Yes, AirPods Pro work very well with a Chromebook

Since we put out our video not too long ago where I admitted to finally breaking down and buying a set of AirPods Pro, I’ve had quite a few questions in regards to using these wireless earbuds with a Chromebook. As many of you already know, I don’t own a whole lot of Apple hardware. I have an iPad Mini that I’ve nearly stopped using altogether and I have both the original AirPods from a few years back and now the AirPods Pro. My main connections with these earbuds is primarily with my OnePlus 8 and whatever Chromebook I happen to be using at the time.

As it stands right now, I’ve been happily using them with the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 for the past few weeks while writing and doing other work-related tasks. As I’ve been using them, what I’ve found is I love the noise cancelling when I need it, the rock-solid connection for when I walk away from my desk, and the ease of switching connections between devices. When it comes to playback of audio and video, the AirPods Pro work exactly as you’d expect and sound great doing it. They are wickedly comfortable, too.

So, obviously the answer is yes, they work quite well with a Chromebook. Play/Pause controls work with a single-click and forward/back works with a double or triple-click, too. The only other thing the AirPods Pro are built to do is hail Siri which, not surprisingly, they don’t do without an Apple device. There are apps for your phone that you can use to get the Google Assistant triggered via a very slow double click on the earbud stems, but I’ve never really found the Assistant in my ear that necessary even with the Pixel Buds. I do like the touch controls on the Pixel Buds a bit better, but I’ve found that noise cancellation and play/pause are the main things I need my earbuds to be good at, and the AirPods Pro do this just fine regardless of what I’m hooked up to.

As for bouncing between devices, I’ve found this to be the easiest set of earbuds to work with by far. To pair them, you put them in their case, hold the button around back until the white light up front begins to pulse, and then pair them to the device you want. After this is done once, you can simply pull up your Bluetooth settings on the device you want to switch to, click on AirPods Pro, and that device will assume control. It works every time. If I’m using them on my Chromebook and want to head out for a quick walk, I can simply grab my phone, pull down my quick settings, and select the AirPods Pro from the Bluetooth list and head out. It is simple and effective and I love it. And yes, I know other Bluetooth headsets do this, but I’ve never used a set that I can so confidently switch between devices and not run into pairing issues.

There’s a certain air about Apple products that give off the vibe that they are intended for Apple hardware and Apple hardware alone. While this is very true of many of their devices, it is certainly not true of the AirPods or AirPods Pro. What I find in these earbuds is something I really wish Apple was more inclined to: openness and interoperability. Apple has made its fortune by locking their customers into their own ecosystem and I don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. It’s just nice to be able to take advantage of a well-made, premium product from them that doesn’t feel crippled due to the fact that I’m not connecting it to some other Apple hardware. Using the AirPods Pro with my Android phone and multiple Chromebooks has proven that Apple can make great accessories for everyone when they choose to, and I’m one user who is very glad they did.

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