Apple launched AirPods Pro 3 last month to widespread praise from reviewers. I’ve been using AirPods Pro 3 since upgrading on day one, and my experience has been a little more complicated so far.
Amazing audio quality and ANC are two very important highlights
My AirPods Pro 3 impressions after one month have not at all been what I expected.
When Apple rolled out new iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods products last month, the latter seemed like the most non-controversial, no-brainer upgrade of the batch.
My colleague Chance’s AirPods Pro 3 review summed up early sentiment well: “The best get even better.”
I love my AirPods Pro 2, and on paper at least, Apple’s new model is superior. In some ways, that’s proven true.
Improved audio quality and active noise cancellation have been big highlights for me. I can very much tell that both features are improved over my AirPods Pro 2.
And that’s important, because audio quality and ANC are easily the two AirPods features I care most about.
But unlike AirPods Pro 2, which were better in every way than their predecessor, the story with AirPods Pro 3 has been more complicated for me.
That’s primarily due to issues in two areas:
- Fit and comfort
- Battery life
AirPods Pro 3: An upgrade and downgrade all at once
AirPods Pro 3 have a new design that Apple says makes them “fit even better”. And I have no doubt that’s true for many users.
For me, the fit is easily worse than AirPods Pro 2 and a big downgrade overall.
Despite trying every set of ear tips, AirPods Pro 3 have been fairly uncomfortable so far. Lots of the time I can ignore that discomfort, but when I pay attention to how my ears are feeling, it’s not great.
I’m currently using ‘M’ ear tips, because they’re the only size that passes Apple’s acoustic seal test without actually hurting my ears. ‘L’ pass the test but also cause pain. And all smaller sizes, while slightly more comfortable than ‘M,’ don’t get a good enough acoustic seal.
Therein lies the conundrum.
Apple says to use the tips that are most comfortable to you. But also, one of AirPods Pro 3’s best features—improved noise cancellation—depends on getting a good seal.
So I could downsize the tips for more comfort, and lose some noise canceling benefit, or settle for a mild level of discomfort. Thus far, I’ve chosen the latter.
Another hallmark upgrade of AirPods Pro 3—extended battery life—has very much felt offset by the overall reduced battery capacity of the charging case.
AirPods Pro 3 offer 8 hours of battery on a single charge versus 6 hours on AirPods Pro 2. But overall battery with the case is only 24 hours compared to 30 hours on the last model.
It’s nice to get more juice out of a single charge, but if I could trade that benefit for the old charging case’s battery, I absolutely would.
Instead, my AirPods Pro 3 charging case has become yet another device I charge every night. Not because I have to, but because if I don’t, I get low battery indicators far more frequently than I’d like.
AirPods Pro 3 after one month: wrap-up
In summary, I’m a lot more mixed on AirPods Pro 3 than I expected. In some ways that’s understandable, since AirPods Pro 2 were one of my all-time favorite Apple products and a hard act to follow.
Top comment by Ryan W
I've been super happy with mine because the improved noise cancelling is now on par with over-ear headphones, which is quite frankly incredible. The fit is different, but still comfortable for me. The reality is that any in-ear headphone design is going to fit some people well and not others. For those experiencing ear discomfort, check e-bay in the coming months for 3rd-party memory foam tips. That's what I used to use for the APP2 and they seal very well without putting too much pressure on the ear. It's a different type of foam as the hard foam Apple is using in the stock tips. The only downside is that memory foam slowly wears out and needs to be replaced after several months.
I do love the improved audio quality, and active noise cancellation has gotten very impressive. So far other features like the heart rate sensor haven’t meant much to me, but they’re nice to have. Overall, I don’t actually regret choosing to upgrade.
I would still heartily recommend AirPods Pro 3 to others. They may not be as all-around perfect like I felt AirPods Pro 2 were, but they’re still excellent. And if you don’t have fit issues, you’ll no doubt love them even more.
With the fit issue though, AirPods Pro 3 haven’t been the upgrade I was hoping for.
Did you upgrade to AirPods Pro 3, and if so, what’s that been like? Let us know in the comments.
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