Airpods Pro 3 Are Pure Magic A Brutally Honest Review

TITLE: AirPods Pro 3 Are Pure Magic: A Brutally Honest Review CHANNEL: 9to5Mac DATE: URL: https://youtu.be/qAbrMkPOexI ---TRANSCRIPT--- So, it’s been 3 months with the AirPods Pro 3. And this upgrade has surprised me in a couple ways. Both on the great side, but then also on a little bit of the frustrating side. So, in this video, let’s talk all things AirPods Pro 3. My experience, what I love, what I think people should know about, and finally, is it worth your hard-earned money, especially now that it’s only $199 on Amazon? Let’s get into it. But now, before we continue, if you do enjoy videos like this one where we talk all things Apple products, definitely consider subscribing to the channel. But now, let’s talk about the first thing, which is going to be what they changed compared to the Pro 2s. So, to start off, let’s talk about the design as well as the fitment of the AirPods Pro 3 because they have changed both on the case size as well as the actual earbuds themselves. The shape is just a little bit different compared to years past of the AirPods Pro. So, let’s start off with the case itself because there are some highlighting differences that you need to know about. First and foremost, I am using Pitaka’s latest case for the AirPods Pro 3 if you guys do want to check it out. A case for your case, some might say. But the first thing you’re going to notice here is going to be that the LED indicator on the front is actually gone missing, or at least it looks like it’s gone missing. With the AirPods Pro 2, there was a little hole for that LED indicator to actually shine through. This time around, it’s actually hidden beneath the AirPod surface itself. So, when it is in pairing mode or you do have the green light or that orange reddish light, you can still see it and still visible, but when it’s completely turned off, there’s no actual indication that there is an LED light there anymore. So, nothing really crazy there. Mostly a visual change versus a functional change. You still have the same speaker cutouts on the bottom of the AirPods Pro. You still have the same lanyard loop that you have on the AirPods Pro 2 as well as on the Pro 3’s. So, that’s all very familiar. But the last thing you’re going to notice here is that the pairing button on the rear of the AirPods is actually completely gone. This one threw me for a loop a little bit because I was wondering how you’re going to connect it to maybe other Bluetooth devices on the off chance that you are connecting maybe to an Android device or a tablet or maybe some other TV that isn’t an Apple TV. But the solution is very simple. All you do is you open up the AirPods. you get that green light to indicate that the indicator is on and then you double tap where that light is and then it’ll go into pairing mode. So, if you do need to connect it to another device, you are more than capable of doing that. There just isn’t a button to hold on the rear of it anymore when it comes to the AirPods Pro 3. So, the more you know. And then when it comes to the shape of the earbuds themselves, I apologize in advance for any ear wax that has to let me make it into this video. But in terms of the shape of the earbuds themselves, the stock is actually curved a little bit more into your mouth to give you a little bit more from a microphone standpoint, especially when it comes to clarity of voice, right? So the earbuds do curve in a little bit more and they mimic a little bit more of the design of the AirPods 4, the regular version. So do keep that in mind. From a fitment standpoint for me, AirPods have always fit in me, especially the AirPods Pro. They’ve always been able to fit in my ears no problem with the medium cushion and I’ve never had an issue of them falling out even when I am doing some activities like running or working out. Some people do have issues with the fitment of the AirPods Pro. But definitely move them around, try different positions with them and also again try all the different tips that come with it because I did add one additional tip in the packaging which I believe is going to be the extra extra small for your ears. And then that is a perfect segue into the new cushions. Now I’ve always been a big fan of the silicone tips because they just are easier to clean. They don’t get as dirty. And while third party foam tips have always been great for being able to create a passive seal around your ear, they aren’t great for the longevity, right? They kind of deteriorate a little bit faster over time. They’re much harder to clean because it’s kind of like this spongy effect. So things get into the crevices and they kind of stay there. So what Apple’s done here is actually genius. They’ve created some sort of hybrid where you get best of both worlds. So the outer portion of the ear tip is still made out of silicone. So it still has all the properties of being able to clean itself very easily, but the inside of it, the cushion is actually going to be foam. So it does fit around the ear and the fitment creates a much better seal naturally because it is made out of foam. So I think Apple has perfected the ear tip when it comes to being able to have both foam properties as well as the silicone properties from a cleanliness standpoint and from a passive seal standpoint. So, if you are using these without