AirFly Pro 2 Review: The Ultimate Travel Accessory

If you travel often, you already know the struggle of in-flight entertainment. You sit down, pull out your premium noise-canceling earbuds, and realize you can't connect them to the screen in front of you. You are stuck using the cheap, uncomfortable headphones the airline hands out.

The AirFly Pro 2 by Twelve South solves exactly that. It plugs into any standard 3.5mm headphone jack and transmits the audio directly to your wireless headphones. Let's take a look at what's new in this second-generation device and see if it's worth a spot in your carry-on.

What's in the box

The unboxing experience is straightforward and travel-friendly. Inside the packaging, you get the AirFly Pro 2 dongle, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a small grey drawstring travel pouch.

The pouch is a great touch. It's roomy enough to hold the dongle, the charging cable, and even your AirPods Pro case all in one place. You can toss the whole package into your backpack and know exactly where everything is when you board your flight.

A revamped design and layout

When you put the AirFly Pro 1 and the AirFly Pro 2 side-by-side, the physical changes are immediately obvious. The second-generation model is slightly larger and features a completely redesigned button layout.

You now get dedicated volume up (+) and volume down (-) buttons right on the front. This sounds great on paper, but it does come with a minor caveat. Depending on where the headphone jack is located on your specific airplane seat, the dongle might hang in an awkward spot, making those front-facing buttons tricky to reach.

The most useful physical upgrade is the new dedicated On/Off switch on the side. This is a massive improvement for preserving battery life. If you aren't actively using the device, you just flick it off. The standard TX (Transmit) and RX (Receive) switch also makes a return, letting you easily toggle between sending audio to your headphones or receiving audio to play through a car stereo.

Effortless dual pairing

Traveling with a partner? The original model allowed you to connect two pairs of headphones, but the process was tedious.

The AirFly Pro 2 fixes this by adding two dedicated pairing buttons on the side of the device. You simply press the first button to pair your headphones, and press the second button to pair your partner's. It completely removes the friction of shared listening, making it incredibly easy to watch the same in-flight movie together without getting tangled in wires.

Better audio and battery under the hood

The internal upgrades are where this device really shines. The AirFly Pro 2 is powered by a new Qualcomm QCC3056 audio chip, which brings support for Bluetooth 5.3. This gives you a much more stable, reliable connection with your headphones.

You also get support for aptX Adaptive audio, alongside new echo-canceling and noise-suppression technology. This is especially helpful if you use the device in RX mode to take phone calls in an older car.

Battery life gets a nice bump, offering over 25 hours of playback. That is more than enough to get you through the longest international flights.

Pro tip: If you ever find your battery dead mid-flight, you can use a standard USB-C to USB-C cable to quickly charge the dongle directly from your iPhone.

What works well

• The dedicated On/Off switch: Instantly killing the power saves a ton of battery life when the device is sitting in your bag.
• Simple dual pairing: The two dedicated pairing buttons make sharing audio with a travel companion frictionless.
• Bluetooth 5.3: The upgraded Qualcomm chip provides a rock-solid wireless connection and noticeably better audio quality.

What could be better

• The included cable: Twelve South includes a USB-A to USB-C cable. A modern USB-C to USB-C cable would have been much more useful.
• Slightly bulkier footprint: The extra buttons make the device slightly bigger than the first generation.
• Missing codec support: It still lacks native AAC codec support when in transmit mode.
• No Apple Find My integration: A device this small is easy to lose. Built-in location tracking would be a perfect addition for a future version.

Is the upgrade worth it?

The original first-generation model retails for $54.99. The new AirFly Pro 2 is priced at $59.99.

For just a five-dollar difference, the choice is easy. You should absolutely pay the premium for the second generation. The upgraded battery life, the stability of Bluetooth 5.3, the dedicated power switch, and the simplified dual-pairing buttons make it a vastly superior device.

If you are still traveling with wired headphones just for the in-flight screen, the AirFly Pro 2 is a must-buy.