Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,483
37,748


Alongside new MacBook Pro models, the AirPods 3 are set to launch on Tuesday, October 26, and ahead of tomorrow's official release date, reviewers and YouTubers have shared reviews on Apple's latest earbuds.

AirPods-3-Feature-Red.jpg

We've highlighted video reviews of the AirPods 3 in a separate article, and excerpts and details from written reviews can be found below.

Design

Gizmodo reviewer Andrew Liszweski said that the AirPods 3 "look and feel almost identical" to the AirPods Pro, just minus the silicone tips. They're a little bit smaller

airpods-3-gizmodo.jpg
Image from Gizmodo comparing AirPods 2 (left), AirPods 3 (middle), and AirPods Pro without silicone tip (right)

Reviewers also highlighted the Force Touch stems that are already present on the AirPods Pro, noting that the Force Touch feature is a nice improvement for control input, but that there's still no physical volume control option.

Fit

The Verge's Chris Welch said that the new AirPods shape works better, and that while ambient sound is still audible, the closer fit cuts out some of the outside noise.
They're staying put so well that I no longer feel the same anxiety about them tumbling onto the ground and down a sewer grate. That worry was always present with the older AirPods. The healthy dose of ambient sound remains, and I'm just someone who prefers earbuds that offer some quiet from the outside world.

Gizmodo's Andrew Liszweski also said that the AirPods 3 had a better fit in the ear. The AirPods 3 are "ever so slightly heavier" than the original, but the shorter stem and the more streamlined design orients the main speaker "at a better angle feels like it offers better weight distribution."

TechCrunch's Brian Heater said that the AirPods 3 are "unquestionably" more comfortable than older AirPods, but the AirPods Pro are still better.
The more contoured third-generation buds are unquestionably more comfortable than their predecessors, but the gulf between them and the Pros feels like night and day. That's likely to be even more the case for people with smaller ears -- having different-sized, removable tips is a lifesaver for some. The seal those tips provide also create passive noise canceling through a physical seal that effectively keeps in more audio frequencies and blocks out ambient noise.
Pocket-lint's Britta O'Boyle found the AirPods 3 to be too big for her ears, and said that they do fall out of her ears occasionally.

Sound Quality

Apple told The Verge that it aimed to give the AirPods 3 the same sound profile as the AirPods Pro. The Verge reviewer Chris Welch said that the AirPods Pro do indeed sound similar to the AirPods 3, and compared to the AirPods 2, they're "fuller." There's no "striking difference" between the AirPods 2 and AirPods 3, but among other earbuds with a similar design, Welch says the AirPods are "up there with the best."

airpods-3-the-verge.jpg

Other reviewers expressed similar sentiments about the sound. Gizmodo's Andrew Liszweski said that the AirPods 3 don't sound better than the AirPods Pro, but they're a definite improvement over the prior-generation AirPods. "I'm legitimately surprised at how good they do sound," he wrote.
The separation between high and low frequencies isn't as pronounced and distinct as it is with the AirPods Pro and other wireless earbuds that use silicone tips--sometimes the highs get a little lost if bass notes are really thumping in a track--but the new AirPods' sound quality is a huge improvement, and because they're so comfortable to wear, I keep choosing them over my AirPods Pro for most of my daily listening.
Engadget's Billy Steele said that the AirPods sound "so much better" than prior models.
I don't want to mince words here: the new AirPods sound so much better than the previous two versions. Like almost night and day better. Apple didn't make any significant changes to sound quality from the first model to the 2019 version. But for gen three, Apple paired a custom driver with a high-dynamic-range amplifier to improve the audio chops. The company says that the duo work together to produce "rich consistent bass" and "crisp, clean" highs. From the moment I fired up the first song, this was all immediately evident. I don't think I've ever audibly said "woah" with the first note from a guitar on any review unit, but given how average older AirPods sound, it was involuntary this time.
Steele highlighted the Adaptive EQ feature of the AirPods, which customize the sound to the individual ear. The feature and other sound quality updates make the AirPods something he "actually wanted to listen to music with" rather than a listening device to choose just because they're more convenient than other earbud options.

He also tested call quality, and he said that FaceTime calls are "crisp and clear." Phone calls are better, but not to the same degree as FaceTime calls.

Charging Case

Apple added a MagSafe Charging Case to the AirPods 3, and according to reviewers, the case works identically to MagSafe iPhones, attaching with the same alignment to magnetic chargers. There's no reverse wireless charging, though, and Apple told The Verge that the MagSafe Case was intentionally designed so that it can't magnetically latch to iPhones to avoid confusing people.

airpods-3-magsafe.jpg

Battery Life

Pocket-lint's Britta O'Doyle said that in her testing, the battery life of the AirPods listed by Apple was "conservative." Apple says that the AirPods will last for up to six hours, but she got "more listening than promised." The AirPods Pro lasted for 4.5 hours of talk time (Apple says 4), and 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio enabled (Apple says 5).

