Since the unveiling on October 30, 2019, the AirPods Pro quickly became Apple’s flagship product in the category, creating a powerful platform over which to test all kinds of features, many of which quickly became industry standards and multiplied in countless true wireless in-ear designs. The most important innovation was undoubtedly the active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which established a reference for the whole industry - allowing Sony and Bose occasionally to shine by beating the ANC effectiveness, but never the combination between cancellation and transparency.
As Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 2 (or second generation) in September 2022, the market reference took off to a whole new level with adaptive ANC/transparency features, hearing protection, and the ability for users to load their own hearing profile, effectively making the AirPods Pro a listening assistance device. A new revision of the same fundamental design in 2023 added IP54 dust resistance, support for lossless audio in conjunction with the Apple Vision Pro, and a USB-C charging case.
Naturally, now Apple says that the AirPods Pro 3 with the new H2 chip take “the most popular headphones in the world to an entirely new level.” And that statement is related to the fact that the AirPods Pro 3 are now able to deliver even better Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) — removing up to 2x more noise than the previous-generation AirPods Pro (2022), and 4x more than the original AirPods Pro (2019). More importantly, Apple says that the sound quality is much improved, whatever the mode the user activates.
An important note should be added that Apple announced in this iPhone event that it is now incorporating its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radio chip with improved capabilities. The new chip now supports Bluetooth 6, but Apple doesn’t even mention Bluetooth LE Audio, Auracast, or even any specific codec support. As detailed specifications will be available, audioXpress will update this story.
Apple also continues to refine the ergonomics of the industry reference design, now based on more studies and the combination of more ear shape scans. Apple claims to have over 10,000 ear scans with more than 100,000 hours of user research. To deliver an improved fit for even more people, the internal architecture 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 — “a design informed by an unparalleled dataset of more than 300 million points.”
The updated design also helps AirPods Pro 3 fit even better and provides greater in-ear stability during fitness activities. And with new foam-infused ear tips that now come in five sizes — including a new XXS size — the new AirPods Pro 3 deliver an improved in-ear fit. Designed for increased durability with an IP57 sweat and water resistance, AirPods Pro 3 are built to handle tough workouts and unpredictable weather. And 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.
This was already predicted, since Apple had already introduced the heart rate feature in the latest Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds. The AirPods Pro 3 have a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow. Combined with sensor fusion from the AirPods Pro accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model on iPhone, users can track their heart rate and calories burned and get access to a Workout Buddy - a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence that incorporates a user’s workout data and fitness history to generate personalized, motivational insights during those sessions.
What was not predicted but was predictable is that Apple announced Live Translation with the AirPods, “making face-to-face conversations easier by helping users connect even if they don’t speak the same language.” This is a risky move, but one that Apple hopes will serve to demonstrate the power of its built-in AI.
Live Translation enables in-person communication across select languages and is available in beta. The hands-free capability is powered by computational audio and Apple Intelligence. When enabled, Live Translation helps users understand another language and communicate with others by speaking naturally with AirPods. 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.
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. Live Translation on AirPods is available in English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazilian), and Spanish, and will be coming to four more languages by the end of 2025: Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified). Live Translation will also work on AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation with the latest firmware when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone running iOS 26 and later.
“With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality and the world’s best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones,” says John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Combined with an improved fit that provides greater stability for even more people, heart rate sensing, extended battery life, and Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence, AirPods Pro 3 take personal audio to the next level.”
To enhance the ANC, the AirPods Pro 3 feature a new multiport acoustic architecture that precisely controls the airflow that carries sound into the ear, helping deliver an improved spatial listening experience. With next-generation Adaptive EQ, the new architecture transforms the bass response, widens the soundstage, and improves clarity. With a more personalized Transparency, a user’s own voice — and the people speaking in proximity — sounds more natural than ever, helping users stay connected to their surroundings.
The new AirPods Pro 3 design also improves the ANC thanks to new ultra-low noise microphones and advanced computational audio combined with new foam-infused ear tips for greater passive noise isolation. In addition, while listening to music with ANC enabled, the AirPods Pro 3 now provide up to eight hours of music playback — a 33 percent increase over the previous generation.
Continuing Apple’s dedication to hearing health, the new AirPods Pro 3 expand on the world’s first end-to-end hearing health experience introduced in the fall of 2024. With AirPods Pro, users benefit by minimizing exposure to loud environmental noise. To help even more people, Hearing Protection comes to EU and UK users, following certification for those regions.
“The Hearing Test has already helped millions of people learn about their hearing with scientifically validated results from the comfort of their home. With next-level ANC removing even more background noise, it is easier than ever for users to take a Hearing Test and receive personalized assistance with AirPods Pro 3. To help Hearing Aid users in louder environments like restaurants, Conversation Boost is now automatic, adding powerful amplification with background noise reduction. AirPods Pro 3 also increase battery life in Transparency mode by 67 percent over the previous generation with up to 10 hours with a single charge,” Apple states in the announcement.
The new AirPods Pro 3 are designed to last, made with 40 percent recycled content, including 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery and 65 percent recycled plastic in the case. They are manufactured with 40 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, across the supply chain. The paper packaging is 100 percent fiber-based and can be easily recycled.
The new AirPods Pro 3 will be available on September 19, 2025, starting at US $249. If the previous generations are a reference, many of the software-based features announced for the AirPods Pro 3 will be partially available in the AirPods Pro 2. And we can only imagine what Apple will introduce as future firmware updates for this third-generation over the course of the next two to three years.
www.apple.com
