4 Minutes
Apple’s latest AirPods Pro 3 deliver notable upgrades — stronger active noise cancellation (ANC), a built-in heart rate sensor, and an on-device live translation mode — but the charging case tells a different story: it houses a smaller battery than the AirPods Pro 2. Here’s a breakdown of the features, trade-offs, and practical implications for daily use and the broader wireless earbud market.
Key Features
Improved ANC and H2 Performance
The new Pro 3 earbuds retain Apple’s H2 audio chip, delivering what Apple advertises as roughly double the ANC performance versus the previous generation. Sound tuning, latency, and noise suppression benefit from the same silicon foundation, so you get a familiar ecosystem experience with sharper noise reduction.
Health and Accessibility
A headline addition is the built-in heart rate monitor, designed primarily for workouts and fitness tracking while wearing the earbuds. Apple also added a live translation mode and continues to support Transparency and Hearing Aid features, expanding accessibility and real-time communication tools.
Battery Life — The Trade-Off
Buds vs. Case: What’s Changed
Individually, the AirPods Pro 3 earbuds last up to 8 hours of continuous playback — up from 6 hours in the Pro 2. However, combined runtime (earbuds plus charging case) drops to 24 hours, down from 30 hours in the Pro 2. Put simply: the earbuds themselves gained endurance, but the charging case supplies fewer additional hours, implying a smaller internal battery in the case.
.avif)
Dimensions: AirPods Pro 3 (top) and AirPods Pro 2 (bottom)
Apple hasn’t published milliamp-hour (mAh) figures for the batteries, so teardown data will likely confirm exact capacities. The physical measurements add context: the new earbuds are marginally smaller, while the case is slightly larger in footprint but noticeably lighter overall.
Weights and Practical Numbers
The Pro 3 buds weigh 5.55 g (0.20 oz) each; the combined earbuds plus case total 43.99 g (1.55 oz). By contrast, the Pro 2 buds were 5.3 g (0.19 oz) each, with a combined weight of 50.8 g (1.79 oz). The lighter Pro 3 case aligns with the idea of a reduced battery in the case, even as the buds themselves extend single-charge playback.
Apple AirPods Pro 3
Real-World Use Cases
For commuters and travelers who rely on frequent top-ups from the case, the reduced total listening time may matter. But for users who prefer long, uninterrupted listening sessions on a single charge — for instance during long flights, focused work stretches, or extended podcast binges — the 8-hour per-bud improvement is a clear advantage. Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the heart rate monitor, though Apple notes workout usage with heart monitoring and Transparency mode yields about 6.5 hours on one charge.
Advantages and Market Relevance
Advantages include stronger ANC, improved on-bud battery life, health-tracking features, and upgraded Find My functionality thanks to the case’s switch to the U2 chip (the previous case used U1). The trade-off — reduced case-backed total playback — reflects a design choice prioritizing earbud runtime and weight savings over maximum aggregate listening hours. In a crowded wireless earbuds market, Apple’s approach differentiates the Pro 3 by blending health, accessibility, and noise-cancellation upgrades with modest hardware compromises.
Bottom Line
AirPods Pro 3 are an incremental but meaningful update: better ANC, built-in health sensors, and longer single-earbud life make them attractive for users valuing on-ear endurance and smart features. Those who need maximum all-day playback from the case may prefer the previous generation or look for alternatives with larger case batteries.
Comments