Important points of ZDNET
- The Airfly Pro 2 allows users to listen wirelessly to traditionally wired only systems, such as in-flight entertainment systems.
- With the Airfly Pro 2 you can use your favorite headphones to enable special audio features such as noise cancellation and spatial audio.
- If you don’t fly regularly or don’t need a Bluetooth dongle in your daily life, the $60 price tag might be a big question.
Flying for hours is a source of trouble for my existence. I have to sit in my small seat for hours and go all the way to the very shared toilet, and I have to keep myself free of distractions throughout the flight. Watching a movie on a plane is not the most luxurious experience, so I try my best to work, sleep or read the entire flight.
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But even if the plane’s entertainment system can thwart the plans, flying by plane is a good opportunity to catch up with the 2025 Oscar watchlist. There are two options. You can use “headphones” provided by the airline to listen to everything on non-movie planes, or use headphones to connect you to the back of the person in front of you.
To avoid either scenario, I’m testing Twelbesouth’s latest Bluetooth adapter. Airfly Pro 2 The company sent me the latest Airfly adapter to test on my flight last week. If you’re a frequent flyer and movie buff, this is my verdict after a few hours.
The original Airfly is one of the most popular products in the 12 South and for good reason. A multipurpose Bluetooth adapter that wirelessly connects headphones to airplane entertainment systems, gym equipment and gaming consoles as long as your host device has a 3.5mm adapter.
The new Airfly Pro 2 has all the most desirable features of previous Airfly models – dual headphone connections, physical volume buttons, long battery life, auxiliary input compatibility, and more.
On a flight from Atlanta to New York last week, I thrust my Airfly Pro 2 into my personal bag and plugged it into the 3.5mm headphone jack on the airplane entertainment system. After turning it on, I put the Sonos Ace in pairing mode and watched “Moana 2.” Two headphones can be connected to the Airfly Pro 2, allowing two people to watch the same media on the entertainment system in flight.
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The film sounded great through my headphones. To drown out the airplane’s engine noise and improve the listening experience, we have turned on noise cancellation and spatial audio with head tracking. In wired mode, most wireless headphones do not have access to wireless audio settings and can leak external noise. With AirflyPro2, this was not an issue.
Pairing the dongle was pretty easy. I pressed the headphones power button until I entered pairing mode, then held the Airfly “Pair 1” button, all set.
The Airfly Pro 2 has an upgraded Qualcomm chip inside, which improves audio quality, provides a more stable wireless connection and reduces power consumption.
Also, moving using multiple cables gives me a headache. This little gadget solved that problem
To the right of the dongle is a switch that can toggle between transmit (TX) and receiver (RX) modes. In Texas mode, Airfly sends audio to headphones from analog sources like entertainment systems in flight. RX mode receives audio from a mobile phone and plays it through an auxiliary port on a car, boat, or stereo system.
With a 25-hour battery life, the Airfly Pro 2 can last you long on round-trip trips across the US. If you need to charge it, there is a handy USB-C port for that.
ZDNET purchase advice
South of 12 Airfly Pro 2 A great travel companion for Frequent Flyer. It takes up almost all the space in your bag and will make your listening and viewing experience much better, otherwise it won’t get in the way. It is sold for use in flight, but can get money value with compatibility with non-Bluetooth audio devices and systems.
If you are likely to use this product frequently, we recommend spending $60 on a reliable, high-quality product. However, if you want a cheaper option, Twelve South offers it Airfly SEHowever, there is no Aux-in compatibility or dual headphone connection.
