The Price of Silence

Apple quietly (no pun intended) introducing a noise-cancelling “Pro” version of its hugely popular AirPods surely heated up the competition in the market for noise-cancelling headphones/earphones. Having been available for a week now, the Airpods Pro were widely greeted by glowing reviews, as most commentators lauded how Apple addressed most of the niggling issues people had with regular AirPods.

At $249, the “Pro” edition of Apple’s wireless earphones comes at a $90 premium compared to regular AirPods, which start at $159 and are already considered too expensive by many. While it is certainly debatable whether it makes sense to spend $249 on a pair of earphones, it ultimately is a question of personal taste and budget.

As the following chart shows, noise-cancelling headphones generally come at a price. While there are cheaper alternatives to Apple’s latest offering, higher-end noise-cancelling headphones from market leaders Bose and Sony can easily scrape the $400 mark.