AirPods Pro 3 review: Give and take

The AirPods Pro 3 are, as you'd expect, Apple's best wireless earbuds yet. It would genuinely be surprising if that wasn't the case; something needs to go horribly wrong for a company to release a worse version of their previous product. But while the AirPods Pro 3 are undeniably a better product than the previous generation, they've also come with a few trade-offs. It's not quite a linear upgrade. While I think the vast majority of users will be happy with the whole "give and take" of the AirPods Pro 3, it's still worth understanding the whole extent of the changes.

Out of the box, you (might) immediately notice the AirPods Pro 3 case (below, left) is just that little bit bigger than that of the past models (below, right). It certainly isn't egregious, nor does it veer into the kind of territory of fitness-focused Beats, but it's worth noting for those with limited pocket real estate.

Apple has also axed the physical pairing button from the case. Instead of holding the button on the rear, you double-tap the front of the case to put the AirPods in pairing mode. While this change is neutral in the long run, it is far less intuitive from the get-go.

Despite the larger case, overall battery life has decreased. The AirPods Pro 3 have a total listening time of 24 hours, down from 30 hours with the AirPods Pro 2. The upshot is the earbuds last longer before you need to top them up. You'll get up to eight hours per charge with noise cancellation on with the AirPods Pro 3, compared to six hours with the AirPods Pro 2. While having to charge the case a little more often might be a downgrade, the fact you can use the AirPods themselves for longer should be a net positive for most.

The earbuds themselves have had a bit of a redesign too. While they look pretty similar, the angle at which the AirPods tip enters your ear is a little different. Apple says this offers a more secure fit. I didn't have any issues with previous AirPods Pro 2 falling out of my ears, but I also put the AirPods Pro 3 through the paces. I've worn them on 10km runs and while bouldering, and didn't have any issues with them popping out.

Apple has also changed the material the AirPods Pro tips are made of to a silicone foam blend, rather than just silicone. This makes them a little firmer, and helps with the outstanding noise cancellation, which I'll touch on next. For me, it makes the AirPods Pro 3 more noticeable when I'm wearing them. They're certainly still comfortable, but I personally found the previous generation more comfortable.

I also get a weird little thing with foam-based earbud tips where I can feel steps reverberate in my head. This hasn't been as much of an issue with me on the AirPods Pro 3 - especially if I can get them exactly in the right spot in my ear canal - but it has meant having to adjust them while running. I've not spoken to anyone else who's had a similar issue with foam-based earbud tips, so it could just be a me thing, but I figure it's worth mentioning.

But back to noise cancelling. It truly is fantastic, and the slight downgrade in comfort is worth it for the improvements in noise cancellation. When I'm walking along the highway, it's almost dead silent, is crazy. Some noises can still come through, but it's a solid step up from the previous generation.

When it comes to sound quality, the AirPods Pro 3 still sound excellent. I'd call them a little better than the AirPods Pro 2, but the improvements are subtle to my ears, rather than leaps and bounds. Bass can be a tad punchier, and busier songs can be just that little bit clearer.

One entirely new feature is a heart rate monitor. If you're working out with the AirPods Pro 3, they can track your heart rate. On a 15-minute treadmill run I tracked with Apple's Fitness app (across two different phones), the AirPods Pro 3 reported the same average heart rate as my Apple Watch. The distance, unsurprisingly, was well off, however, as were the estimated calories burnt.

If you're using the AirPods Pro 3 and an Apple Watch together to track a workout, your heart rate information will be pulled from whatever device is giving the strongest reading. This kind of redundancy is almost certainly overkill for most, but some might find it useful.

It's worth noting that the heart rate monitor currently won't work with Android. This isn't all that surprising, but Android apps can use the heart rate monitor in Apple's Powerbeats Pro 2. I wouldn't expect this to change anytime soon.

And while not strictly exclusive to the AirPods Pro 3, Apple's recent earbuds now support live translation for certain languages. If someone is speaking to you in a foreign language, you'll get a translation in English in your AirPods. Right now, it only supports French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The tech sure is nifty, but a little uneven. I tested it watching a Spanish movie, and there's a noticeable delay in when you get the translation from when words were first spoken. And unless whoever you're speaking to is wearing compatible AirPods too, you'll need to use your iPhone to playback the translation of what you're saying.

There could also be some initial societal barriers when using live translate, where the person you're speaking to might not be aware of why you're wearing AirPods. Given wearing headphones is typically a sign of listening to music or a podcast, I can see there being a bit of initial awkwardness trying to navigate a conversation in a non-English-speaking country.

One area where Apple hasn't made any improvements is repairability. If the batteries die in either the case or the earbuds themselves, you need to replace them. While this is all but standard for wireless earbuds, we've started to see some progress in this space. Google's Pixel Buds 2a have a replaceable battery in the case. While you still can't replace the batteries in the earbuds, it's a step forward, and it would be good to see Apple do similar. It would be nice to know you can repair an AirPod with degrading battery life rather than binning it as e-waste.

AirPods Pro 3 - Final Thoughts

The AirPods Pro 3 are some of the very best wireless earbuds on the market, even if not everything about them is a linear improvement. If they're your first pair of AirPods, they're easy to recommend, but if you're coming from an older model, changes like the different feel might surprise you. 

If you’ve got OG AirPods Pro or AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Pro 3 do offer tangible improvements. The excellent noise cancellation is alone enough reason to consider them. But before you take the plunge, I'd try and get into an Apple Store and test the fit and feel. I'm sure it won't be an issue for most, but it's the kind of thing that’s worth checking before you commit to spending $429.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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