Apple AirPods Pro 3 hands-on: New design and improved ANC are impressive
Apple's "pro" AirPods were due for an update. Despite continuously upgrading the AirPods Pro 2 with new features since their introduction in 2022, Apple hadn't produced another robust overhaul of its priciest earbuds yet. At today's iPhone 17 event (or iPhone Air event, depending on who you ask), the company unveiled the latest model: the AirPods Pro 3. The company has refined the design, added heart rate sensing, improved active noise cancellation (ANC), delivered live translation and more. And most importantly, it did so without increasing the price.
My brief demo with the AirPods Pro 3 focused entirely on the refined ANC. I wasn't able to try any sustained heart rate tracking or live translation just yet, but I hope to have other opportunities for that later this week. The product area is always set up just outside of Steve Jobs Theater and the marble floors and walls echo seemingly every voice in the large room. It's a nightmare for trying to shoot a video, but it's a prime testing ground for active noise cancellation.
I was immediately impressed by the updated ANC system. The demo area at Apple Park is in a marble-clad room outside of the Steve Jobs Theater. It's a nightmare for shooting video, but it's a great testing ground for ANC. That's because you can seemingly hear every voice echo off the floor and walls. After starting in transparency mode twice with a video and music, I switched to ANC and completely nixed the roar of the room. I had escaped the chaos for a few seconds.
The AirPods Pro 3 even dulled voices around me, with the exception of one very loud talker, to the point the company representative had to tap me on the should because I could no longer hear her questions. I'll need more time with the earbuds to know if they really are better at blocking human voices, but after a few minutes with the new model, I can confidently say they can cancel more regular environmental noise than before.
Developing...This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apple-airpods-pro-3-hands-on-new-design-and-improved-anc-are-impressive-183246429.html?src=rss
