Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 arrive at the same $249 price point as their predecessor but bring a wave of upgrades: stronger active noise cancellation, longer battery life, heart rate monitoring, and even live translation. Early reviews suggest Apple has delivered the most capable in-ear headphones it has ever made, though some limitations remain.
Let’s look at how critics are judging the new AirPods Pro 3.
Design and comfort
The design tweaks may look subtle, but reviewers say they make a difference. David Carnoy of CNET noted, “While they look very similar to the AirPods Pro 2, they’ve been redesigned and are slightly smaller. The angle of the buds has been altered slightly so the eartips point more directly into your ear canals… The buds definitely felt different in my ears than the AirPods Pro 2, and overall, they seemed to fit more snugly and securely.”
Nicole Nguyen of The Wall Street Journal pointed out that the new hybrid tips improved isolation but also felt firmer: “The new silicone-foam hybrid tips are better for blocking sound—but they also felt stiffer to me. After wearing them for four hours straight, my ears got tired.”
Adrian Weckler at the Irish Independent highlighted the extra size options, writing, “There’s a new extra small (XXS) size for those with petite ears, while Apple has slightly tweaked the design of the rubber tips themselves, aiming for a better, snugger fit.”
Audio and active noise cancellation
Noise cancellation is where the AirPods Pro 3 show the biggest leap. Eric Zeman of PCMag described a dramatic demo: “I slipped a pair of AirPods Pro 3 buds into my ears in a room full of loud crowd noise, turned on the ANC, and marveled as the background noise of hundreds of people literally disappeared. I’ve never heard in-ear buds reduce that level of noise before.”
Adrian Weckler echoed this sentiment: “Select ANC mode and most of the world goes quiet in a way you’d normally only expect from better sets of over-ear headphones… the AirPods Pro 3 are genuinely close behind.”
On sound quality, Kate Kozuch from Tom’s Guide found the improvements meaningful, writing, “Listening to Taylor Swift’s ‘So Long London,’ the AirPods Pro 3’s spatial audio performance shone. The choral intro swirled around my head while the song’s heartbeat-feel thumped through my ears, delivering a surprisingly satisfying bass level.”
Microphones and calls
Microphone performance has also been refined. Nicole Nguyen of WSJ reported, “While I was making a call outside, my editor said my voice seemed like I was in a soundproof room.” Kate Kozuch added from Tom’s Guide that, “Even as I walked through busy Manhattan streets, the voice isolation feature introduced in iOS 26 filtered out the noise to keep my voice in focus.”
Heart rate and fitness
Apple added a heart rate sensor to the AirPods Pro 3, extending their use beyond audio. David Carnoy at CNET noted, “Heart-rate monitoring is new to the AirPods, though it’s already available with the PowerBeats Pro 2. I’ll be testing that feature as soon as I get my hands on a review sample along with Apple’s new live translation feature.”
Nicole Nguyen tested it side by side with her Apple Watch: “Inside each bud, a tiny sensor flashes invisible infrared light to measure your pulse. I started an outdoor walk workout from the Fitness app and saw my heart rate on screen… Basically, I had a backup if one momentarily dropped.”
Live translation
Live translation is one of the most ambitious additions, though its rollout varies by region. Eric Zeman of PCMag found it impressive: “After a quick press of the Action Button, the live translation feature launched and translated [Spanish] speech. The delay was only a second or so, and the translation sounded quite natural.”
But in the EU, Adrian Weckler noted a key limitation: “There is one big new feature in the AirPods Pro 3 that we’re not getting in the EU… Live Translation, which translates speech in French, German, Portuguese or Spanish into English in real time. It looks like it’s not being launched in the EU because of regulatory complications.”
Nicole Nguyen flagged that the feature is still rough around the edges: “There was a delay between his speech and my in-ear translation, which made the conversation stilted… the AirPods delay was long and it didn’t always transcribe speech correctly, leading to nonsensical translations.”
Battery and durability
Battery life is up to 8 hours with ANC enabled, and 10 hours in transparency or hearing aid modes. Kate Kozuch emphasized the travel benefit: “I took a 6-hour cross-country flight, and not only did my AirPods Pro 3 last the entire trip, but they also made it the hour-or-so-long Uber ride home.”
Nicole Nguyen confirmed the real-world endurance: “The new Pros can last eight hours with active noise canceling turned on, up from six hours in the Pro 2 model. Acting as a hearing aid, the Pro 3 can run for 10 hours.”
The buds are also now IP57 rated, which Eric Zeman praised as “making them mostly waterproof and thus better for sweaty (or rainy) workouts.”
Verdict
The consensus is clear: AirPods Pro 3 improve nearly every aspect of the formula. Stronger ANC, longer endurance, better fit, and new fitness features make them Apple’s best in-ear headphones yet. But Live Translation isn’t universal, the stiffer tips may not suit everyone, and the charging case no longer includes a cable.
As Nicole Nguyen summarized in WSJ, “If your old Pros are on their last legs, the new ones are a worthwhile upgrade.”
Check out some video reviews below:
