Apple’s AirPods Pro are the best-selling headphones on the planet for good reason. Through the first two iterations of its high-end earbuds, they provided industry-leading noise canceling and call quality, as well as good sound.
The AirPods Pro 3 are better than ever, with much-needed improvements, like increased battery life joining nice-to-have additions like twice the sound reduction (according to Apple), heartbeat monitoring, and software extras like real-time translation.
The third-gen AirPods Pro ever are the best sounding, easiest to use, and most life-proof buds for iOS I’ve tried. Are buds from Google, Sony, Bose, and others as good or better in some ways? Sure, but the AirPods Pro remain an excellent product from a brand that knows a thing or two about audio. They’re the best headphones for iPhone owners who want a seamless experience, and are worth an upgrade from older versions if you’ve been dealing with steadily depleting battery life.
Small Changes
Photograph: Parker Hall
Unless you live under a rock, you know what the AirPods Pro look like by now. These won't be visibly different, unless you're standing six inches away from them. The latest white elephant trunks are just a bit smaller and easier to fit in more ears, thanks to some ungodly number of laser ear scans the brand claims to have done between the last gen and this one.
It shows: Multiple folks who have smaller ears tested our review units said they fit better (or fit for the first time at all) than any AirPods before. They come with four sets of eartips, ranging from XXS to L, and they’re thicker, with included foam to block more sound than the previous all-silicone tips were.
The buds themselves look a but more stubby and a bit more curvy than the models that came before, but not so much that you would be able to tell the difference if they were in someone’s ears without close inspection. They're a tiny bit (literally .25 grams) heavier than the old model, but that's not noticeable to me.