Apple Airpods Pro 2 - Long Term Review

After using my Apple AirPods Pro 2 for a 3 years now, I thought it would be worthwhile to write a long term review of how it has held up to daily use since then (specially the battery). Although these have now been replaced by the new AirPods Pro 3, they might still be worth considering if you’re on a budget and looking to save some money. I don’t always buy the latest release because sometimes you can save a lot of money by buying one generation behind. I did the same thing with my Sony Noise Cancelling headphones and only only bought them when a newer version was released

My Apple Airpods Pro 2 with the case

Call Quality

Let’s start with the call quality since I initially bought these Airpods to use for work calls. I attend a lot of Microsoft Teams Calls during the week and while I used to use my Sony Noise Cancelling headphones, I found them cumbersome since they’re large and feel heavy after several hours of meetings. I had tried several other bluetooth headphones but always found the quality unacceptable until one day, I noticed the voice quality of my colleague’s Airpods during a call. They were good enough that I decided to buy a pair.

These AirPods initially worked very well for Teams calls but at some point Microsoft updated Teams and it caused severe sound issues with my Airpods. The person on the other side of the call kept telling me that I sounded unintelligible and the audio was broken. Unfortunately, I couldn't fix it (even after trying to turn off noise isolation in Teams) and had to resort to using a different headset until Microsoft fixed the issue. This lasted for several months so keep that in mind if you are buying AirPods primarily to use for Teams work calls. Essentially when they work, they work very well but if there are any bugs with Teams then they can become unusable. I haven’t had any issues for the past few months and I hope it stays that way. I have had absolutely no issues at all for regular phone calls though, even when only using one side.

Sound Quality

One thing that pleasantly surprised me when upgrading from the Airpods Pro 1 is how much stronger the bass is. The audio sounds fuller and deeper and I have no complaints here at all. They sound just as good as when I purchased them.

Battery Life

According to Apple, the battery should last around 6 hours for listening. When my AirPods were new, they would last approximately 5 hours when used for phone calls (or Teams calls) and only slightly longer when used for listening only (with the noise cancelling turned on). 3 years later, it comes as no surprise that the battery life has decreased. After a 73 minute call, the battery now drops to around 72%, which extrapolated would give us around 250 minutes or 4 hours and 10 minutes for a full charge. To summarize:

• Battery Life New: 5 hours for calls (Real-Life)

• Battery Life After 3 Years: 4 hr 10 mins

• Battery degradation: ~24% (Estimated Battery Health ~75%)

The calculations above roughly matches my day-to-day experience, these usually give me about 4 hours of use before needed a charge. Despite the drop, I am still happy with the performance because it allows me to attend most work calls and place them back in the case for quick charging in between. Since these batteries are not user replaceable, the AirPods are essentially junk once the battery has degraded. Keep in mind that the values above are based on my experience on using them almost daily for work calls.

Noise Cancellation

The active noise cancellation works quite well and I haven’t noticed degraded performance. They are fine for day to day use like in an office or while commuting but for flights, I highly recommend getting proper over the ear headphones like these as they are just far superior.

The Case

The case has started to show signs of wear and tear and gets easily scratched. It is made out of cheap plastic and feels very un-apple like but even after years of use, it hasn’t loosened up or broken and is holding up fine. I have dropped it a few times and the headphones often popup when it hits the ground. If you are worried about scratches, I’d suggest adding a protective case.

Wireless Charger & USB-C

In true apple fashion, these were not updated to the latest USB-C even though it was ubiquitous at the time of release. Instead, apple waited to add that into the AirPods Pro 3 to give you a reason to upgrade. I don’t have a use for a lightning cable anymore but I found that charging these are a lot simpler if you get a wireless charger. Simply store your case on the charger and it will keep it fully charged at all times. The light flashes orange when charging begins and will flash green once full.

Apple Extras & Updates

1. FindMy

The addition of these in the FindMy App have been a useful feature in case you forget them behind. I haven’t had to use them but I do appreciate the feature that Apple has added to make them ring when you cannot locate them.

2. Apple Updates

With the latest update of iOS, my MacBook and iPhone now get a notification when my AirPods are fully charged. It’s a nice easter egg that was not there before and it is great to see Apple still supporting their older products.

3. Using AirPods for Sleep

As a light sleeper, I tried using these to sleep when I was travelling and it was unbearable because when the battery runs out in the middle of the night, they would screech this unbearably loud notification that would jolt me awake. I learned my lesson the hard way and had to use other headphones while sleeping instead. In one of the newer updates, Apple has fixed this bug and they no longer screech when the battery is low. I can now wear them to sleep and they just turn off in the middle of the night when the battery dies. (I wouldn’t recommend wearing them to sleep every day as there are risks of ear infection).

