The Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 is a tiny stopple - in dongle that mostly solves the rather specific trouble of getting Bluetooth headphones process with in - flight entertainment on a plane . But it does something else ( arguably equally as specific ) too , and that ’s how I ’ve fallen for this clever little gismo .
What is the AirFly Pro 2?
Theoriginal AirFlycame out in 2018 and was initially designed to add Bluetooth connectivity to erstwhile in - flight entertainment system , so you’re able to practice your own wireless headphones on an airplane instead of the poor quality cable unity supplied by the airline . It has since grown to also enable Bluetooth connectivity to other devices like car stereophonic system and games consoles , and even connect more than one pair of headphones .
The AirFly Pro 2 takes the AirFly Pro and improve the audio , rush along up the Bluetooth connection , and urinate the unit prosperous to apply . Inside is Qualcomm ’s QCC3056 audio microchip and its cVc Echo Cancelling and Noise Suppression engineering . Twelve South says the combining will thin out latency , meliorate quality , and edit down on unwanted background noise .
The AirFly Pro 2 supports two Bluetooth devices , so both you and another person can link up wireless headphones to it and watch or listen to the same thing . The tiny social unit has a bulk up and down button on the front , and a brace of separate buttons to pair two different Bluetooth devices . There ’s a slider to change between Tx and Rx — receive or transmit — functionality , and another to turn the social unit on and off .
At one conclusion is a 3.5 millimetre headphone jack , and at the other is a USB - ascorbic acid port to charge the AirFly Pro 2 up . Once the battery is full , then it should last for 25 hours . The Qualcomm QCC3056 pass the AirFly Pro 2 AptX Adaptive sound recording , a step up from the standard AptX and AptX Low Latency on the AirFly Pro . It ’s a compendious , simple gadget that has that typical “ could have been made by Apple ” spirit we often associatewith Twelve South ’s products .
Incredibly easy to use
The AirFly Pro 2 is most at home onboard a plane , but I do n’t have any flight book , and I have Bluetooth connectivity in my cars , so how would I test it out ? I turned to my old CD player . It is a Sony HCD - EH15 without speakers sequester , which I use to play my candle and hear to using a pair of Focal Elegia electrify headphone . I love the auditory sensation of CDs , specially with wired headphones . However , the short cable supplied with the Elegia earphone can be a pain , as I do have to sitright nextto the instrumentalist to listen . It ’s part of the appealingness — I ’m forced to hear and relax — in a path , but sometimes I ’d like a bit of freedom .
Would the AirFly Pro 2 be the bantam equipment that came to my delivery ? I flicked the side switch on and put it in Tx mode , which the manual states is what you utilize to tie in wireless headphones . The Rx fashion is for the AirFly Pro 2 to receive Bluetooth sound recording from your headphone , and contrive for in - railroad car use , or a home stereo with talker attach to it . If Speaker were linked to my Sony CD instrumentalist , the AirFly Pro 2 could be used to play music from my telephone through them .
I put mySony WH-1000XM4‘s into sexual union mode , and they instantly link to the AirFly Pro 2 without any further prompting from me . This was the total amount of interaction required , as the CD audio recording play through my wireless headphones right away . There was sufficient range to keep the earpiece connected throughout my two - story home , but of course of action you demand to return to the unit of measurement to correct the bulk and track .
Convenience over sound quality
The sound is decent but not spectacular . There ’s enough volume and no obvious latency problems , but the bass is n’t very pronounced , and there ’s a little bacground distortion when you take heed nearly . The Sony headphones sound great when they ’re connect to myiPhone 16 Pro Max , and the Sony CD thespian sounds brilliant with the Focal Elegia ’s , so it ’s almost surely due to the AirFly Pro 2 . But it did n’t put me off or make me desire to just utilize my iPhone , and you should n’t let it put you off either .
think back , this is nota DACor a gadget made for critical hearing . It add up modern Bluetooth functionality to systems without it — which it does really well — and make retentive flights more comfortable . Lets face it , no - one is mind out for level-headed quality issues on a plane , and the modest straining I can hear wo n’t be pick up in a noisy car either . You ’ll be too fussy enjoying the appliance to care that it ’s not the ultimate in level-headed timber . every bit , but more positively , no - one would desire to use the AirFly Pro 2 on a airplane if it made connecting phone a pain in the neck , or if it was undependable . There good news show is it ’s one of the round-eyed gadgets you ’ll use .
I ’ve link the Sony headphones , AirPods Pro 2 , andAirPods Maxwithout a problem , and none of them necessitate anything more than simply putting the phone into pairing mode . It ’s on the nose what you want on a plane , where troubleshooting connection problem would probably be very thwarting , if not exclusively impossible . The footling unit itself will luxate into your bag where it will take up less elbow room than your AirPods Pro 2 ’s case . There is n’t a reasonnotto use it , and I can now see why the sometime AirFly Pro is on Digital Trends ’ author Nirave Gondhia ’s list oftech he never travel without .
Where can you get an AirFly Pro 2?
Twelve South has n’t attach a in high spirits price tag to the AirFly Pro 2 , which means even if you do n’t intend to use it all that often , it ’s still a justifiable purchase . It costs $ 60 ( up from $ 55 for the sometime Pro ) , will be released on March 25 , and sold through Twelve South ’s own website and Amazon . Like me , you may find other uses for it outside of an airplane .
It ’s deserving being aware of other AirFly models too . If you only care about connecting to in - flight of steps entertainment system and one pair of Bluetooth earphone , the regular AirFly is $ 35 and will do the Book of Job . Twelve South did offer a Deluxe version of the AirFly Pro with a two - pronged airline adaptor include , which does n’t come with the new AirFly Pro 2 . These are available elsewhere if you want to make certain you ’re fully covered for any upcoming flight of steps .
The AirFly Pro 2 worked perfectly with my very quondam CD role player , and tally functionality that was n’t available when it was in the beginning released . It ’s a more modern , more various unit because of it . I have no dubiousness it ’ll do its job just as well when I connect it to an in - trajectory amusement organization in the time to come . The AirFly Pro 2 is a clever fiddling gadget that solves a actual pain item , which you may not even eff can be cured at all , and all without a high fiscal outgo .
