Apple facing new lawsuit over AirPods Pro ‘crackling’ issues — here’s what we know

Remember the AirPods Pro Gen 1? They were the first Airpods to introduce ANC, and the first with silicon tips. Since then we’ve had two new models of AirPods Pro, With the AirPods Pro 2 and then the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C. Today we’re going all the way back to the beginning though — and a potential lawsuit that alleges Apple sold a defective product knowing there were significant audio problems.

According to classaction.org, a class action lawsuit has been filed against the Cupertino giant around sound quality and noise canceling complaints. There’s no word about how much money the lawsuit is looking for, but it will apparently cover everyone who bought a pair of the affected earbuds.

What’s it all about?

The lawsuit alleges that there were significant issues with the AirPods Pro generation 1, and that despite the fact that Apple knew that the problems were present, it continued to sell the AirPods for “hundreds of dollars”.

It cites issues with the sound, including crackling, and problems with the noise canceling which brought a lack of bass and even made environmental sounds louder.

Apple was aware of the problems, and a service was developed to deal with AirPods Pro made before 2020. This would judge the issues, and work out whether the user was eligible for a new pair or a service to rid them of their problems.

The lawsuit notes that this wasn’t widely advertised to affected users and that they may not have been able to make use of it. It also goes on to state that AirPods made after 2020 also suffered from the issue, and, that by releasing the AirPods Pro 2 a couple of years later, the firm was effectively brushing the problem under the rug.

“The functionality of audio components is a material and essential feature of any headphones” says the lawsuit. It continues, “high-end, high-priced headphones like Apple’s AirPods Pro Gen 1, which Apple advertised as having noise cancelling features and superior sound compared to other headphones, would have consistently functioning, high-quality audio”. Had customers known about the issues, the lawsuit then alleges that they likely wouldn’t have bought AirPods Pro, and that they were misled by the marketing blurb on Apple’s product pages.

If you owned a pair of AirPods Pro Gen 1 and were affected by this issue, please let us know in the comments below.

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