Apple AirPods Pro 3 Review: The iPhone Pick if They Fit

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Overview

A year after launch and one big iOS update later, the AirPods Pro 3 are a more complete product than the one first reviewed in September 2025. iOS 27 added the custom EQ that early reviews asked for, and GymKit can now pass the earbuds’ heart rate to a compatible treadmill or exercise bike. The core reason to buy them hasn’t changed: for an iPhone owner, they deliver some of the strongest noise cancelling measured in any earbuds, with an 8-hour rated battery per charge and IP57 dust and water protection for the buds and the case.

Next to the AirPods Pro 2, almost every part has changed. The bulb is smaller, the tips now have foam inside the silicone and come in five sizes (XXS is new), the buds can now read your pulse during workouts, and protection rises to IP57 from IP54. Battery per charge rises from 6 to 8 hours with noise cancelling on, while the case’s total drops from 30 to 24 hours. The case keeps MagSafe and Qi charging, gains Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding, and the old pairing button on the case is now a touch-sensitive area on its front. They’re built around the iPhone: on Android they play audio over Bluetooth, but most of what sets them apart doesn’t work.

Key Specifications

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling

This is where the Pro 3 earn their price. SoundGuys measured an average 90% cut in the loudness of outside noise, up from 83% on the AirPods Pro 2 and the highest figure it has recorded for earbuds. TechGearLab’s measurements put them at 31.3 dB of overall reduction, a hair behind the 32 dB of the Sony WF-1000XM6, the best in its test. In everyday use, testers found commuter noise and nearby chatter far better controlled than on the Pro 2, and on a flight What Hi-Fi heard more of the engine’s low and mid-frequency drone removed.

The one rival that can match or beat them depends on who is measuring. SoundGuys’ lab put the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) at 85%, below the Pro 3, yet What Hi-Fi, comparing the two directly, found the Bose quieter overall while judging Apple’s cancelling the more natural of the two. Either way, the gap between these flagships is small enough that comfort and phone choice should settle it before a few percentage points do.

Transparency mode is another strength, with people’s speech and the room around you sounding natural instead of processed.

Sound Quality, EQ and Calls

Against the Pro 2, the Pro 3 have more bass weight and a wider, more open presentation, with extra detail. What Hi-Fi gave the sound full marks, calling the Pro 3 “more spacious-sounding and more dynamic, too” next to the Pro 2. Not everyone heard it as an improvement: Tom’s Guide’s reviewer, after three months, missed the Pro 2’s more neutral tuning and felt some liveliness had been traded for heavier bass.

SoundGuys’ measurements explain part of that split. Apple’s tuning shifts with volume: at lower listening levels, bass and treble get more emphasis. SoundGuys noted that a later firmware update eased that treble region a little. Since iOS 27 you can change the balance yourself, as the AirPods settings now include a custom EQ with three bands (bass, mids and treble). It’s basic next to the 10-band EQ in Sony’s app for the WF-1000XM6, yet Apple had never offered any AirPods EQ before.

The Pro 3 still stream over AAC or SBC only. There’s no LDAC or aptX for higher-bitrate Bluetooth audio, and no lossless streaming, which matters less on an iPhone (which doesn’t support those codecs anyway) than on an Android phone.

Calls are a strong point. TechGearLab scored their calls 9.6 out of 10; in its tests, highway traffic and a passing train stayed off the line.

Fit and Comfort

Apple shrank the bulb that sits in the ear and redesigned the shape, and the foam-infused tips are firmer than the old all-silicone ones. For many ears that’s a clear gain. TechRadar’s reviewer, for whom no earlier AirPods had stayed put, could shake their head without losing a bud and thinks they’re “the best earbuds for small ears Apple has made”. TechGearLab named them, with the Google Pixel Buds 2a, the most comfortable in-ear buds in its test.

Other testers had the opposite experience, and this is the Pro 3’s real trade-off. At Tom’s Guide, the long-term reviewer, though less troubled than a colleague, felt the deeper-reaching tips press in a way the Pro 2 never did; that colleague disliked the fit enough to stay with the Pro 2. If your Pro 2 fit perfectly, try the Pro 3 before you upgrade.

