Anecdote:<p>Before the firmware update, they were a bit pressure-heavy and would create the "stuffed ears" feeling that I'm familiar with from Bose nausea-inducing headphones.<p>A little while ago, they stopped doing that, which was really nice, but I didn't quite notice and they continue to cancel noise to the degree they always did.<p>EDIT2: I noticed a couple weeks ago that noise was leaking into my AirPods, so I re-did the ear fit test and this time it said they weren’t a good fit. I went one size up and now it said they were, and honestly now it’s better than it was on old firmware when I first got them. I bet that’s about when the firmware update happened! Maybe the noise canceling changed slightly because the tip fit algorithm changed slightly.<p>EDIT: "Stuffed ears" notes for a bunch, since I guess I'm "lucky" to be sensitive to this:<p>AirPods Pro: minimal but present until it was gone w/ update<p>Beats Studio Pro 3: not present since purchase ~2-3 years ago<p>Bose QC15: not present since purchase 10-15 years ago<p>Bose modern (past five years): significant presence, did not have a chance to test differing levels of cancellation