In summary after 3 years:

✅ Battery still holding up (approx 75% battery health)

✅ No signs of damage

✅ Still receiving updates

✅ No sound/ANC issues

Given the above, I would buy them again. I hope they last me beyond 5 years and I do have hope since my 2013 Macbook Air still works and can hold a charge!!

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Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Review - YUL International Airport (Montreal)

In this post, I'll be reviewing the  international Maple leaf lounge  at Montréal-Trudeau Airport.  access to this lounge is complementary for Air Canada passengers flying  internationally in business class.  There are separate maple leaf lounges for passengers flying domestically or to the US.  The lounge is clearly marked with banners and Located next to gate A52.   Note that This lounge is located in the international zone and not accessible to passengers flying domestically ( similar to the Air France, Desjardins and the National Bank Lounge).  After scanning your boarding pass, you’ll need to head upstairs.  The elevator opens right into the lounge.

If you are travelling outside of Canada, you can purchase your esim ahead of time on the Airalo App and install it so you're connected as soon as you land and can call an Uber and use Google Maps without searching for WiFi. If you sign up with my referral code C0887, you’ll get $3 USD off your first esim purchase!

Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge lobby

There are lots of seating areas followed by a big bar in the centre of the lounge.  The seating areas are separated by  geometric separators to create some privacy.  The seats next to the window offered some nice views of the airplanes on the tarmac. Note that there are no  working plugs available to charge your devices  near the seats. The ones that were present did not work at all  so this was very disappointing for an airline like Air Canada and  definitely a lack of basic amenities for business travellers  who might need to charge their laptops as regular passengers who need to charge their devices before the flight.  thankfully there were dedicated plugs on the plane, but I expected there to be some in the lounge

The main bar

Seating areas with a view

Food and Dining

The main bar is a full service bar tended by a friendly and hard-working bartender who served some very stiff drinks. My bloody Caesar was well mixed and tasty.

Across the bar, you will find the main buffet that offers a Variety of food  options.  I decided to get some fried fish fillets,  bean salad and a Classic Montreal smoked meat sandwich.  I wasn't too sure about the smoked meat sandwich because I previously had one at the domestic Maple Leaf Lounge and it was the worst  Smoked meat sandwich I've ever had.  Here however, the standards were much higher and an attendant heated up my sandwich in the oven and topped it with a slice of juicy pickle.  The sandwich was delicious and the slices of smoked meat were tender. 

Cocktails made to order from the friendly bartender

The main buffet

Great dinner tonight: Fried fish fillet, Montreal smoked meat sandwich and a bloody Caesar.

There are showers available at this lounge although I did not get to try them.  After about  an hour and a half, it was time to board my flight so I headed downstairs. This lounge was a decent place to kill some time before boarding and a massive step up from the domestic Maple Leaf lounge. The food was a welcome improvement over the domestic lounge. I think this is one of the better Air Canada lounges and I’d say about similar to the nearby Air France Lounge and National Bank Lounge.

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Sony WH-1000XM3/1000XM4 Headphones - A long term review

In this post, I'll be reviewing the Sony WH-1000XM3/1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Headphones. WH-1000XM4 is the newer version that replaced the WH-1000XM3 but they are almost identical in many aspects. The newest version is the WH-1000XM5, however you can save quite a bit of money by opting for the WH-1000XM4 instead.

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I purchased my Sony headphones back in 2021 (at full price) and have been using them since. Considering they were a significant investment, I had my doubts when I purchased them and I wondered how well they would hold up over time, especially since they're made of plastic. This isn’t a full review of the headphones but rather a review of their durability and performance over the years. 

Battery Life

The WH-1000XM3/1000XM4 were originally rated for an impressive 30 hours when first launched and I regularly achieved those numbers when my headphones were new. 4 years later, I can confirm that they are still holding up quite well. I regularly fly to Mauritius from Montreal which includes a total of 19 hours of flying and there is still some juice left in those batteries after using it for my entire trip with Active Noise Cancelling on. I’d say the battery still holds a charge of at least 20 hours which should be more than enough for most people. It seems you can DIY a battery replacement as well but I have not felt the need to do so.

Build Quality

Since purchasing them, I was not impressed with the build quality of these headphones. They are made of plastic and they often creak which made them feel cheap and had me questioning their durability. While the creaking is still there a few years later, it has not worsened, nor has any parts loosened. 

