Apple AirPods Pro 3 review

For all the excited chatter of Apple Intelligence, heart rate sensors and futuristic live translation, ultimately what the AirPods Pro 3 get right is sticking with (and improving) the core basics of a pair of wireless earbuds: enjoyable sound quality, effective noise-cancelling and comfortable wear.

Of course it’s tempting to speculate about innovative and outlandish features from a tech company that, for so long, always gave us one more thing we didn’t expect from a new product. But when it comes down to it, none of those extra features matter a jot if a pair of premium wireless earbuds doesn’t do its job well. And this pair does it very well indeed.

Do the Apple AirPods Pro 3 break new ground and trouble the likes of Sony, Technics and Bowers & Wilkins? Not quite. But they are delightfully dependable performers – especially for iOS users – that offer a step above in performance from the five-star, highly recommendable AirPods Pro 2.

Price

Apple’s new flagship wireless earbuds cost £219 / $249 / AU$429, occupying the same premium arena as its rivals Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Sony and Technics.

While the US price has remained the same as the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C (£249 / $249 / AU$399) that launched two years ago, the new models are more expensive in Australia, and, conversely, cheaper in the UK than before. We’re not sure what economic factors have led those of us in Blighty to get such a good deal, but we aren’t complaining.

In comparison, you can get the latest Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) for £299 / $299 / AU$450, while our Award-winning Technics EAH-AZ100 cost £259 / $299 / AU$499. Sony’s long-in-the-tooth WF-1000XM5 can be found for £219 these days, too.

Build & comfort

The biggest, most obvious change in the new Pro 3 is its design. It’s not a huge overhaul – it has the same all-white earbud-with-stem design that looks pretty identical to its predecessors at first glance. But put them in your ears, and they feel rather different from the Pro 2.

The Pro 3’s main body is smaller, with the eartip’s nozzle angled more towards the ear canal, and the area where the stem joins the head is contoured differently. Apple says it has reshaped the AirPods Pro’s design (along with the re-positioning of the mics and vents) in a bid to better fit more ear shapes.

The Pro 3 weigh a little heavier (5.55g vs 5.3g) than the Pro 2, although you wouldn’t notice this when wearing them.

This redesign delivers an interesting conundrum, as some of us on the review team who found the Pro 2’s shallower profile offered a snug fit in their ears feel that the Pro 3 stick out a little more; while those who didn’t get along with the Pro 2’s fit now find the Pro 3 fit more securely and lock into position more clearly. We’d encourage you to try the Pro 3 out for yourself before upgrading from a Pro 2.

We have no real complaints when it comes to the actual security and comfort of the buds when wearing them, despite our initial nitpicking.

The buds are lightweight and easy to wear in daily use, and we found the redesign actually is a bit more forgiving of the eartips you choose. We found that both the M and L tips offered a good seal and secure fit, and we didn’t experience much of a difference in sound or active noise cancelling (ANC) quality with either, whereas previously we had a clear preference for the ear tip size.

Additionally, the material of the included eartips (now in five different sizes) is thicker and firmer thanks to a new layer of 'foam-infused microspheres'. Apple says this aims to improve noise isolation and, consequently, aid ANC and sound quality. As always, we would recommend trying the different tip sizes to see which works best for you.

Using the AirPods’ touch controls on the stems remains intuitive and responsive for music playback, changing noise modes and volume control. Additional presses on the stems (customisable in the settings) let you deal with calls, summon Siri, take a picture on your iPhone, and more.

The USB-C charging case is lighter but ever-so-slightly bigger than the Pro 2’s case, and remains compact enough to slip into your pocket or bag and hold in your palm. You get an updated Ultra Wideband (U2) chip in here that offers better, longer-range precision finding if you misplace your buds, and it still emits chimes and has an LED to indicate charging.

There is no physical button on the case for pairing with your phone now – this does cause a little bit of confusion at first, but a few taps get us paired with our iPhone with little fuss.

Features

All the same features that the AirPods Pro 2 possess – from spatial audio to hearing health features – have been carried over to the Pro 3, and they work just as slickly and smoothly as we’ve come to expect, especially when paired with an iOS device.

Features such as conversation mode (which automatically pauses music when the buds detect you’re speaking), the various noise-cancelling modes (including transparency and adaptive audio), and head gesture controls to reject (or answer) calls are second nature in use. Even with advancements in rival wireless earbuds, that instinctive, snappy Apple user experience is second to none.

In true stubborn Apple fashion, there are still no higher-quality codecs like aptX or LDAC on board here – you just get the standard AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs.

Considering most rival earbuds (even cheaper ones) now offer at least some kind of hi-res codec these days, this might feel like a miss to some. It’s worth noting that the latest iPhones don’t support any hi-res codec either, so this may not matter to most AirPods users.

A new heart rate sensor is included in the AirPods Pro 3 to track health and workout stats, while the much-hyped live translation feature is here but isn’t exclusive to Pro 3 only; AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with ANC users also get this feature, as long as you’re using an Apple Intelligence-equipped iPhone (16 and later) running on iOS 26.

Battery life is the one area where we feel disappointed. The earbuds themselves get a boost with eight hours in a single charge (up from six), but the overall battery life with the charging case is now 24 hours – down from 30. We think this is a bit of a backwards step with today’s multi-tasking, power-hungry use, and while the on-bud charge is never in doubt, we do find ourselves charging the case more regularly than the Pro 2 during our testing period.

Apple’s stated 8+24 battery life hours are at least better than the Bose 2nd Gen’s 6+24, and are identical to older Sony WF-1000XM5, but they lag behind the class-leading Technics AZ100’s 10+28 hours capacity.

