Apple AirPods Pro vs. Jaybird Vista

Comparison between Apple AirPods Pro vs. Jaybird Vista

Both are made of quality hard plastic that can withstand quite a bit of abuse, but only Jaybird Vista, with its IPX7 rating, can survive falling into the water. AirPods Pro can only deflect sweat (IPX4).

You get an intuitive mobile app, which lets you customize a bunch of useful things on Vista. However, AirPods Pro also have an active noise-cancellation, Transparency mode, auto-pause/play function, ear scanning for personalized EQ, and more (but only on iOS).

Vista’s are an overall better choice for sportspeople, with 6-hour battery life, but only another 10 hours packed inside the case. AirPods Pro overrides them with its 5 hours of playtime per charge and 19 hours from the charging case.

The two wireless earbuds are very different. Neither of them can do all the things at once, but they’re great at what they offer. Let’s find out which ones are better for you.

Quick Comparison

Both models:

• Have proprietary ear tips
• Both look and feel premium
• Support lag-free video playback
• Can quick charge, with 5 minutes adding an extra 1 hours of playtime

Apple AirPods Pro

Better comfort but worse stability

Great ANC with ambient mode

Stable connection with H1 chip

+5h / charge + 20h in case

IPX4 – sweatproof

Works wonderfully with iOS devices

Have a more balanced sound signature

Apple AirPods Pro review

Buy on Amazon

Jaybird Vista

Great comfort and stability

Good passive noise isolation

Only SBC codec with JBS1 chip

6h / charge + 10h in case

IPX7 – waterproof & MIL-STD-810G

Mobile app with powerful EQ

Entertaining and punchy sound

Jaybird Vista review

Buy on Amazon

Specifications

What’s in the Box?

Apple AirPods Pro

Jaybird Vista

With packaging you’re getting:

• True wireless earbuds
• Charging cable
• User manual
• AirPods Pro: Lightning cable vs. Vista: USB-C cable
• AirPods Pro: 3 pairs of silicone tips vs. Vista: 3 pairs of ear gels (ear fin/ear tip combo)

Comfort & Fit

While they both offer superb comfort, Jaybird Vista’s fit much better, giving you better stability during exercise.

Despite a tremendous amount of tech jammed inside the little earbuds, AirPods Pro remain exceptionally lightweight. That makes it comfortable to wear for hours.

Compared to regular AirPods, the Pro version comes with silicone ear tips. That greatly improves the earbuds’ stability over classic AirPods, making them somewhat suitable for a light workout.

But as soon as you start sweating, the seal gets loose, and they tend to slip out of your ears.

That is not a problem in Jaybird Vista, which also provides excellent comfort. Not only that, but they also stay securely inside your ears, regardless of the sweat.

With the inclusion of ear gels with ear fins, these sit firmly in their place, letting you completely forget about them while working out.

Noise Isolation

Vista’s passive isolation is surprisingly good, but it can’t beat the impressive AirPods Pro’s active noise-canceling.

Apple equipped its Pro model with noise-canceling, and they did a great job. These earbuds are practically rivaling the best in class Sony WF-100XM3, although the latter might still have the upper hand when it comes to customization.

The feature is activated right after you pick them up from the charging case. It does a good job eliminating the city noise, or people chatting in the cafeteria.

If needed, there’s also the Transparency Mode, which lets you hear your surroundings and amplifies your voice. That is useful since we tend to shout when we can’t hear our voices properly.

Jaybird Vista, on the other hand, doesn’t offer any of the mentioned features. Instead, it relies on passive isolation, which is quite good. It can isolate the outside noise when the music is playing, but if you want complete silence without music, AirPods Pro are a better choice.

Bluetooth

They’re about the same when it comes to connection strength, starting to stutter after passing the second brick wall. However, Apple’s earbuds have a more sophisticated pairing process, which can be super useful.

Both earbuds connect very quickly, but Pro’s does this better. AirPods Pro connect as soon as you open the lid, whereas Jaybird’s earbuds need to be taken out from the case, and only then they appear inside the Bluetooth’s menu.

AirPods Pro’s heavily rely on their H1 chip to work seamlessly with other iOS devices. Besides the quick connection, you can also skip between different devices. In practice, when you turn off your iPhone and grab an iPad, AirPods Pro’s will quickly reconnect from iPhone to iPad.

That is something Jaybird Vista can’t do. You can’t even connect them to 2 devices at the same time as the AirPods.

At least they can both provide a lag-free experience while watching YouTube videos. Both wireless earbuds rely on a unique chip to achieve that: Vista’s have JBS1 chip, Apple has an H1 chip.

