When Apple released AirPods Pro 2 three years ago, they changed what people expected from earbuds. They weren’t just for listening to music anymore – they became more useful in everyday life as hearing aids. With the AirPods Pro 3, Apple is building on that foundation. These new earbuds bring live language translation and improved hearing aid functionality into the mix, a more secure fit, heart rate monitoring, and what Apple boldly calls “the world’s best active noise cancelling.”
New design elements
Physically, the fit of notoriously loose AirPods has been rethought for the Pro 3 to better keep them securely stuck in your ears. While they retain the AirPods general appearance, the Pro 3 are smaller to better conform and fit more securely in your outer ear folds and canal. Aiding in ensuring a more dependable wear, you’ll now get five different-sized ear tips as well.
For those who wear AirPods during workouts, not only are the Pro 3 designed to stay in your ears against violent head movements, but they are also equipped with heart rate sensing that can be monitored in the iPhone Fitness app for 50 specific types of workouts. Pro 3 can also track your workouts, heart rate, and calories burned, and are now IP57 water and sweat-resistant for the first time.
Acoustically, Apple has redesigned its AirPods airflow architecture to improve overall sound, including a wider soundstage and bouncier bass response.
What may be a more obvious upgrade to listeners is improved active noise cancelling (ANC). Apple says the Pro 3 delivers twice the noise reduction as the Pro 2, boldly claiming they now offer “the world's best active noise cancellation of any in-ear wireless headphones.”
Best of all, Apple has boosted the Pro 3 battery life from six to eight hours on a single charge, 10 hours in transparency mode.
Read more: Apple’s New iPhone Air Is So Thin It Feels Unreal
Live Translation
For world travelers, the AirPods 3, along with the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, and AirPods Pro 2, are destined to become a must-have – or will be once the translation feature is fully baked. While there are a growing number of translation earphones and smart glasses, few offer the total benefits package for iPhone owners.
When iOS 26 is released, the three compatible AirPods models will offer a beta version of Live Translation, powered by Apple Intelligence AI, supporting English, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. Apple says that Italian, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese will be added later this year, but warns that some features may not be available in all regions or languages.
Apple says its Live Translation is more than a straight word-by-word rendition, which often produces comical results. Instead, Apple Intelligence will translate the intent of responses so the translation makes sense given the circumstantial context.
When conversing with a foreign speaker, their voice volume will be reduced so you can better hear the translation. To “talk” to your co-conversationalist, you use your iPhone to either “speak” or show the text of what you want to say.
If both you and your foreign speaker are wearing compatible AirPods, no iPhone is necessary – you can just converse naturally as if you were both using a Star Trek universal translator, a boon for international business and diplomatic conversation. It’s not clear if Live Translation will work for iPhone-to-iPhone phone/FaceTime calls or if you lend a pair of compatible AirPods to a non-English speaker who doesn’t have an iPhone. I’ll let you know when I have a chance to test the function.
AirPods 3 Hearing Aid Improvements
My two major complaints about the AirPods 2 as OTC hearing aids were the short (for hearing aids) battery life and how well – or not well – you hear yourself.
As noted, the AirPods Pro 3 improved battery life now provides 10 hours of hearing aid usage in transparency – aka hearing aid – mode. That’s still not exactly all day as you’d get from a standard OTC hearing aid, but it’s a massive four-hour improvement.
Apple also says it’s improved the AirPods transparency mode for how you hear your own voice and “will sound more natural than ever,” which I’ll test with all of these claimed improvements when I get my unit.
Pricing and Availability
Apple has maintained the AirPods Pro 2 $249 price for the AirPods Pro 3. They are available for pre-sale now on Apple.com, with availability on September 19.
[Image credit: Apple]