active noise cancellation on and you’re just getting the passive noise cancellation, it is much better than they were with the previous models with the AirPods Pro 2. And then lastly, from a design standpoint, Apple added one more area of the little black piece where there are some perforations in there. Again, this is going to be for air dissipation as well as for better active noise cancellation and mic reduction. So, again, from a design standpoint, the curvature is just a little bit different, but overall, they still fit great. If the Pro 2s fit on you great, the Pro 3’s will also fit on you great. and if they didn’t, they might actually fit a little bit better because of the way that it’s curved into your face, which is great to see. Okay, so let’s start off with some of the highlights of the AirPods Pro 3 with my experience. So, the first biggest one here is going to be the active noise cancellation went from great to amazing and almost kind of magical when it comes to these AirPods because again, you start to think and look at these little earbuds at how good they are at active noise cancellation. I’ve taken them into the New York subway. I’ve taken them on flights and even in my own house where in situations where I would normally put overear headphones. Again, I’m a 10e old, so I have a crying baby in the house. A lot of the time in the studio is in the house. So, normally I do hear the baby. But again, with the AirPods Pro 3, normally in that situation, I would put my overear headphones in and noise cancel them with the Sonos Ace that I use. But AirPods Pro 3 have kind of just taken that over. Even in that smaller form factor, it’s matched or even exceeded expectations when it comes to active noise cancellation. Now, again, the Pro 2s had great active noise cancellation. There weren’t any slouches either, but the fact that we have 2x better noise cancellation, both passively and actually proactively when it comes to the software that’s built into them, it’s been amazing to see just how much better active noise cancellation has gotten on these AirPods Pro 3. And when it comes to the type of noises that it’s canceling out, it’s been great. So, workday isolation has improved drastically. more low frequency rumble has also improved. And again, I’m talking about those subway noises, the engine sound in the background of an airplane that is just kind of hitting you a little bit. But now the AirPods Pro 3 completely cancel that out. And it’s also just more consistent in much louder environments. Walking through some place like World Trade Center, in a mall, in a grocery store, all those things that kind of have higher pitch noises, especially maybe the off ambulance, or maybe the road work that’s happening while you’re walking through Manhattan, all those things get canceled out with no problems whatsoever. And it’s very impressive what Apple’s been able to do in such a tiny form factor. And then when it comes to overall sound quality, in terms of the type of music that you listen to and podcasts and vocals and audio, it’s just gotten better overall in terms of what you’re able to listen to and the quality that you’ve been able to get that music to come in. So, the combination of that tighter fit with the new ear tips, the new kind of angle that you’re getting the AirPods in, as well as the new adaptive EQ makes everything much better. The bass is much more responsive. the instrument separation. You can kind of tell in the background of each individual kind of line of audio that you’re listening to, whereas before you couldn’t kind of make it out, but it’s just much more clear and precise with the AirPods Pro 3. The vocals when you’re just listening to podcast or some sort of interview has also been great. So, when it comes to just being your everyday headphones, again, it just checks off every single box from an audio quality standpoint. And you still get all the magic of the Apple ecosystem with these AirPods, like being able to easily connect to things like your Apple TV 4K, seamless transitions between all your different Apple devices, the ability to track all your battery life and percentages, and even every single time you open up your AirPods, having that adaptive power built into them, it opens up on your iPhone or your iPad or even on your Mac. So, it’s just very easy and simple to use. And there’s also some tricks when it comes to being able to use your AirPods as the microphone when you are video recording, which I’ve talked about in the past when you pair it up with iOS 26.2. too. There’s a lot of magic moments that happen with the AirPods Pro 3, which are just second to none when compared to any other ecosystem kind of product. Obviously, live translation is a big one, but it’s not only for the AirPods Pro 3. If you have AirPods Pro 2, live translation will work, and there’s no real improvement with the AirPods Pro 3 when it comes to the quality of live translation. That’s all going to be the same. So, if that’s something that’s a big selling point, just know that the Pro2s can also handle the live translation. And now let’s get into kind of like the middle ground, which is the stuff that’s nice to have or maybe the features that are nice, but not that have really wowed me or something that I’ve been yearning for. Right. So, the AirPods Pro 3 is going to be the first AirPods to bring in a heart rate monitor built into here now. Again, as somebody who uses their Apple Watch every single day on a daily basis for all my workouts, having a heart rate monitor in there is a little bit redundant and not really, I guess, needed. Apple has stated that having both of them gives you better accurate readings because now you have two different points of interaction when it comes to those heart rate monitors and then you can average the two out and then the Apple Health app does take that into account. So maybe it does help out overall. But for somebody who uses an Apple Watch already have the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s kind of a redundant feature to have. But if you’re somebody who doesn’t have an Apple Watch, it does unlock a few things for you. You’re able to track your heart rate in workouts now directly from your AirPods. You don’t need to have your Apple Watch on you, which is great to have, especially if somebody who likes to wear maybe your normal watch when running or if maybe you use something like a Garmin or a non-Apple watch product. And also, it unlocks Apple Fitness for you. Previously, in order to use Apple Fitness for those, you know, few people that do actually use it, you needed an Apple Watch to get all the Apple fitness perks that come with that. Now, the heart rate monitor in the AirPods allow you to have those similar perks like being able to track your rings and your heart rate all alongside those Apple fitness workouts. And now let’s talk about my main frustration when it comes to AirPods Pro 3. And it’s not really a frustration, more so just kind of like a situation that people should be made aware of. So firstly, when it comes to battery life, there’s kind of like a a good and bad when it comes to this. The first good being that you do get 8 hours of&c battery life on a single charge on the earbuds themselves. So the earbuds actually got an increase in battery life compared to the Pro 2s. And that increase is also nice to have when it comes to being able to equate that battery life to&c in transparency mode. So if you don’t use those, you actually get almost up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge on your earbuds. Unheard of on batteries that small. But the case itself actually reduced the overall battery life, which is interesting. So previously to kind of line this up, AirPods Pro 2 with&C turned on got 6 hours of battery life and the case got 30 hours of battery life. And now with the AirPods Pro 3, you get eight hours of battery life on a charge and 24 hours of battery life on the case itself. So the case did get a little bit smaller and the battery got a little bit smaller. So that does translate into smaller amounts of battery on the case itself. Meaning you do need to recharge this a little bit more frequently and I have noticed that happen where I do have to recharge this a little bit more frequently than I did with the AirPods Pro 2. But at the end of the day, it does end up being a wash because like I said, you get more battery on the headphones themselves and a little bit less battery on the case itself. So, my final verdict in terms of should you buy these? If you have an AirPods Pro 2, especially if you have the USBC version and the battery life is still good on there and you’re just happy with them, there’s no need to run out and get these AirPods Pro 3. But now, if you have an AirPods Pro 2 with a lightning cable or maybe with a case that doesn’t have MagSafe on it or maybe even an AirPods Pro Gen 1 or maybe even older AirPods like the original AirPods or the AirPods 2, then I do think these are worth the money because the combination of the better active noise cancellation, the better passive noise cancellation with the new silicone tips, the added heart rate monitor to be able to maybe future proof yourself a little bit, all the awesome connectivity stuff that happens. You get USBC, you get Mag Safe built into that USBC case. So, overall, I do think it’s a warranted upgrade. If you’re coming from an older Pro One or AirPods 2 and older, I think it would be a great justification to buy them, especially right now. Like I said, they are on sale on Amazon for $1.99 versus a normal $2.49, which I’ll link down below for you guys to check out. Apple did a great job of building on what’s great about the AirPods Pro in general and kind of putting out the best product and foot forward when they combine both software, hardware, and just usability overall on these AirPods Pro 3. I’ve been a very happy camper with them, but let me know with a comment down below what you think. Is this something that you’ve been wanting? Did you end up purchasing one when they came out? After the 3 months of using it, they’re my main headphones. I use them 99.9% of the time whenever I use headphones. And I’m one of those people that kind of just like leaves them in even when there’s no audio playing because the transparency mode is that good. But that’ll do it everybody. If you made it to the end, leave a little dolphin in the comments down below so I know you made it to the end. And if you guys want to watch more videos like this one, check out one of these videos right here. Like I said, it’s on sale. Jump on it while you can cuz I’m sure they’ll bump it back up to that 229 or 239 price in a few days. But that’ll do it everybody. Peace.