It goes with out saying that AirPods Pro 2 are day by day workhorses, so when Apple made the third era of its flagship earbuds official, people could not wait to know the way the Cupertino big might prime that have.
I’ve bought you. I spent the previous 5 days with AirPods Pro 3, utilizing them in a variety of areas, together with a transcontinental flight from San Francisco, California, to Newark, New Jersey, utilizing a number of listening modes, and even throughout a exercise or two.
At a fast look, they don’t look drastically totally different from the second era. However, upon nearer inspection – and within the hand or ear – you’ll discover the case is barely taller and longer, and the AirPods Pro 3 earpieces themselves look extra according to AirPods 4. The driver housing and ear ideas at the moment are extra curved to take a seat higher within the ear and supply consolation for longer use.
They felt totally different at first, however after just a few hours into the flight I felt at dwelling with these. The larger change is that the ear ideas now mix foam and silicone, permitting them to take a seat extra comfortably whereas additionally offering a stronger seal.
More sizes are included in the box: extra-extra small, extra small, large, and extra-large, with medium installed by default. I’ve always used medium and stuck with that size on AirPods Pro 3, though Apple notes some may need to adjust. The Ear Tip Fit test is still in Settings when AirPods are connected.
I never had major issues with AirPods Pro falling out, but on a walk and during stretching, I didn’t feel these slipping, even when sweating. Apple also upped the resistance rating to IP57, meaning the buds and case can handle sweat, dust, and now full submersion in fresh water up to a meter deep, for up to 30 minutes. This is a step above Powerbeats Pro 2, which prime out at IPX4. Even with out ear hooks or wingtips, the adjustable path and improved ideas lock into the ear extra securely.
This higher passive seal additionally works with rearranged internals to spice up the audio. AirPods Pro 3 sound nice throughout genres – tracks from Bruce Springsteen, Maggie Rogers, Sabrina Carpenter, John Fogerty, and Olivia Rodrigo provide wonderful separation, spotlight all elements of a tune, and ship noticeably stronger bass.
Apple’s H2 Chip nonetheless powers the expertise, and the AirPods workforce – together with audio engineers – appear to be making higher use of it. On a tour of Apple’s Audio Lab at Apple Park in Cupertino, I noticed the place they measure ears, take a look at Spatial Audio, and noise cancellation. I additionally noticed an exploded view of AirPods Pro 3 – behind glass, no pictures – which confirmed how a lot {hardware} is packed inside.
Despite the numerous sensors, drivers, batteries, vents, and silicon that must be inside, Apple up to date the interior design for higher airflow – important for audio playback. Much of it comes from a redesigned prime vent, which clearly helps ship higher sound.
For occasion, with the studio reduce of Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, the observe races to life with a wall of sound that hits with substantial oomph however nonetheless enables you to hear the rolling drum earlier than keys, guitar, and horn are available in. It handles the complete vary of frequencies nicely, and the clear separation between vocals, devices, and saxophone avoids muddying or artifacts.
Patti Smith’s People Have the Power delivers an identical rush, beginning with robust drum hits after which larger frequency vocals. Pop tracks like Manchild by Sabrina Carpenter take a look at heavy bass alongside higher-frequency vocals on a packed combine. Apple says Adaptive EQ has been up to date to take higher benefit of the brand new audio capabilities, adjusting the combo in actual time.
AirPods Pro 3 sound vibrant, with a a lot larger bass increase than I anticipated. Spatial Audio tracks are additionally a deal with, although as my colleague Becky Scarrott famous, true lossless high-resolution audio continues to be not supported.
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Apple promised stronger energetic noise cancellation and even after my quick time with them, I can let you know that AirPods Pro 3 largely ship (extra on this shortly). They additionally provide one of the best transparency mode I’ve heard on earbuds, letting environmental sounds in with out buzz or artifacts. My personal voice additionally sounds a bit extra pure, a welcome improve with this era.
On the noise cancellation facet, Apple says these are 2x higher than AirPods Pro 2 and 4x higher than AirPods Pro or AirPods 4. In my testing so far, they’re definitely quicker at blocking sound, and higher at levelling from the get-go.
