A major replace to Apple’s finest earbuds

Should you’re not already carrying a pair of AirPods all day, Apple’s newest suite of options might persuade you to take action. The corporate’s latest model, the AirPods Pro 3 ($249), is Apple’s most complete replace to its finest set of earbuds. Flashy new options like Live Translation and heart-rate sensing will garner the majority of the eye, however upgrades to active noise cancellation (ANC) and a major enhance in sound high quality shouldn’t be ignored. And with a notable enchancment in battery life, the corporate now gives sufficient energy so that you can use these AirPods for a whole work day. Importantly, Apple managed to do all this with out elevating the value.

The AirPods Professional 3 additionally carry lots of the identical options that made the AirPods Professional 2 such a compelling possibility for iPhone customers. These embrace the sturdy hearing health tools, hands-free entry to Siri, gesture-based notification interactions, audio sharing with one other set of AirPods, simplified setup and extra.

Since I’ve gone over all of those at size earlier than, and since there’s an extended record of updates on the AirPods Professional 3, I’ve chosen to focus totally on the brand new instruments on this overview. However you shouldn’t overlook the exhaustive set of options that the AirPods Professional have amassed through the years, particularly when you think about how Apple continues to seek out new methods to deploy its H2 chip.

Editor’s notice (on September 19 at 9:10AM ET): The AirPods Professional 3 at the moment are formally accessible in stores, and those that have pre-ordered their gadgets will probably be receiving them beginning right now. As you make your choices on whether or not or which of those you can purchase, be certain to take a look at our opinions of , , , in addition to the . We additionally revealed a more in-depth take a look at the characteristic, which has some impressions of what it’s like to make use of in actual life. As well as, Billy Steele has revealed tales on what it was wish to and an article with perception on how Apple used ANC to build its best AirPods features‘.

Design adjustments on the AirPods Professional 3

With a cursory look, you possible gained’t discover the design adjustments on the AirPods Professional 3. The corporate altered the form of those smaller earbuds to align with the geometry of the ear canal for a extra snug and safe match. After all, you’ll additionally discover the newly put in heart-rate sensor upon nearer inspection, overlaying a beforehand clean floor of the AirPods Professional 2. When you take away the brand new foam-infused ear ideas from the newest mannequin although, you’ll see the obvious variation between the second- and third-generation variations.

On the AirPods Professional 2, the grille defending the driving force sat flush with the floor of the primary housing. Now, it’s prolonged out from the remainder of the earbud, with a nozzle-like part just like what a lot of the competitors makes use of. Apple additionally revised the angle of the drivers, so sound beams extra immediately into your ears moderately than bouncing as a lot off of the edges. As such, a side-by-side comparability of the AirPods Professional 3 and AirPods Professional 2 will present you that the ear ideas are pointing in barely totally different instructions.

There are additionally some visible variations on the AirPods Professional 3’s charging case. Prefer it did for the AirPods 4 final yr, Apple has eliminated the Bluetooth pairing button solely. You’ll now double faucet on the entrance of the case close to the LED to activate that operate whereas the AirPods Professional are of their case. Moreover, identical to AirPods 4, the LED is now hidden, so that you don’t see the dot when it’s not illuminated. It’s a small factor, however as I seen on final yr’s fashions, it makes the floor of the case look cleaner.

A fast phrase about match

Due to the AirPods Professional 3’s revised curves and foam-filled ear ideas, Apple is looking this mannequin the “best-fitting AirPods ever.” Whereas I do assume that’s true, I additionally consider that the brand new match will take some getting used to — particularly in case you’ve worn the AirPods Professional 2 earlier than.

First, the brand new ideas really feel very totally different and seal off your ear canal in a extra full means than the Professional 2’s silicone-only ideas. Should you’ve used foam ear ideas earlier than, you recognize they supply higher passive noise isolation than their silicone counterparts, and that continues to be true right here. Actually, you might have to go down a dimension to seek out probably the most snug match with the AirPods Professional 3. For instance, I usually put on medium ear ideas, however these felt too tight right here. After swapping them out for the small ones, I started to know why Apple gained’t cease bragging in regards to the up to date match.

