I think Apple’s obsession with the fit of the AirPods Pro 3 is great news for sound quality – here’s why

You’d have forgiven Apple’s design team for being too preoccupied with four new iPhone models to spend time redesigning its flagship wireless earbuds.

But it looks like some serious time and effort has gone into tweaking the fit of the AirPods Pro 3, and I’m hoping it will have a positive impact on sound quality.

As we all know, when it comes to wireless earbuds, fit is key. A poor fit can not only affect comfort levels, but it can also lead to sound leakage, which can lead to a big drop in sound quality and questions like “where has all the bass gone?” And, the quality of eartips plays a huge role in this.

Maybe I’ve been reviewing and writing about wireless earbuds for too long, but I was particularly excited to hear about Apple’s new foam-infused eartips for the AirPods Pro 3. On Apple’s website, it actually refers to the change as “a new layer of foam-infused microspheres”.

I assume these microspheres improve cushioning and padding (they look more plush than the tips used on the Pro 2 from the images I've seen), allowing the tips to 'fill' your ear canal better and promote a better seal. The better the seal, the easier it is for the noise-cancelling to do its thing.

I should probably confess now that I’ve had a slight obsession about eartips for a while, and have already commented on how I feel Sony needs to change the tips for any successor to its WF-1000XM5 and how impressed I was with the approach to the eartips used on the JBL Tour Pro 3.

You see, in my experience, the shape and the material used for eartips can make a huge difference to comfort and quality.

So imagine the look of excitement on my face when I heard that Apple will offer five (!) different sizes of eartips with the AirPods Pro 3, all using this new material. Apple has actually added a smaller XXS tip instead of going bigger, but, interestingly, according to David Carnoy of CNET, “the large tips now fit more like XL tips”.

But it’s not just the tips that have changed: Apple claims to have analysed more than 10,000 3D ear scans and combined this with over 100,000 hours of user research to get the fit of the Pro 3 right.

The result? Apple has shaped the design “to match the natural geometry of your ear canal”. Upon examining images and reading reports online, it appears that the opening to the buds now points more into your ear canal than before.

This could partially explain why the large eartips feel bigger (especially when you add the layer of foam-infused microspheres).

I wasn’t lucky enough to be at the event at Apple HQ, but reading reports around the web, it seems like first impressions are all pretty promising. I’ll let you know my findings when I get my hands on a review sample so I can see, feel and hear for myself.

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