The $179 AirPods 3 and $249 AirPods Pro are each within the upper-echelon of Apple’s earbuds lineup, so figuring out the upsides and disadvantages to every are important. Each of those have a shorter stem with a contoured head and ship higher audio high quality over commonplace AirPods. The actual variations come all the way down to noise cancellation and what kind of ear-tip you like.
We’ve gone ears-on with AirPods Professional for properly over two years, and AirPods 3 for properly over every week. So let’s break down what you should know to determine which Apple earbuds are best for you.
The perfect mixture of options for the value
Get the AirPods 3 if you need high quality sound and further options like Spatial Audio and do not thoughts a extra open design.
Premium noise cancellation and match
Get the AirPods Professional if you need lively noise cancellation, a transparency mode and swappable ear ideas with a safer match.
You care about battery life
AirPods 3 supply the longest battery lifetime of any true wi-fi earbud from Apple. With listening volumes in between 60% to 70%, we clocked AirPods 3 at six hours and 10 minutes of listening time. The case itself gives 4 extra recharges, which equates to about 30 complete hours of listening. Higher but, 5 minutes within the charging case offers you about an hour of listening.
AirPods Professional however final for about 4 hours and half-hour with ANC on and solely 5 hours with it off. AirPods 3 are the clear winner should you care about battery life.
You need a absolutely water- and sweat-resistance expertise
The bodily left and proper AirPods Professional carry a water and sweat resistant ranking — IPX4 to be particular, however that doesn’t lengthen to the companion case. That adjustments on AirPods 3, because it’s the primary time that each the earbuds themselves and the case are designed to endure a couple of splashes.
So what’s the benefit right here? Effectively, you don’t have to fret about getting the case moist or preserving it in your physique — like in a pocket — whilst you’re understanding. We bought loads sweaty throughout a 45-minute endurance Peloton journey and had the case in our pants pocket, and had peace of thoughts that we wouldn’t trigger lasting harm.
You need “Professional-level” options for much less
AirPods 3 are $70 cheaper than the AirPods Professional, and also you’re solely giving up silicone ear-tips, noise cancellation and a transparency mode. The most recent AirPods ship on nice, sturdy sound because of a brand new driver and Adaptive EQ which adjusts the combo in real-time in your ears (similar to on the Professional). They sound practically pretty much as good and assist Spatial Audio with head monitoring. When you’re cool with a looser match that doesn’t seal off your ear and no noise cancellation, AirPods 3 are the way in which to go.
You need noise cancellation and a transparency mode
AirPods Pro are our top earbuds pick for Apple customers for plenty of causes, and their listening modes are an enormous motive why. Whether or not you want silence whereas flying, taking the commuter rail or simply at your desk, AirPods Professional’s lively noise cancellation can block out the world round you with ease. A number of microphones and the H1 processor cease environmental or outdoors noise in its tracks to allow you to focus. A Transparency mode additionally permits the earbuds to pipe vital sounds into the combo of no matter you’re listening to — assume an emergency siren on a passing hearth truck or a coworker making an attempt to talk with you whereas working on the workplace.
The tighter seal within the ear because of silicone ear-tips additionally permits these to dam out environmental sounds passively. AirPods 3 don’t seal off the ear for passive blocking and don’t characteristic any type of lively noise cancelation.
You need a tighter match within the ear and a correct seal
The important thing to AirPods Professional’s glorious noise cancelling and superior sound is a silicone ear-tip. In truth, you get three sizes (small, medium and huge) within the field. This fashion they will get cozy in your ear, and correctly seal it off.
Apple even has an “Ear Tip Match Check” built-in which performs tones and makes use of microphones to ensure you have a very good match. Don’t be alarmed if one ear requires a distinct dimension than the opposite, both. AirPods 3 don’t characteristic silicone ear-tips and the contoured plastic construct simply sits in your ear and actually nestles into the canal. They leak sound much more and don’t supply extra superior listening modes.
Whenever you’re selecting between AirPods 3 and AirPods Professional, it actually comes down to suit, how vital noise cancellation is to you and the way a lot you’re prepared to spend.
When you can reside with out ANC and are alright with a looser slot in your ear, AirPods 3 are the way to go at a more affordable $179. And if you need noise cancellation, transparency and a tighter seal in your ear, the AirPods Pro are worth springing for at $249.
