Three years on from their predecessors, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 are lastly right here, upgrades right here and tweaks there – and, in a pleasant contact, a value improve of precisely 0% within the US, and even slight lower in value within the UK. But ignore the opposite headlines you have been seeing in regards to the buds.
If you have seen one Apple Event, you have seen all of them: the corporate will make a large track and dance about options {that a}) will not work till months after launch, b) will solely have an effect on a staggeringly small variety of individuals with corresponding flagship Apple gadgets and/or c) are already commonplace in rival merchandise.
That was no different with the AirPods Pro 3, as Apple unveiled a few headline-grabbing features that I’ll get to in a minute, and quickly rushed over two important specs which are far more important than anything else the Cupertino giant talked about. And I think that was a mistake.
These two specs (and one bonus extra) are the real upgrades over the AirPods Pro 2. Firstly, let me snidely downplay the 2 important options earlier than I let you know what you ought to be caring about.
Driving headlines, not buys
As I see it, there are two new options Apple made a fuss about through the Apple Event. Firstly, there is a reside translation function: the AirPods Pro 3 will hear individuals chattering to you in a overseas language, and can translate what they are saying. Apparently, the answer to how inconceivably impolite it’s for individuals to attempt to have a dialog with you whereas their AirPods are nonetheless in is to permit these individuals to additionally be impolite in international locations that are not their native one.
But extra critically: I’ve examined this function on different buds and whereas I’ll spare you the main points for an additional article, the interpretation delay and normal existence of background noises in most contexts makes them exhausting to make use of fluently. Oh, and simply to reiterate, sporting AirPods whilst you’re speaking to individuals is simply impolite.
The second new function is that the AirPods Pro 3 can monitor your coronary heart fee whilst you’re sporting them. Again, not a brand new function for headphones, and it bumps up towards the identical drawback that these different buds had (and, if we’re being sincere, health trackers have): it is simply not as correct as bespoke equipment for a similar objective.
Apple allows you to use its Fitness app to trace exercises solely utilizing headphones, and in line with its promotional video it will blast a robotic-sounding ‘motivator’ into your ears whilst you achieve this. Honestly, if you wish to hear somebody who would clearly be elsewhere supplying you with half-hearted constructive reinforcement whilst you train, simply discover an unwilling pal and promise them dinner afterwards. It’d prevent cash.
That could make it sound like I’m down on the AirPods Pro 3, however my intention was as a substitute to downplay the 2 options that Apple marketed, so as to make my very own suggestions sound much more engaging. Instead of translation and coronary heart fee monitoring, let me reveal the 2 precise upgrades of the brand new buds.
But there are massive upgrades!
Apple did point out the AirPods Pro 3’s actual upgrades in its presentation, nevertheless it spend so little time doing in order that I’m satisfied even it did not understand how essential they’re. That’s as a result of, for individuals who aren’t devoted tech followers (talking as one: I’m a contributor, not a full-time TechSwitch group member, in any case), it is the precise helpful modifications, the little belongings you discover day-to-day, that make the true distinction. And the Pro 3 have two, or two-and-half, or two-and-an-honorable-mention, of these.
I’ll begin with the smallest of the true upgrades, in order that I can construct up. That’s the IP ranking, and I can already really feel some individuals trying to see the place the large ‘X’ shut button is on the web page. Stick with me! IP ranking is essential.
IP stands for Ingress Protection, and it is a certification which measures how properly merchandise stand as much as wonderful particles (mud and sand are the 2 biggies) and moisture (in all probability water). Almost each tech gadget could have an IP ranking, and if one thing does not, I’d advocate considering actually exhausting earlier than shopping for it.
Gadgets should be hardy to outlive on a regular basis life, particularly headphones; they will get misplaced in a lint-filled pocket, bombarded with rain for those who get caught in a storm, dropped onto a sandy seaside for those who frolick within the dunes in the midst of the evening, the hypothetical examples go on. When it involves an IP ranking, greater numbers is at all times higher.
Apple did the unique AirPods Pro soiled with an IPX4 ranking, however bumped that as much as IP54 for the Pro 2. But it is gone higher (manner higher) for the brand new fashions which have an IP57 ranking.
Let’s undergo what meaning. The first quantity refers back to the ingress towards strong particles, and 5 is the second-best ranking (it goes as much as 6). It denotes that the AirPods Pro 2 and 3 each will not have their workings disrupted by wonderful substances like mud or sand, though they’ll allow them to in in small quantities (in contrast to an IP6X machine).
But the second quantity, which refers back to the safety towards moisture, is the place the essential upgrades are. An IPX4 machine like the primary two generations of AirPods can stand up to sprays of water, however nothing extra intentional like a jet or beam of water or, God forbid, immersion in a liquid.
Not the case with an IPX7 machine although, which might get dunked in water of as much as a meter in depth, for 30 minutes.
That could sound excessive, however you at all times need your gadget to be higher protected than you suppose you will want, merely to account for unpredictable quandaries life throws at you. And what if one fell out and right into a puddle? The Pro 3 could be wonderful – the IP ranking proves it.
That’s a cool addition, and it might prevent having to purchase a brand new pair of AirPods once you’re caught in nasty climate. And that is additionally true for a brand new function of the case, an improved chip which makes the situation monitoring higher, so that you’re much less more likely to completely lose them. But they are not my favourite improve:
Numbers: they go up
The greatest improve of the AirPods Pro 3 is a quantity going up; particularly the battery life quantity, which has gone up from 6 hours of listening to 8 hours with ANC deployed – or 10 hours with Transparency on (4 hours greater than the earlier iteration). To quote Owen Wilson: “Wow”. That’s in all probability not what you are saying, seeing a quantity improve by two (or 4), however it is best to.
For me, and I’d wager extra individuals than would care to confess it contemplate battery life probably the most essential specs of earbuds. The distinction from first rate to nice audio high quality is a pleasant enchancment, however the distinction from first rate to nice battery life can change how lengthy you pay attention when travelling, once you’re away out of your charger or when you might want to take a very lengthy name. Essentially, any music is best than no music, since you ran out of juice (once more).
And let’s admit it; Apple’s by no means been nice with regards to battery life. My iPad Pro lasts for a few web page of writing earlier than it conks out, and iPhones not often crack the single-day barrier earlier than needing to be recharged. The AirPods Pro 2 hit 6 hours of listening and that is not adequate in 2025 – so I’ve at hand it to the tech big for enhancing that.
I’ve examined myriad headphones for TechSwitch through the years, and in that point I’ve come to treat 8 hours because the ‘customary’ battery life. If a bud lasts for 7 hours of listening, it is under common. If it lasts for 9 hours, it is above common. You in all probability know the way averages work, however I wished to make that clear.
For Apple, an organization which has rested within the sub-standard battery life class for a very long time, to place out buds that really meet the common is nothing wanting a revolution. It’s improbable!
Admittedly as a reviewer, it is annoying that I can not take bang-average buds and say “at least it lasts longer than the AirPods” when I’m struggling to seek out issues to say, nevertheless it’s nice for music followers who need to pay attention for lengthy intervals with out doing the dreaded factor of shopping for non-Apple buds.
Of course, this stat is not set in stone as we have not really examined the AirPods Pro 3 but. Wait for our overview to make sure, however when it does come out, the battery life is what it is best to actually be listening to.