

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Due to working from dwelling a lot more for the by few months, I've often worn my AirPods Pro while sitting at a desk writing. Here it works brilliantly, providing unobtrusive music while also keeping the noise of housemates and neighbors out. What I didn't realize at the fourth dimension was how limited the buds' effectiveness could exist.

The problem came when I took up running again, after taking a hiatus due to, well, laziness. As with all relationships, a change in routine brought with it a new source of stress, equally I discovered that running with my AirPods Pro made each stride a potential disaster.

A cheap merely huge AirPods Pro upgrade

While the fit of the medium-sized gel ear tips included in the AirPods Pro'south box was adept for sitting around the house, they easily worked themselves loose. There was never much fourth dimension between moments I needed to jab at my ears to brand sure they were notwithstanding in properly, making the AirPods Pro its ain form of interval training.

Not wanting to lose the AirPods Pro, but also not wanting to surrender running once again, I started investigating custom ear tips. And I eventually landed on the Comply AirPods Pro 2.0 eartips.

This accompaniment costs $25 for a pack of three. You lot can buy three pairs of the same size — pocket-size, medium or large — but only owning a single pair of the AirPods Pro, I instead went for the diversity pack, which sends a pair of each size for yous to try out.

Installing the tips was surprisingly simple. The AirPods Pro has a proprietary clip mechanism to fit the ear tips, in truthful Apple way, simply the Comply tips snapped on and off as easily as the originals.

A better fit for running (with some merchandise-offs)

Wearing the buds once more, the sound was only similar the AirPods Pro I already knew and loved. Now, however, the foam tips fabricated sure the buds stayed secure within my ear, meaning I could now focus on improving my running technique and speed rather than making certain I didn't lose an AirPod Pro to a nearby bleed.

Swapping away from the standard ear tips does come with some small costs. They're less convenient to pop in your ears, since you have to squash the foam between your fingertips to fit them in. The color scheme changes as well, since the Comply tips add a lot more black to the nearly pure white basic AirPods Pro. These are quite easy to forgive though.

Apple has some of the best industrial designers in the business, merely no designer can brand a product that fits everyone. As well, Apple tree has a bit of a reputation for pursuing its company goals whether that makes its products more usable or not. Yeah, nosotros're looking at you lot, Lightning port.

Fortunately, the huge ecosystem surrounding Apple ways that more people are able to enjoy its products to the fullest. You should of form take intendance when swapping parts, lest you harm something you can't repair yourself. Still, if it goes well information technology can prevent a $249 pair of the AirPods Pro from becoming an expensive waste.

More: Check out our list of the best headphones overall

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff author based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, sound and any else people need communication on. Post-obit on from his MA in Mag Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's besides written for WIRED U.One thousand., The Register and Artistic Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking virtually how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.