The key reason Apple has stuck the "Pro" label on the AirPods Pro, besides the desire to charge more for them, is because alongside the generally good sound of AirPods, they're the first to feature active noise cancellation as a feature. Again, Apple is not inventing a whole new category here.
Some of the AirPods Pro's – I told you that grammar was awful – noise blocking comes from the fact that you're sticking silicon tips into your ears backed by solid plastic, creating a layer of noise isolation. The AirPods Pro also use active noise cancellation with the external microphones analysing audio 200 times per second and creating a blocking wave within your ear to cancel it out.
For such small headphones, the level of noise reduction this creates is genuinely quite impressive. No, you're not suddenly sitting in a total echo-free chamber or anything, but I've successfully used them to block out most of a nearby TV program while listening to music of my own, or just to cut down on the noise of one of my neighbours who I'd swear is involved in a torrid affair with his leafblower.
The end result is audio that's distinctly richer than you'd get from the original and 2nd generation AirPods, with noticeably more striking bass on tracks that feature it. Cranking out some Enter Sandman gave it the proper gravitas Metallica's track deserves, and a live version of Hall & Oates' Sara Smile presented a much more complete soundstage even on a weaker recording of that track.
Actual pairing will depend on the Bluetooth device you're trying to connect to. For any iOS device it's almost instantaneous. Open up the case and you'll get an onscreen prompt letting you know they're pairing. For non-Apple gear, you'll have to press the button on the outside of the case and search for them under your Bluetooth settings.
I've tested pairing the AirPods Pro to a range of Android devices without particular issue, although of course, Apple would prefer it if you kept it all in the Apple family.
The AirPods Pro have fairly minimalistic controls, based around tapping both sides of either earpiece stalk. You can use either ear for activating Siri on an iOS device, or for changing between active noise cancelling and a pass-through audio mode that Apple refers to as "transparency" mode.
Transparency does make it much easier to hear the outside world by effectively flipping its noise cancelling on its head. It's certainly effective for listening intently to the world around you, but here I did hit one of the very few problems with the AirPods Pro. The action for hitting both sides doesn't always engage cleanly, leaving you squeezing at a tiny microphone stub in public and looking somewhat foolish. Frankly, I can do that without your help, Apple!