Nothing has faded or peeled away. The leather lining is still intact, as is the soft sponge covering the components. It will occasionally develop an odour after extended use but I simply clean it with an alcohol based disinfectant spray and that always gets rid of of the smell. It’s a good idea to disinfect them regularly anyway for sanitary reasons.

The leather ear cups show no signs of wear or damage

The headband is still sturdy though it does creak

Sound Quality and Active Noise Cancellation

The sound quality is fantastic and little details and more nuanced instruments are audible when listening to music. The bass is thunderous and significantly better than the Bose QuietComfort Headphones when I tested them side by side.

Microphone/Calls

The microphone quality has always been excellent and I've used them for my work Teams Calls for years because they easily outperform Apple's AirPods Pro. The AirPods Pro has undesirable background noise and based on feedback from my colleagues, they’ve mentioned that my voice is less clear when using Airpod Pros for Teams calls. I tried some Teams recordings and there is more crackling with the AirPods.

Main Issue

Over the years, the only downside I’ve noticed is the lack of multi device connection as these headphones cannot connect to more than one device at a time. This means for example, if you are listening to music from your computer, you cannot answer a phone call from your cell phone similar to how Apple AirPods has seamless integration with iPhones and Macs. This is however not a “bug” but rather a lack of a useful feature. 

The carrying case is sturdy and despite tossing it in my backpack or carry-on over the years, it has held up well and prevented any damage to the headphones. 

Summary

I think these headphones still provide excellent value and if you are on a budget, you can still look at the WH-1000XM4 (or WH-1000XM3) over the WH-1000XM5. They are durable and even after 4 years, the battery still lasts for 20 hours.

Emirates Business Class Lounge Review - DXB Terminal 3 Concourse C

Emirates Business Class passengers departing from Dubai International Airport receive complimentary access to any of Emirates’ Business Class lounge. These lounges are a quiet place to sit and relax, maybe grab a snack or meal or even take a shower. In thi post, I’ll be reviewing my experience of the Emirates Business Class Lounge located in Concourse C. After landing at Dubai International Airport from Mauritius, I cleared security and took the shuttle bus to Concourse C where my flight to Montreal was departing. The lounge is located upstairs and across from the Gates. It is a medium sized lounge that did not offer direct boarding to the airport. Having read that Emirates offers boarding directly from the Lounge, I was pretty disappointed that this option was not available. It seems that Concourse B features the best services like direct lounge boarding, biometric entry and the Moët and Champagne Bar (more on that below).

The main area

The lounge had a decent amount of seats with large windows, but since it was nighttime, I'm not sure if there was much of a view but I could see Air Canada’s parking spot from the lounge seats. I could imagine the lounge becoming very crowded if there were several flights departing back to back, however since it was around midnight on Christmas Eve it was very calm when I visited. Screens throughout the lounge showed the departure time as well as some soccer games highlights Match scores.

If you are travelling internationally, you can purchase your esim ahead of time on the Airalo App and install it so you're connected as soon as you land and can call an Uber and use Google Maps without searching for WiFi. If you sign up with my referral code C0887, you’ll get $3 USD off your first esim purchase!

Food

There was a decent selection of food and drinks. Some main courses included beef stew, roasted potatoes and seafood pie as well as salads and desserts. There was an unattended ice cream cart which looked enticing, but I was pretty full already so can't comment on the quality.

The main buffet

Ice cream for dessert

Drinks

To the left of the main buffet was a self serve bar with spirits, wines, and beers as well as some Moët champagne. Having read about the Emirates Moët & Chandon Champagne Lounge and anticipating a unique new experience, I was sorely disappointed to find just a couple of opened bottles in a bucket of ice at the bar with no canapés to pair it with as per the press release by Emirates. As I mentioned above, it seems Concourse B is the one that receives the finest services and amenities while Concourse C is just an afterthought so your Emirates experience will highly vary depending on which terminal your flight is departing from.

The Moët & Chandon Champagne “Lounge”

Showers

To the left of the main entrance were the bathrooms. The lounge had several showers and there wasn't just one but two attendants for the showers. We simply had to notify them if we wanted to take a shower and they provided us with fresh towels and an amenity kit that included a toothbrush and toothpaste. The bathrooms were sparkling clean and just perfect to freshen up in between flights.

The Emirates lounge main bathroom

The shower was sparkling clean

After a quick shower, I noticed that my flight had already started boarding very early (which was actually not the case) so I left the lounge and headed to the boarding gate. This lounge was a decent place to kill some time on a layover and provided decent food, drinks and a hot shower to freshen up. However, it's worth keeping in mind that the best of what Emirates has to offer is not here, but rather in Concourse B.

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