We have been waiting for the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds update forever. I preordered the Apple AirPods Pro 3 as soon as they were available and even engraved my memoji on it. I’ve been testing the Apple AirPods Pro 3 for about two months now, taking them everywhere with me, from sweaty gym sessions to flights to the West Coast. Apple made us wait three years for this H3-powered update. The big question is: do the new health features and new design justify shelling out $249 again?
DESIGN AND FIT – AirPods Pro 3 Earbuds
At first glance, the buds look familiar. The iconic short stems are still there, but they are slightly shorter and more angled. You can barely see any differences between the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3. The case is still small and can fit in my pants pocket easily.
There’s no button on the case? Apple ditched the physical pairing button on the back in favor of a capacitive touch area on the front, similar to the AirPods 4. It looks cleaner, but I’ll admit—I miss the tactile “click” when resetting them.
They now come with foam-infused silicone tips. They come in 5 sizes, even XXSmall for tiny ears. I usually struggle with ear fatigue after a few hours, but these felt softer and gripped my ear better during a run than the pure silicone ones ever did. I’m using the medium eartip. That size seals in nicely and doesn’t irritate me. You can take a fit test on your iPhone to see what works best for you. It took me a bit to get used to. These earbuds don’t fit like the predecessor. You have to make sure to do the lock and twist to set them in place.
SOUND AND EXPERIENCE: The H3 Difference
The new H3 chip is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. As for the audio quality, the soundstage feels wider. On tracks with heavy layering, I could separate the bass from the vocals much better than on the Gen 2. The bass is punchy. Very impressive for earbuds. Even with punchy bass, it doesn’t drown out the mids.
Spatial Audio features are great. Head tracking is instant. There’s zero lag when I turn my head while watching a movie on the iPad. It’s spooky how good it is. I always find myself double-checking whether the sound is coming from my earbuds or my iPad.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): “We Outside, But We Don’t Hear it.”
Active noise cancellation (ANC) is one of the reasons people would choose the AirPods Pro over other AirPods models. It’s a key feature.
Apple claims noise cancellation is better on the Pro 3. Worked well on the train, which I take almost daily. You barely hear the subway rumbling underneath you as you ride. Everything around you sounds dull. It’s not total silence, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten in an earbud.
Conversation Awareness is a hard one for me. I always feel like I’m yelling when I wear both earbuds and I start talking, no matter how low I talk. I did try it out, though, for testing purposes, of course. This feature was hit-or-miss on the old model, but for the most part, the Pro 3 got it. As soon as I ordered my coffee, the volume dipped instantly and transparency mode kicked in. No more awkward “What did you say?” moments with people or shuffling to quickly remove an earbud.
This is the headline feature. The AirPods Pro 3 now feature Heart Rate Monitoring and Body Temperature Sensing. To be fair, I prefer to use “workout headphones” at the gym and not my regular lifestyle earbuds. I know everyone doesn’t do that, though.
I tested out the new heart-rate features while on the treadmill. There’s no way for me to see how consistent the readings are. I don’t have an Apple Watch to compare it against. If you trust the numbers and the heart-rate monitor’s consistency, it’s great to use instead of wearing a bulky watch.
BATTERY LIFE ON AIRPODS PRO 3
Buds: I’m squeezing out about 7 hours of listening time with ANC on. That is a good jump from the 6 hours on the Pro 2. Of course, if you’re on the go, you can get up to another 30 hours from the charging case. The Pro 3 charges in the case via USB-C. You can also charge it wirelessly.
VERDICT
If you are still rocking the original AirPods Pro or the Lightning-port Gen 2s, this is a must-upgrade. I’ve had my Lightning-port Gen 2 AirPods Pro for a couple of years now, so I needed the upgrade. The jump in longer battery life and the improved fit are worth it. If you’re heavy into fitness tracking, you might upgrade anyway to get those features.
However, those who bought the USB-C AirPods Pro 2 last year can probably wait to upgrade.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
$249
Pros
- Durable Build
- Five eartip sizes available
- Long Battery Life
- Great for smaller ears
Cons
- Fit takes a bit of getting used to
- Capacitive touch button on charging case
