Rating: 8.5/10
Apple’s third-generation AirPods Pro arrive with a familiar shape but a noticeably better listening experience. The standout upgrade is active noise cancellation, which now blocks out considerably more low-frequency rumble than the previous model, making the earbuds feel genuinely useful on flights and busy commutes rather than just in quiet offices.
Battery life gets a modest bump, and the case now supports slightly faster wireless charging, though it still won’t outlast dedicated sports earbuds on a single charge. The fit is where most of the quiet engineering went: new foam-tipped ear tips seal better for a wider range of ear shapes, which also improves the passive isolation before any processing kicks in.
Sound quality leans warm and bass-forward out of the box, but the personalized spatial audio profile is the real party trick, adjusting the tuning based on a quick scan of your ear shape. Call quality also benefits from a new voice isolation mode that noticeably cuts wind and background chatter.
The sticking point is price. At this tier, buyers are also weighing true wireless competitors that cost less and sound nearly as good. For anyone already living inside Apple’s ecosystem, though, the seamless device switching and Find My integration make the AirPods Pro 3 hard to give up once you’re used to them.
Who should buy them: iPhone owners upgrading from AirPods 2 or earlier, or anyone who spends serious time on planes and trains and wants class-leading noise cancellation in a small form factor.
Where to buy: Check current pricing directly on Apple’s website or from your preferred electronics retailer.