Upgraded ANC and its affect on different options

Throughout the primary two generations of the AirPods Professional, Apple had already made huge strides in lively noise cancellation. However with the AirPods Professional 3, the corporate ramped up its efforts a number of notches. Extremely-low-noise microphones mix with superior computational audio to silence much more background noise. The brand new foam-infused ear ideas play a serious position right here too, since they provide elevated passive noise isolation. This trio of enhancements allowed Apple to cowl extra of the noise spectrum, together with increased frequencies like human voices.

Within the final week, there have been a number of occasions once I had the AirPods Professional 3 in and I couldn’t hear somebody speaking proper subsequent to me. Actually, Apple says the newest mannequin cancels twice as a lot noise because the AirPods Professional 2 and 4 occasions greater than the unique AirPods Professional. Clearly, I don’t have a method to quantify that, however I can let you know the ANC efficiency on this new mannequin was noticeably stronger than earlier than.

The improved seal the AirPods Professional 3’s ear ideas supply helps make Apple’s ANC setup extra exact. This permits the lively noise cancellation system to be the muse for a number of of the corporate’s different options just like the Listening to Check, Reside Translation and extra. For the Listening to Check, now you can be in barely louder environments with out Siri asking you to relocate to a quieter place. And with Reside Translation, ANC will decrease the voice of the particular person you’re chatting with so you may deal with Siri enjoying the position of interpreter.

Reside Translation on the AirPods Professional 3

At WWDC, Apple introduced that Reside Translation can be coming to Cellphone, FaceTime and Messages in iOS 26. There was no point out then that it might come to AirPods. Skip forward to the iPhone 17 occasion and Reside Translation was simply one of the thrilling new options introduced for the AirPods Professional 3, as a result of it can permit the wearer to translate in-person conversations with Apple’s earbuds.

Google has been providing real-time translation on Pixel Buds for years, so Apple could be very late to the sport right here. Nonetheless, the AirPods Professional 3 makes use of its H2 chip in several methods, and now combines Voice Isolation, ANC and the beamforming mics to allow Reside Translation. What’s extra, you may activate it on the earbuds themselves (press and maintain on each stems), ask Siri to begin it or set the iPhone’s Motion Button to hold out the duty.

When Reside Translation begins, ANC kicks in to muffle environmental noise and to cut back the quantity of the particular person you’re chatting with. Each are executed so you may clearly hear Siri’s translation by way of your AirPods. Siri will warn you when ambient sound ranges are too excessive, asking you to maneuver to a quieter spot in order that it could possibly hear the speaker higher.

Reside Translation labored properly, at the very least for my Spanish-to-English and French-to-English exams. Plus, a real-time transcription is seen within the Translate app so you may present it to the particular person you’re chatting with — a component that’ll be helpful for worldwide journey. Simply know that in case you’re your cellphone too, you’ll see the interpretation there earlier than the audio comes by way of your AirPods. This isn’t shocking because the processing is being executed by the linked iPhone, however seeing the English model proper earlier than I heard it was barely complicated.

You will want to allow Apple Intelligence on a appropriate iPhone for Reside Translation to work. The instrument leverages Apple’s AI to translate the meanings of phrases in order that sentences have the right context. The characteristic may even be accessible on any AirPods which have the H2 chip inside, which incorporates the AirPods Professional 2 and AirPods 4 with ANC. You’ll need to download the different language models earlier than you get began, too. Apple explains that the downloads can be required for offline use, however Siri prompted me to take action to make use of Reside Translation even once I was was linked. Lastly, solely 5 languages are supported at launch: English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish. Apple says Italian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese language (simplified) are coming later this yr.

