Apple’s (AAPL) AirPods are among the company’s most popular iPhone accessories, generating an estimated $14.1 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. That’s thanks to their ease of use — setting them up is as easy as opening the case and tapping “connect” on your iPhone — and solid performance.
The company’s newest Pro model, the $249 AirPods Pro 3, ups the ante on both the audio and health fronts with improved sound and built-in heart rate tracking.
I’ve been using the AirPods Pro 3 for the past few days, including on a cross-country flight, throughout the workday, and during various workouts, and I’m already sold on them.
I’ve worn the AirPods Pro 2 for the better part of the last year, popping them in so often that walking to grab coffee or around the grocery store without them feels almost unnatural. And while I was satisfied with them, the Pro 3s are simply better in nearly every way.
First up, they now come with five different ear tip sizes, ranging from XX-small to large, and a redesigned shape to improve overall fit. I normally have to use different ear tips for my left and right ears, but the Pro 3s fit perfectly out of the box with the standard tips.
The AirPods Pro 3 bring improved audio and health tracking features. (Daniel Howley) ·Howley
Fit is especially important for the Pro 3 because of the new built-in heart rate trackers. Each bud can track your heart rate while you’re working out and provide a post-exercise summary of your heart rate performance and calories burned. The information is then fed into Apple’s Fitness and Health apps, where you can review it later.
And if you’re the type of person, like me, who is overly obsessed with closing your workout rings, you’ll be happy to know workouts completed using the AirPods Pro 3 are counted toward your rings. Apple said it accomplished this by integrating its smallest-ever heart rate tracker into the buds and combining them with a new AI model based on 50 million hours of data from the company’s Heart and Movement study.
The idea is to get people into Apple’s health and fitness ecosystem, whether they have an Apple Watch or not. Speaking of which, if you have an Apple Watch and are tracking your workouts with it while wearing the Pro 3, all of the heart rate sensors will work in tandem to ensure the best reading possible.
So, if your watch is having trouble tracking your heart rate because of a tattoo or poor positioning on your wrist, the AirPods will take over and vice versa.
Apple said the AirPods will work with more than 50 exercise types that can be launched via the Fitness app, ranging from outdoor walks to kickboxing to traditional strength training.
As for the audio experience, AirPods Pro 3 come with a new acoustic architecture that improves overall sound quality. And it’s impressive how much of a difference it makes. Coupled with enhanced active noise cancellation that Apple said is two times better than the Pro 2 and four times better than the original AirPods Pro, the Pro 3 earbuds provide richer audio than their predecessors. While wearing the Pro 3, I noticed portions of songs that were so low I couldn’t hear them with the Pro 2, and the bass is strong without feeling overwhelming.
The AirPods Pro 3 get a new fit and new ear tips. (Image: Howley) ·Howley
The new foam-infused ear tips make the Pro 3’s active noise cancellation so powerful that it blocked out virtually all of the cabin noise on my flight. I’ve started using the Pro 3’s Transparency mode, which lets in ambient noise, when I’m out and about so I can hear what’s going on around me — something I’d almost never do with the Pro 2.
The noise cancellation is so isolating that I recommend keeping the Pro 3’s Conversation Awareness feature on at all times. This feature cuts the noise cancellation and audio volume when it detects that you’re speaking with someone.
The upgraded audio, along with the Pro 3’s enhanced microphones, also helps with the earbuds’ hearing aid feature. And a new Conversation Boost capability helps block out background voices in places like noisy restaurants while elevating the volume of the person you’re speaking with to make them easier to hear.
AirPods Pro 3 also feature a new Live Translation function. The company is far from the first to offer such an option on its earbuds — Samsung’s and Google’s earbuds can do the same thing — but it’s a first for the AirPods, and it works surprisingly well.
I tested it using Spanish conversation audio on YouTube and listening to a Spanish speaker in person. You just have to turn on the translation feature in the AirPods settings and activate the translation app. You’ll then receive a notification that the AirPods are ready to translate, and you’re set.
The AirPods Pro 3 are still the same price at $249. (Daniel Howley) ·Howley
The AirPods’ microphones listen to the person you’re speaking with, then send the audio to your phone, which translates it on the device and feeds it into your in-ear speakers. There’s a slight delay while all of that happens, so you’ll need to be aware of that while chatting, but it’s not enough to throw you off.
It generally works best if both people are wearing AirPods so you can have a fluid back-and-forth, but the translation app will also display the conversation in both languages if the person you’re speaking with doesn’t have a pair of their own.
Finally, there’s battery life. Apple says you’ll now get eight hours of listening time with active noise cancellation turned on and 10 hours with it turned off. I got through an entire cross-country flight and more without having to charge the Pro 3. I’d normally need to pop my Pro 2 earbuds back into their case to give them some extra juice toward the end of my flight.
Overall, if you’re looking to upgrade your AirPods or purchase your first pair, the AirPods Pro 3 are an easy choice.
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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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