Dust and water protection is a step up. IP57 covers the buds and the case against dust and a brief dunk in fresh water, up from the Pro 2’s IP54.

Battery Life and Charging

Apple’s ratings: up to 8 hours per charge with noise cancelling, 7.5 with Spatial Audio head tracking, and 6.5 during a workout with the heart-rate sensor running. Test results vary with how they’re used. SoundGuys’ standard playback test, with noise cancelling on, ran 8 hours 42 minutes, against 5 hours 43 minutes for the Pro 2. TechRadar’s reviewer, with every feature in use day to day, got closer to 5.5 hours, while Tom’s Guide’s reviewer got through a 6-hour cross-country flight on one charge.

The case is where Apple gave ground: it holds up to 24 hours in total with noise cancelling on, down from 30 on the Pro 2, and over What Hi-Fi’s test period the case needed a top-up more often than the Pro 2’s. A five-minute top-up in the case is good for roughly an hour. The case charges on a MagSafe or Qi pad, an Apple Watch charger or USB-C, but no cable comes in the box.

The case has a speaker for Find My and a lanyard loop, and its Ultra Wideband chip supports Precision Finding on an iPhone; iOS 27 and watchOS 27 extend that to the Apple Watch. AirPods carry Apple’s one-year limited warranty.

Heart Rate, Hearing Health and iPhone Features

The Pro 3 are the first AirPods with a heart-rate sensor, which reads blood flow in the ear with light. With just the earbuds and an iPhone, the Fitness app can track about 50 workout types, and since iOS 27, GymKit lets a compatible treadmill or exercise bike receive that heart rate.

The hearing health features carry over from the Pro 2: Hearing Test, and a Hearing Aid feature that makes the buds a clinical-grade hearing aid for adults who perceive their hearing loss as mild to moderate. Hearing Protection lets the buds act as earplugs in loud places, though Apple says it isn’t suitable for sustained sounds above 110 dBA or sudden blasts like fireworks. None of the reviews we read tested the Hearing Aid feature itself.

Live Translation, started by pressing and holding both stems, translates face-to-face conversation into your ears in several languages, with an Apple Intelligence iPhone on iOS 26 or later. Results varied: SoundGuys heard a noticeable delay and found office chatter confused it, while TechRadar’s reviewer, talking with a Spanish speaker, got the English almost at once and called it “remarkably good”. Hands-free Siri AI, still labelled a beta, also works through the buds with a compatible iPhone on iOS 27.

How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition?

Apple launched the AirPods Pro 3 below Sony’s and Bose’s flagships and level with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, while its own AirPods 5 sell for much less with open-fit cancelling.

Apple AirPods Pro 3: Worth It for iPhone Owners Who Want Real Quiet

Buy the AirPods Pro 3 if your phone is an iPhone and you spend real time on planes, trains or in open offices: the cancelling, the natural Transparency mode and the iPhone-only extras are the reasons to choose them. They also make sense if you’d like workout heart-rate tracking without a watch, or want the hearing health features in earbuds you’d wear anyway. Owners of a Pro 2 that fits well and still holds a charge have less reason to hurry; the gains are in quiet, battery and sensors rather than in a new kind of product.

Android users should look elsewhere. Our Sony WF-1000XM6 review covers the pick for LDAC and the longest measured battery here, and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro give Samsung phone owners the same kind of tight integration Apple gives iPhone owners. If you want stronger cancelling than the Pro 3 (What Hi-Fi’s head-to-head verdict), plus aptX Adaptive on compatible Android phones, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) justify their higher price. If battery life matters more to you than Apple’s extras, the Technics EAH-AZ100 carry a longer rated battery. And if you dislike ear tips or want Apple’s cancelling for less, the AirPods 5 trade some quiet and battery life for an open fit.

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Apple AirPods Pro 3

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Marcus WebbSenior Editor 𝕏

Marcus has been hunting for the best tech and gear for over 40 years — as a coder, gamer, and lifelong outdoors enthusiast, he knows the gap between a good spec sheet and something that actually holds up.

How this was made: Built from the 27 sources listed above, including 9 independent reviewers such as SoundGuys, TechGearLab and TechRadar. Written with AI, then fact-checked against those sources by a separate AI. We haven’t tested this product ourselves. How we review →