One small but significant improvement is that the AirPods Pro 3 now have IP57 water resistance (up from IP54), which means greater protection from rain, sweat, splashes, and even surviving a short, full dunk in water.

ANC & call quality

Apple has made a lot of noise about the Pro 3’s improved active noise-cancelling abilities, despite sticking with the same H2 chip as before. Instead of a brand new processor, Apple’s engineers have employed new ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio, and the new foam-infused eartips to offer twice the noise-cancelling capability than the Pro 2.

We’re not sure of the maths, but we can confirm that the AirPods Pro 3 have noticeably moved their ANC skills up a notch. We took the Pro 3 with us on a trip to France, and found that they shave off a greater amount of mid and low frequency noise during the flight. The deep rumble of the airplane’s engine noise was damped down further than when listened to through the Pro 2, while the general chatter from people and announcements from the pilot were quieter through the new earbuds on full ANC mode.

During our daily commutes, we found environmental noises – the passing of cars, sudden bursts of roadworks, and the general hubbub of excited Christmas shoppers – were quietened down further, leaving us to focus clearly on the music being played. Sudden loud spikes in noise are handled well, too, without ever distracting us.

As we found with the Pro 2, we really like the natural, airy way that the Pro 3 employs its noise-cancelling. We are a little more aware of the more powerful ANC effect being employed in the Pro 3, but it never feels overbearing. Rivals such as Bose QC Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) do leave you in greater silence overall, but the Pro 3’s noise-cancelling abilities are satisfyingly effective in everyday situations.

We also find the way Apple handles its transparency and adaptive ANC modes to be particularly naturalistic, offering just the right blend of music playback and environmental awareness, without ever sounding artificially amplified or mechanical – a tricky balance to meet.

Similarly, call quality is clear, detailed and sounds natural, with no harshness or any of that over-processed quality to our voices that we tend to experience with many earbuds.

Sound

While Apple doesn’t go into specific details, it says the AirPods Pro 3 feature a completely revamped ‘multiport acoustic architecture’, which, along with a custom driver and amplifier working with the H2 chip, promises more precise airflow control to deliver greater bass and a wider soundstage. The brand’s Adaptive EQ is also updated, which uses an inward-facing mic pointing right into your ear canal to optimise the sound to your ear.

Pop the AirPods Pro 3 in, and we’re met with that very familiar Apple sonic character. Some of us on the review team have been using the AirPods Pro 2 for about three years regularly, and we are greeted with a continuation of that well-balanced presentation that knits music together cohesively and delivers voices with clarity and sweetness.

It only takes a few minutes of comparisons to discover that the AirPods Pro 3 take a sonic step forward in every way, too. The Pro 3 sound clearer and more detailed; they are more spacious-sounding and more dynamic, too.

Tonally, the AirPods Pro 3 have a well-judged balance that ensures no frequency sticks out unduly, nor does it sound too smoothed-over at the expense of subtlety. There is bite and attack to the crunchy, brash highs of Fontaines D.C.’s Starburster, while the basslines in Forget About Dre are taut, agile and tuneful, and punch with quite a good deal of depth and power in Billie Eilish’s Blue.

Waxahatchee’s vocals on 365 sound pure, intimate and clean, and when listening to podcasts we find that voices overall sound more solid, textured and fleshed out. The Pro 2 don’t lag far behind, but they now sound more lightweight and slightly sibilant at the top in comparison.

No matter what track or genre we play through them, the AirPods Pro 3 handle it all with panache and care, with a snappy, propulsive sense of rhythm that keeps our attention rapt. Dynamically, they do a wonderful job of conveying the ebbs and flow of a track, and are adept at slowing things down where needed, as well as keeping more energetic compositions in check – all without losing any of the verve or emotional intent of a track.

The muscular slam of the drums, guitars and bass in A Perfect Circle’s Judith sound hugely satisfying through the Pro 3, while the sparse and more sombre tones of Eyepennies by Sparklehorse are delicate and communicate the shift in energy.

The greater sense of space and power results in a more exciting and confident performance, and allows songs to breathe in an airy soundscape. The Pro 3’s sonic balance is such that, while not the most transparent or purely neutral, it bends its will to the tune of the music, rather than imposing its own sonic character overtly onto the music.

The earbuds are expressive enough to convey the difference in recording eras – a Motown track and a Sabrina Carpenter tune have completely different vibes, after all – which means we never get bored of listening to track after track and have no problem getting in the mood required for each song. Put simply, the AirPods Pro 3 just sound fun.

Could they have pushed their performance sliders further? Yes, we think so. Our favourite premium pair, the Technics EAH-AZ100 sound more refined and even more spacious, while the older Sony XM5 are still a dab hand at dynamic subtleties and conveying slightly more authentic textures.

But Apple is able to juggle all the different sonic elements in such a musically cohesive way that we never feel like we are missing out on one particular sonic trait; the AirPods sound impressively natural and engaging.

Verdict

Those who already own a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and are happy with them may not find much reason to update to the new Pro 3, especially considering they share so many new features.

But while this is more evolution than revolution, there is no doubt that the AirPods Pro 3 are a step forward in nearly every way that counts – the sound quality is more powerful, dynamic and spacious, while noise-cancelling is further improved.

We only wish that the battery life could be greatly improved in the next generation. But Apple’s flagship wireless earbuds remain an impressively put together set of wireless earbuds that are seamless and enjoyable in use, and remain a firm recommendation for iOS users.

Review published: 13th January 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Comfort 5
• Features 5

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Read our review of the Technics EAH-AZ100

Also consider the Sony WF-1000XM5

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