Apple AirPods Pro 3 Review
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are a substantial upgrade over the AirPods Pro 2 rather than just a minor refresh. Apple redesigned the fit, improved active noise cancellation, upgraded sound, added heart-rate sensing, expanded hearing-health features, and increased battery life to up to 8 hours with ANC enabled. (Apple)
At $249, they’re expensive—but they’re also currently among the best all-around wireless earbuds you can buy, particularly if you use an iPhone. Tom’s Guide currently ranks them #1 among its tested wireless earbuds, while WIRED gives them 9/10. (Tom’s Guide)
⭐ Overall rating: 9.3/10
Best for: iPhone users, commuters, travelers, gym users, Apple Watch users, and anyone who wants excellent ANC without sacrificing transparency mode.
Not ideal for: Android users, serious audiophiles who want extensive EQ control, or people looking for the longest possible battery life.
🎧 What’s new?
The biggest improvements over AirPods Pro 2 include:
- Stronger ANC
- Redesigned acoustic architecture
- New ear-tip design and five tip sizes
- Heart-rate sensing during workouts
- IP57 dust, sweat and water resistance
- Up to 8 hours of ANC listening
- Improved hearing-health features
- Live Translation
- Improved Find My/Precision Finding
- Volume control directly from the stems
Apple claims up to 2× more active noise cancellation than AirPods Pro 2. (Apple)
Independent testing backs up the improvement: RTINGS describes the ANC as class-leading, while What Hi-Fi found both sound and ANC improved over the previous generation. (RTINGS.com)
🔇 Noise cancellation
This is probably the AirPods Pro 3’s greatest strength.
The ANC is excellent.
They are particularly effective against:
- Airplane engine noise
- Bus/train noise
- Air conditioners
- Office HVAC
- Background conversations
- General city noise
The combination of improved ANC and the redesigned acoustic seal makes the Pro 3 exceptionally good for travel.
ANC: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And there’s another reason I like them: Transparency mode.
Apple’s transparency implementation remains one of the best in the industry. Instead of feeling like you’re wearing sealed earbuds, the outside world sounds remarkably natural.
That’s extremely useful when:
- Someone talks to you
- You’re walking around town
- You’re ordering coffee
- You’re working in an office
- You need to hear announcements
🎵 Sound quality
The Pro 3 also sound better than the Pro 2.
Apple redesigned the acoustic architecture to provide deeper bass, a wider soundstage and clearer vocals. (Apple)
Independent testing generally agrees.
What Hi-Fi describes the presentation as spacious, powerful and dynamic, with clear vocals. WIRED similarly praised the bass and high-frequency definition. (What Hi-Fi?)
Sound: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The sound signature is relatively balanced but has noticeable bass presence.
That makes them particularly enjoyable for:
- Rock
- Pop
- Hip-hop
- Electronic
- Movies
- Podcasts
- Apple Music
One drawback is that Apple doesn’t give you a conventional built-in parametric EQ. RTINGS and WIRED both point out that the tuning won’t necessarily suit everyone, particularly listeners coming from a different sound signature. (RTINGS.com)
🏃 Heart-rate sensing
This is one of the more unusual additions.
The Pro 3 contain a heart-rate sensor that uses light to measure your pulse during workouts. Apple says the sensor is its smallest heart-rate sensor yet. (Apple)
That means your AirPods can contribute workout data without requiring you to wear an Apple Watch for that measurement.
It’s particularly useful for:
- Walking
- Running
- Cycling
- Gym workouts
- Apple Fitness+
The sensor isn’t the reason I’d buy these earbuds, but it’s a genuinely useful extra.
Health/fitness features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
👂 The redesigned fit
Apple changed the physical design and includes five ear-tip sizes: XXS, XS, S, M and L. (Apple)
That’s important because fit determines both:
- Comfort
- Noise cancellation
Apple rotated the ear tips inward and changed the internal design to provide a more secure seal. (Apple)
The result is generally excellent.
However, ears are incredibly individual.
Some people who hated the Pro 2’s fit may love the Pro 3.
Others may find the new shape less comfortable.
Comfort: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
At only 5.55 grams per earbud, they’re impressively light. (Apple)
💦 IP57 resistance
This is another significant improvement.
The AirPods Pro 3 and charging case are IP57 rated for dust, sweat and water resistance. (Apple)
That’s excellent for workouts.
I’d have no hesitation using them for:
- Running
- Gym sessions
- Heavy sweating
- Walking in rain
Of course, they’re not waterproof swimming headphones.
Durability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔋 Battery life
Apple rates the earbuds for:
Up to 8 hours with ANC enabled
and up to 24 hours total with the charging case and ANC enabled. (Apple)
That’s a meaningful improvement over the Pro 2.
You can also get roughly one hour of listening from a five-minute charge. (Apple)
Battery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
It’s good rather than class-leading.
Some competitors last considerably longer per charge.
But for most people, 8 hours is enough for a workday or a long flight.
📞 Call quality
This is another area where the AirPods Pro 3 perform extremely well.
The earbuds use dual beamforming microphones and an inward-facing microphone, along with Apple’s voice-processing technology. (Apple)
Independent testing has been especially positive here: TechGearLab gave the Pro 3 a 9.6/10 for call quality. (TechGearLab)
Call quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
For phone calls, FaceTime, Zoom and Teams, they’re excellent.