Battery

If you want better battery life per single charge, Vista are the winners. If you want your earbuds to last longer without charging, the Pro’s take the lead.

Quite simple, Vista’s manage to last for around 6 hours on a single charge, while offering another 10 hours from the case. Pro’s give a 5-hour playtime with an additional 19 hours from the charging case.

The longevity may lean in Vista’s favor when you start using only one earbud at the time. This way, you can get 32 hours of playtime altogether.

Both earbuds tell you when you need to charge them and show you the exact percentage for each bud on your Bluetooth enabled device (Pro’s only on iOS).

They’re also similar when it comes to quick charge feature.

• Jaybird, as well as Apple, gives you a 1-hour worth of battery life in just 5 minutes

Regardless, Beats PowerBeats Pro are still the overall champions in this category.

Durability

As sports-oriented wireless earbuds, it’s expected that Jaybird Vista are a more robust option between the two.

Vista’s provide a much more confident user experience, giving you everything from IPX7 water-resistance to MIL-STD-810G military standard, which makes the earbuds shockproof.

Both are built from quality materials, such as hard, durable plastic. However, there is an additional layer of soft rubber on the Jaybird’s, making them more premium to the touch.

Even the case is more rigid on the Vista’s side. It’s covered with the same soft rubber as the earbuds, that feels nice in your ears. On the other hand, AirPods Pro have a white, glossy case with a flimsy lid, that shouldn’t be on a premium product.

Both are capable of hitting the gym and surviving a couple of drops on the floor. Whereas Vista can be submerged into water, AirPods Pro can only withstand excessive sweating (IPX4).

Related:

How to fix AirPods not charging

How to fix AirPods not having sound

AirPods facts

Features

AirPods Pro are hands down one of the most feature-packed true wireless earbuds out there: as long as you have an iOS device.

There is a lot to like when it comes to using Pro’s with your iPhone. However, only when the two are paired, you can experience the full set of features, offered by these earbuds.

Music can automatically pause/play when you put the buds out of your ears. You can enable active noise-cancelling and transparency mode. There is a Dolby Atmos support for immersed audio experience while watching movies or listening to music, and many more.

An effective active noise-cancellation helps maintain your volume lower than usual since you don’t have to compensate for the outside noise. You might experience less hearing problems when using AirPods Pro in the long run.

Pro’s are also a better pick if you do a lot of phone calls since their microphones pick your voice much more precisely than Jaybirds.

Another neat feature is the scanning of your ear canal, which adjusts the frequency response accordingly. That makes them somewhat specially tailored to your ears (but only works on iOS).

Jaybird Vista provide a similar feature, although the process isn’t automatic like on AirPods Pro. You have to manually click at what volume you can hear a specific frequency, after which the app offers a personalized EQ.

Speaking of the app, that is the Jaybird Vista’s biggest strength. It offers many customizations, like different actions when pressing the physical button of the earbud, or fine-tuning the equalizer to get the sound you want.

This is how their microphones sound like:

Jaybird Vista:

Apple AirPods Pro:

Sound

That is where the differences are the most obvious. Whereas AirPods Pro prefer a more balanced sound signature with a slight treble boost, Jaybird Vista overwhelm you with punchy bass and loud midrange.

It depends on what you want. AirPods Pro are much more relaxed and balanced out of the box. With the feature that measures your ears to apply personalized EQ, these provide a balanced tuning that goes well with most music genres. There is just a small treble boost, which gives a sense of clarity.

In comparison, Vista’s have more low-end punch and an overall fun sound. The first time you play them, you are greeted with a harsh mids and crunchy high-end. Thankfully, the mobile app helps a lot here.

We were able to get them to sound almost neutral. However, their exciting nature never goes away. That is why they’re perfect for sportspeople who want a little bit more rumble in their music.

Are they good enough for bassheads? While AirPods Pro are not, Vista’s are quite appealing.

Should You Get Apple AirPods Pro or Jaybird Vista?

Both true wireless earbuds are a fantastic choice, but it depends on your needs.

Suppose you prefer a more feature-rich experience, with amazing active noise-cancellation, transparency mode, automatic pause/play function, a slightly better battery life, and you have an iPhone. In that case, AirPods Pro are a clearly superior choice.

But, you need to consider that you’re only going to experience all of this if you own an Apple device.

If you need something more robust and ready to meet the real world, then Jaybird Vista offers much more. These can survive being 3 ft (1 meter) underwater, and you can also watch them fall on the floor without worry.

Also, the app provides many customizations, letting you EQ your earbuds just the way you like. They can be punchy, balanced, bright: there are no limitations.

Apple AirPods Pro review

Jaybird Vista review

Peter Susic

From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.