Coronary heart-rate monitoring lastly arrives

After initially debuting heart-rate sensing capabilities on the Powerbeats Pro 2, Apple is now bringing it to the AirPods Professional 3. Like with the Powerbeats mannequin, coronary heart price knowledge from the AirPods could be accessed by Apple’s personal Health app along with different exercise apps like Nike Run Membership, Runna, Ladder and Peloton. Mainly, if an app works with the Powerbeats Professional 2, it ought to work with the AirPods Professional 3, and it ought to accomplish that by the point these earbuds ship. As at all times, I count on much more integrations will probably be introduced sooner or later, so don’t panic in case your go-to app has labored with Apple gear up to now however doesn’t but assist the AirPods Professional 3.

I completely examined the brand new heart-rate sensing tech on the AirPods Professional 3 with Apple’s Health app. I’m an Apple Watch proprietor and that’s the place the majority of my stats already reside. Talking of the Watch, you don’t have to fret about conflicting streams of coronary heart price data in case you’re utilizing it in addition to the AirPods Professional 3 throughout a exercise. Apple defined that its gadgets will work collectively to offer a number of streams of information for higher protection of your exercise. What’s extra, in case you don’t put on your Apple Watch throughout a session, the Health app will use knowledge gathered from the AirPods Professional 3 to nonetheless log your stats in your Transfer, Train and Stand rings.

Throughout this overview, I used the AirPods Professional 3 to observe my coronary heart price primarily throughout outside walks. The earbuds really assist 50 totally different exercises within the Health app although, with HIIT, yoga and paddling among the many accessible choices. You’ll be able to even observe a session on the archery vary.

You’ll see stay coronary heart price metrics on the exercise display alongside stats like time and distance, and your common coronary heart price will probably be displayed within the exercise abstract once you’re executed. Coronary heart price data can also be displayed with Reside Actions on the lock display and is a faucet away on the icon within the Dynamic Island. To date, I haven’t encountered any points leaving my Watch at dwelling and relying solely on the AirPods Professional 3. The earbuds supplied a continuing stream of information to the Health app.

The AirPods Professional 3’s sound high quality

The advance to sound high quality on the AirPods Professional 3 isn’t completely attributable to its new drivers/transducers. Though these elements have been revised this technology, Apple’s largest strides within the audio division are additionally because of elevated air circulation contained in the earbuds. The corporate developed a brand new multiport acoustic structure for higher management of the air that delivers sounds into the ear. This allowed Apple to considerably enhance bass response whereas offering a wider soundstage and elevated vocal readability.

With all of that air to maneuver round, Apple needed to tweak its drivers for the duty, but additionally be certain its tuning coated all of the wanted frequencies adequately. However these transducers stay the identical dimension because the AirPods Professional 2. As I discussed, Apple additionally reconfigured their angle in order that they now beam sound extra immediately into the ear canal. You may recall that an angular adjustment was additionally a part of the corporate’s technique for enhancing audio high quality on the AirPods 4.

The advance you hear first will depend upon the model of music you select. Choose one thing with huge, bombastic drums like Deftones’ “my thoughts is a mountain” and also you’ll instantly discover the hotter, boomier bass. Go for a observe like Hayley Williams’ “True Believer” and your preliminary impression will possible be the improved vocal high quality. And in case you go for a tune like Sleep Token’s “Harmful” that’s extra atmospheric, you’ll get a terrific sense of the expanded soundstage.

Oftentimes audio firms make claims about sound high quality enhancements that don’t translate to what I really hear. With the AirPods Professional 3, all of Apple’s proclamations not solely maintain true however are apparent, observable enhancements.

Name high quality and voice efficiency

Apple’s best-in-class transparency mode has been one among my favourite issues about AirPods for years. No different firm manages to deal with ambient sound in a means that’s so clear it’s nearly as in case you aren’t carrying earbuds in any respect. With the AirPods Professional 3, Apple says it took issues even additional, making your voice and the voices of these round you sound “extra pure and vibrant.” The corporate factors particularly to Listening to Assist and Reside Translation as areas the place this fine-tuned transparency mode will assist, however it can even be a lift to voice and video calls, too.

