The AirPods Pro 3 are the best earbuds/earphones you can buy

Let’s cut to the chase: the US$249 AirPods Pro 3 are the best earbuds/ear phones I’ve ever used. I’ve used the AirPods Pro 2 for years, and  the next gen takes it to the next level.

Live Translation

For me the highlight feature is Live Translation. Even though it’s in beta, it works pretty well at enabling in-person communication across select languages (English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, for now). Note that you’ll need a compatible iPhone to use the feature.

To use Live Translation with your AirPods Pro 3, ensure Apple Intelligence is enabled, open the Translate app on your iPhone, select the languages, and then initiate the translation by pressing and holding both AirPods stems, saying “Hey Siri, start Live Translation,” or using the Action Button on your iPhone. The other person’s words will be translated and played in your AirPods, while your responses will be shown on the iPhone screen. 

To interact with someone who doesn’t have this hands-free capability, there’s an option to use iPhone as a horizontal display, showing the live transcription of what the user is saying in the other person’s preferred language. When the other person responds, their speech is translated into the user’s preferred language with AirPods.

As Apple notes, it’s even more useful for longer conversations when both users are wearing their own AirPods with Live Translation enabled from their iPhone. ANC on AirPods lowers the volume of the other person speaking so that it’s easier to focus on the translation while staying connected in the interaction.

By the way, the Live Translation feature will be coming to the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, as long as they’re paired with an iPhone running iOS 26.

ANC and Transparency

Speaking of ANC (Active Noise Cancellation), it’s even better in the AirPods Pro 3 than the second generation. The new earbuds pack a new multiport acoustic architecture that, per Apple, precisely controls the airflow that carries sound into the ear.

Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 offer up to 2× more active noise cancellation than the AirPods Pro 2, and up to 4× more than the original AirPods Pro. My anecdotal evidence based on using generations two and three indicates that’s about right, thought I can’t prove it empirically.

With a more personalized Transparency, your voice and the voices of those with whom you’re conversing sound more natural.

Design and fit

The AirPods Pro 3 are much more comfortable to wear for long periods of time than their predecessor. Apple says this is possible as the internal architecture of the earbuds was completely re-engineered to make each AirPod smaller, while the external geometry of the ear tip was aligned to the center of the body for increased stability.

Just as important: there are new foam-infused ear tips come in five sizes, including a new XXS size, so there should be a size to accommodate every size ear. And the tips are now infused with foam for greater passive noise isolation.

The AirPods Pro 3 are durable thanks to their IP57 sweat and water resistance. The former is up from IP54 for the AirPods Pro 2.

By definition, an IP57 rating means the AirPods Pro 3 could withstand temporary immersion in up to one meter of water. However, Apple’s marketing only promises that they “can handle the sweatiest workouts and even a sudden downpour.”

Battery life

Apple says that the AirPods Pro 3 provide up to eight hours of music playback — a 33 percent increase over the previous generation. I’ve found that to be true, but ….

…. they actually offer less overall battery life than AirPods Pro 2 when combined with the charging case. AirPods Pro 2 offered 24 hours of battery life from the case and six hours from the buds, for a total of 30 hours. AirPods Pro 3 offer eight hours from the buds and 16 hours from the case, for a total of 24 hours. 

What’s going on here? Apple had to redesign the charging case to accommodate the new angle of the earbuds. The AirPods Pro 3 charging case is slightly taller than before, and Apple had to strike a balance between the size of the case and battery life.

By the way, the AirPods Pro 3 charging case is equipped with Apple’s second-generation U2 chip for Ultra Wideband, allowing the Precision Finding feature to work at longer distances in the Find My app.

Sound quality

The AirPods Pro 3 sound even better than the AirPods Pro 2 and every other wearable I’ve tested. Their next-generation Adaptive EQ beefs up the bass response, widens the soundstage so every instrument shines, and improves vocal clarity to higher frequencies across music, shows, and calls.

Heart rate monitoring

For the first time, users can utilize AirPods Pro 3 to measure heart rate and track over 50 workout types with the new experience in the Fitness app on iPhone. I tested the heart rate feature to get a feel for it. However, you should probably check out some other reviews to get more details on this feature. I generally prefer to workout — especially my daily runs — with nothing in my ears. But that’s just me. 

That said, from my brief testing, I found the heart rate feature pretty accurate for such a small in-ear sensor, though not as accurate as on my Apple Watch. However, you can wear the AirPods Pro 3 and the Apple Watch together to receive an even more accurate heart rate reading during your workouts. 

On a kinda-related note, Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 expand on the world’s first end-to-end hearing health experience introduced last fall. However, I don’t wear a hearing aid, so I can’t vouch for the earbuds’ hearing aid features. 

However, I can vouch for the AirPods Pro 3’s comfort, sound quality, and intriguing features. Apple has taken a good product and made it even better.

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