Apple has made its USB-C AirPods Pro 2 case available to buy separately.
Back in September, Apple raised a few eyebrows by announcing a subtly revised model of the AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C port rather than Apple’s bespoke (and now all-but-obsolete) Lightning connector.
This understandably miffed many who had upgraded to the AirPods Pro 2 within the previous 12 months, having only rolled out in September 2022.
Apple has now gone a small way to taking some of the sting out of that ire by selling a USB-C AirPods Pro case without the AirPods Pro 2 ‘buds themselves. It’s available now, and it costs £89 / $99 from the Apple website. That’s a whole £140 / $150 less than a brand new set of AirPods Pro 2, but it still feels a tad steep under the circumstances.
Especially when you consider that the original AirPods Pro 2 remain inferior to their version 2.1 (our name, not Apple’s) successors.
While this new case does add IP54 water certification to the package, it doesn’t add the Apple Vision Pro headset optimisation that Apple brought to the revised set. Apple added 20-bit 48kHz lossless audio capability with “a massive reduction in audio latency” when connected to the forthcoming mixed reality headset.
It also doesn’t bring the slightly improved audio quality that the revised AirPods Pro 2 added.
Still, if you’re an AirPods Pro 2 user keen to erase any trace of Apple’s bespoke charging port, and want to pursue that single charger life, Apple now offers a solution.
Originally posted 2023-12-14 13:01:51.