Whether at Apple Park or on an airplane, they reduce noise all the way down to a hush shortly. That slight vacuum sensation is available in quicker now and blocks a wider vary of frequencies without delay. Still, do not count on miracles: if a sound comes out of nowhere, it’s potential that it nonetheless makes it by way of the algorithm earlier than it’s blocked.
The AirPods Pro 3 lowered cabin noise and the roar of a Boeing 757-200 engine to a close to whisper throughout my flight. My physique nonetheless picked up vibrations, however with playback at about 50% quantity, exterior noise was totally blocked. The TechSwitch audio workforce will nonetheless want to check these in opposition to Bose and Sony, however early in-flight outcomes are spectacular.
The different main {hardware} addition is a heart-rate sensor: a tiny Apple-made infrared sensor that makes use of invisible crimson gentle to seize readings 256 occasions per second inside your ear. This can work with the Apple Watch, through which case the software program chooses probably the most correct feed, or you possibly can observe exercises with simply an iPhone and see the readings from AirPods. It all lives within the up to date Fitness app, and the benefit of AirPods Pro 3 is that it helps monitoring over 50 sorts of exercise.
Heart-rate monitoring on AirPods Pro 3 was as fast because the watch, with outcomes normally inside a digit or two. I examined this with two separate telephones, each recording the identical exercise, as soon as related to the AirPods Pro 3 and one other to an Apple Watch. In the Health app, you possibly can test whether or not the supply is the watch or AirPods Pro 3, although it’s not entrance and heart.
While coronary heart price is unique to AirPods Pro 3, Live Translation – the opposite standout function – can also be coming to AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2, which share the H2 chip. You’ll additionally want an iPhone 15 or newer to make use of this, and whether European markets will get the feature is still uncertain and honestly, unlikely on the time of writing.
AirPods Pro 3 have interaction noise cancellation, use beamforming microphones to hear, and translate supported languages in close to actual time. You hear the interpretation in your ears and see a script on the iPhone through the Translate app.
It’s not instantaneous – translations take just a few seconds after a pause – offered you’ve remembered to obtain the language mannequin. That’s a win for privateness and particularly helpful for journey, in addition to a differentiator from different earbuds that supply an identical mode.
Live Translation helps English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish at launch (which is September 19, 2025 for AirPods Pro 3, however coming from at the moment for the Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with ANC, as a result of September 15 is when iOS 26 rolls out – and your earbuds ought to get the replace), with Italian, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese coming by the top of 2025. I examined Portuguese at Apple Park and Spanish and German with a good friend – all labored fairly nicely.
You can activate translation by asking Siri or by holding each stems. It shortly translated phrases like “I would buy something sweet, but there is no money in my pocket?” from German to English just a few seconds after it was mentioned, although it typically took a few tries.
Another phrase, “What do you need from me?” translated in about three seconds.
The performance might be as helpful – and as emotionally highly effective – because the Hearing Health options launched final 12 months on AirPods Pro 2. I’m keen to do that extra on future journeys. And sure, it even works for translating YouTube movies or TV reveals, although with some endurance.
Finally, battery life: in the event you’ve ever needed to take AirPods Pro 2 out and pop them within the case for a cost firstly of a journey (and I believe that is all of us), you will admire this. AirPods Pro 3 ship 8 hours with ANC on and 10 hours with Transparency – extra in the event you decrease the quantity. On my six-hour flight dwelling, I didn’t recharge as soon as, and I might get by way of a full workday with out topping up.
The case, although, is a bit taller and longer and now rated for 24 hours, in comparison with 30 hours on AirPods Pro 2. Apple redesigned it for the second-generation Ultrawide Band chip however didn’t add a much bigger battery, which appears like a missed alternative. Even so, in-ear time lasts for much longer, which has been a spotlight to this point.
Maybe better of all, Apple hasn’t raised the worth within the United States or the United Kingdom. AirPods Pro 3 value the identical as AirPods Pro 2 at $249 within the US and £219 within the UK, although they’re barely pricier in Australia at AU$429 versus AU$399.
These are Apple’s greatest AirPods but. While the upgrades aren’t evening and day over the second era, the enhancements add up. Longer in-ear time, a safer and cozy match, stronger sound and noise cancellation, plus the bonus of heart-rate monitoring and translation (relying on the place you reside), all make AirPods Pro 3 a worthy improve. And in the event you’ve been holding onto the first-generation, it’s an wonderful time to improve.