🌍 Live Translation
Apple has also integrated Live Translation into the AirPods experience.
The feature can help you communicate across languages, although availability depends on supported languages, regions and compatible Apple devices/software. (Apple)
It’s one of those features that may seem like a gimmick until you’re actually traveling.
Then it can become incredibly useful.
Live Translation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🦻 Hearing-health features
The Pro 3 aren’t simply entertainment earbuds.
They include:
- Hearing Test
- Hearing Aid capability
- Hearing Protection
- Automatic Conversation Boost when using Hearing Aid
- Live Listen
- Headphone accommodations
Apple also says the Pro 3 can provide up to 10 hours of listening in Transparency mode when using the Hearing Aid feature. (Apple)
These capabilities make the Pro 3 considerably more versatile than ordinary wireless earbuds.
📱 The Apple ecosystem advantage
This is where AirPods Pro 3 become difficult for competitors to beat.
If you have an iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, the integration is excellent.
You get features such as:
- Automatic device switching
- Siri
- Find My
- Personalized Spatial Audio
- Dynamic head tracking
- Live Translation
- Workout integration
- Hearing features
- Camera remote
- Seamless pairing
The second-generation Ultra Wideband chip in the case also increases Precision Finding range by 1.5×, according to Apple. (Apple)
Apple ecosystem: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🤖 What about Android?
This is where I’d hesitate.
The AirPods Pro 3 can function as Bluetooth earbuds with non-Apple devices, but many of their best features are tied to Apple’s ecosystem. Apple explicitly notes that functionality can be limited on non-Apple devices. (Apple)
Tom’s Guide also highlights the lack of Android codec support as one of the Pro 3’s weaknesses. (Tom’s Guide)
If you’re an Android user, I’d look very closely at Sony, Bose, Samsung or other Android-focused alternatives before buying these.
Android experience: ⭐⭐⭐
🆚 AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2
| Feature | AirPods Pro 2 | AirPods Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|
| ANC | Excellent | Outstanding |
| Sound | Excellent | Better |
| Fit | Excellent | Redesigned |
| Ear tips | 4 | 5 |
| Battery/ANC | ~6 hrs | Up to 8 hrs |
| Heart-rate sensing | ❌ | ✅ |
| IP rating | IP54 | IP57 |
| Hearing features | ✅ | Expanded |
| Live Translation | Limited/newer software | ✅ |
| Find My | Excellent | Improved |
| Weight | 5.3g | 5.55g |
RTINGS’ testing concludes that the Pro 3 outperform the Pro 2 across nearly every major metric, including battery, water resistance and ANC. (RTINGS.com)
Should Pro 2 owners upgrade?
Probably not if your Pro 2 are working perfectly.
The Pro 3 are better, but they’re not a night-and-day revolution.
I’d upgrade if you particularly want:
- Better ANC
- Better fit
- Heart-rate sensing
- IP57 protection
- Longer battery
- New hearing features
⚠️ One issue worth knowing about
There have been reports of static/noise issues on some AirPods Pro 3 units, particularly with ANC active when no audio is playing. MacRumors reported that Apple appeared to be replacing affected units. (MacRumors)
This doesn’t appear to affect all units, but it’s something I’d keep in mind and another reason to buy from a retailer with a good return policy.
💰 Are they worth $249?
At full price:
Yes—but they’re expensive.
At $249, you’re paying for an extremely polished combination of:
ANC + sound + transparency + Apple integration + fitness tracking + hearing features + excellent calls.
But the good news is that discounts are already common.
As of October 5, 2026, The Verge reports the Pro 3 are temporarily down to $179, their first sub-$190 price since June’s Prime Day. (The Verge)
Apple AirPods Pro 3
$199.99
My price recommendation
$249: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
$219: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
$199: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
$179: 🔥 Excellent buy
At $179, I’d have a very hard time recommending another pair of earbuds to an iPhone user unless they had a specific reason to want something else.
🏆 Final verdict
Apple AirPods Pro 3 — 9.3/10
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Sound quality | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Noise cancellation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Transparency | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Comfort | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Call quality | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Battery | ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ |
| Fitness features | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Durability | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Apple integration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Android compatibility | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Value at $249 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
👍 What I love
- Excellent ANC
- Excellent sound
- Superb transparency mode
- Comfortable and lightweight
- Five ear-tip sizes
- Heart-rate sensing
- IP57 protection
- Great call quality
- Excellent Apple ecosystem integration
- Strong hearing-health features
- 8-hour ANC battery
- Improved Find My capabilities
👎 What I don’t love
- $249 is expensive
- Battery life isn’t class-leading
- Android experience is compromised
- Limited traditional EQ control
- Some reported static issues
- The upgrade from Pro 2 isn’t essential for everyone
Bottom line
The AirPods Pro 3 are Apple’s best earbuds yet and one of the best overall wireless earbuds available in 2026. The biggest improvements aren’t flashy—they’re the things you’ll notice every day: better noise cancellation, better sound, a better fit, longer battery life and better durability. Independent testing broadly agrees, with What Hi-Fi, WIRED, RTINGS and Tom’s Guide all rating them highly. (RTINGS.com)
For an iPhone user, I’d give them a strong BUY.
And if you can get them around $179–$199, they’re an especially good deal.