Since Apple does such a superb job of feeding your voice again by way of the AirPods Professional 3 and different transparency-enabled AirPods fashions, you by no means really feel the necessity to discuss louder to listen to your self on calls. It enables you to calm down and converse usually, and makes a day’s value of Zoom calls a lot much less exhausting.

The AirPods Professional 3 assist Apple’s newly launched studio-quality voice recording as properly. Arriving with iOS 26, the characteristic permits you to seize higher-quality vocal clips in apps like Digicam, Voice Memos, Messages, FaceTime and any CallKit-enabled software program. And once you’re recording video with an iPhone, now you can rapidly choose AirPods as the primary audio supply. The earbuds can act as a lavalier microphone with voice pickup that’s nearer to your mouth.

The AirPods Professional 3’s battery life

Even with the entire new options, Apple nonetheless managed to increase the AirPods Professional’s battery life. With ANC enabled, now you can count on as much as eight hours of use on a cost — two hours longer than the AirPods Professional 2. This implies you would have the ability to put on the brand new mannequin for a full day of labor with out having to cost them. Moreover, Apple says that in case you’re utilizing transparency mode with the Listening to Assist characteristic, AirPods Professional 3 will last as long as 10 hours.

To date, I’ve no purpose to assume Apple has overstated battery life on the AirPods Professional 3. I haven’t carried out a straight battery rundown take a look at but as I’ve been targeted on making an attempt the entire new options at varied occasions over the previous few days. I’ll replace this overview later this week with the outcomes of my battery take a look at although.

Should you discover the promised eight hours nonetheless isn’t sufficient, a five-minute relaxation within the case will probably be sufficient to present you an hour of use. That’s lengthy sufficient to get you thru a fast exercise or a name when you want to hold issues hands-free. There is a vital caveat with the case although. Regardless of the prolonged use time on the earbuds themselves, the full battery life together with the case is decreased to 24 hours from the earlier 30. There’s additionally a brand new extremely wideband chip (U2) within the charging case that Apple says has elevated the space for Precision Discover My by one and a half occasions in comparison with the earlier model.

The competitors

Since the “regular” AirPods now supply ANC, Apple’s major competitors for the AirPods Professional 3 comes from inside its personal product lineup. The AirPods 4 with ANC supply an open-type match regardless that they’ve spectacular noise-blocking talents, so they might be extra snug for individuals who don’t like buds sticking into their ear canals. You’ll get Reside Translation there too, however you gained’t have the ability to entry heart-rate monitoring and Apple’s suite of listening to well being instruments. That may not matter to those that need to avoid wasting cash although, because the AirPods 4 with ANC are $179 versus $249 for the AirPods Professional 3.

All AirPods are actually a conduit for Apple’s ecosystem, so in case you don’t thoughts lacking some iPhone integrations and particular options, there are worthwhile options. Sony’s WF-1000XM5 stays a jack of all trades, providing a set of options that maybe solely Apple can rival. The distinction being that Sony’s instruments will work with each iOS and Android, in fact. The second-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are your finest guess for pure noise-canceling talents, and in case you demand pristine sound, think about Noble Audio’s FoKus Rex5.

Wrap-up

The AirPods Pro 3 is the largest replace to Apple’s earbuds lineup in years. The sum of the corporate’s upgrades listed here are extra important than the selection to lastly convey ANC to the “common” AirPods final yr. The mix of extra exact ANC, improved sound high quality, heart-rate monitoring, Reside Translation and longer battery life is so much to discover. And that’s not even counting the redesign and new ear ideas that supply a safer match, two gadgets that immediately handle one of many fundamental criticisms of earlier AirPods fashions.

If latest historical past is any indication, the corporate will proceed so as to add new options to this third-generation model. I extremely doubt that Apple is completed exploiting the facility of the H2 chip, so it is simply getting began with what the AirPods Professional 3 can do.