AirPods Pro 2: All controls and gestures explained

The AirPods Pro 2 might not be all that different from the original AirPods Pro, but this new pair brings enough improvements — better audio, active noise cancellation, and slightly longer battery life — that they’re destined to be a big hit.

The new AirPods Pro 2 also got new gestures for volume control, as well as ear scanning (using the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera system) for “personalized spatial audio.” Add these to the controls you already have, and those new to the AirPods Pro might be confused. We are here to help. Here’s our complete guide to all the controls and gestures you can do with the AirPods Pro 2.

It’s all in the stems

When the original AirPods were unveiled, many joked about their design, but as usual, Apple got the last laugh as many wireless earbuds have adopted the stem look in the years since. There is a clear advantage to having stems. They offload some of the hardware components from the core listeners to make them less bulky; they can pick up microphones that are closer to our mouth; and they allow for easier control as the stalks can accommodate capacitive touch panels.

The touch panels on each side do the same thing by default:

• A single press starts or pauses audio playback
• Long press toggles between either active noise cancellation (ANC) or transparency mode
• Double press goes to the next track
• Pressing three times will return to the previous track

These controls have been present since the 2019 AirPods Pro, but the new second-gen models of 2022 add a new action:

Head into settings and you can assign specific actions to long presses. For example, I set it up so that long-pressing the left stem’s control panel triggers Siri instead of switching between noise-cancelling modes. In the settings you can also add a neutral listening mode that is neither ANC nor transparency mode.

Voice commands also work

You can also access Siri by voice by saying “Hey Siri” out loud. Thanks to the three microphones on each earbud, I find that even when I’m out on city streets, the AirPods can pick up my command and summon Siri accordingly.

head tracking

This isn’t a specific control feature per se, but the AirPods Pro 2 can also detect head movement, which is used for spatial audio listening sessions. When music is playing and Spatial Audio is enabled, you can hear the audio shift from one side of your ear to the other as you turn your head, as if the music source were in a real space in front of you.

call control

You can answer and reject calls while wearing AirPods Pro 2.

• A single squeeze/push on the stalk answers the call.
• Double press/press on the stem rejects the incoming call.

Once you answer the call, you can also press/squeeze the stick once to end the call.

One thing that sets AirPods Pro 2 apart from many other earbuds is that these gestures all work very well and have small refinements in hardware or software. For example, the haptic engine in the stems is superb, giving a tactile click every time you push in. Swipe also brings an audible and satisfying click as if you had physically swiped a switch.

Factor in the excellent sound quality and seamless connectivity with iOS devices and it’s easy to see why these are so popular. If you don’t like the AirPods Pro 2, there are many other great wireless earbuds out there.