Wrap-Up

Overall, reviews of the AirPods 3 were highly positive. Reviewers like the new design, which is more comfortable and offers a tighter and more secure fit in the ears, and the improved fit also makes the sound quality better than before.

All of the great AirPods features like quick pairing and easy device switching are present, plus Apple has added Spatial Audio and Adaptive EQ to boost them even further. Reviews lauded the new IPX4 water and sweat resistance rating, and were satisfied with the battery life.

On the downside, some reviewers still missed the silicone tips and the Active Noise Cancellation feature available in the AirPods Pro, but it's clear that these new AirPods are worth checking out, especially at the $179 price point.

Article Link: AirPods 3 Reviews: Better Comfort, Snugger Fit, Improved Sound and Compelling Price Point
 
Last edited:
  • Love
Reactions: SurferPup
Thanks for the reviews. What about the microphone? This is arguably not the best side of the AirPods lineup. I own the AirPods Pro but when I have to make a phone call, especially if I'm outside, I tend to plug my usual earphones, as I get too many complaints from the people I talk to. I hope this gets improved in a future generation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PeterPanana
Coming from gen 1 AirPods I'm very excited for these to arrive tomorrow. Battery life, faster connecting, lower latency with better call quality, find my, MagSafe. All great improvements. I use my AirPods a lot and I'm especially looking forward to taking calls with these. My gen 1 AirPods battery life is atrocious after 5 years.
 
Thanks for the reviews. What about the microphone? This is arguably not the best side of the AirPods lineup. I own the AirPods Pro but when I have to make a phone call, especially if I'm outside, I tend to plug my usual earphones, as I get too many complaints from the people I talk to. I hope this gets improved in a future generation.
??
Airpods are considered the gold standard when it comes to earphone microphones, I would look and see if the grates aren't very dirty or something, blocking the microphones.
 
I’ll be stocking up on AirPod 2s I think. I love that they are small and light and sit in the ear and feel like they are not even there and don’t cut ambient sound. I never had one problem with them falling out.

Don’t like the pros and suspect I won’t like these. I’m hoping for an airpod SE already.
 
Weird how the lack of (passive) noise cancellation is considered a negative, for me it's the feature why I'm getting these to replace the 1st gen airpods besides my Airpods pro. A lot of passive noise cancellation would totally defeat the purpose for me. It's also the differentiator between the Pro's and the normal ones, you want noise cancellation, get the pros.
 
I’m not looking for airpods that are “good headphones”. Airpods are in a different category.. they put your phone in your head. The comfort of the originals is key. I don’t want to feel like I have cotton balls stuck in my ears. I want to feel like my phone is just in my head magically. Original airpods did this so well.
 
I will be interested to try this fit when mine arrive

I really hope they didn't cut down on ambient noise too much.
That is specifically what I love about the AP1/AP2 design

Letting in so much ambient noise means they really can truly disappear in my ear

I kind of wish they'd left the in-ear part unchanged and just made the stems a touch shorter.
But -- I'll reserve any more comment on all that until I try them of course.

Worst case I guess I can just be an AP2 guy for the foreseeable future
 
When Apple introduced AirPods they were the clear price leader. Now…it doesnt seem reasonable to say they are attractive at the price given the other solid competitors that are much cheaper. Sure, there are knockoffs that are garbage but the Beats are cheaper by a significant margin.
 
Sounds like a solid update. I'm looking forward to getting these.
I am too. Before I saw the reviews reference here I read another this morning from a Tech guy who prefers the noise cancellation from the Pros but was very impressed at the improved sound quality of the new 3rd Generation AirPods. He had been testing them for the past week.

"When it was quiet at home, I often thought that I was still wearing my $249 Pros. The sound is really similar, they just lack the noise-canceling in the AirPods Pro."
 
I’m still disappointed that they got rid of the tapping gesture, slapping my left ear to go back a track is so quick when I’m on exercise equipment. Locating and squeezing a small stem three times is much slower and requires me to stop whatever I’m doing. The best solution would have been to keep both methods so the squeeze could be mapped to volume adjustment.

Hopefully the microphones in these will be more robust, I’ve had three fail on my AirPods 2 for some reason. I’ll find out tomorrow when mine arrive. I’m still hoping for more colours too.
 
I cannot seem to bring myself to pay so much for something I'd use so little.

Of all the Apple products, these are the ones that seem to me as overpriced for what they are and do.

I'm not against those who do, but I just can't see or justify the value with these.

I wonder how these sit in the profit margin spectrum for Apple.
 
Everyone's ears are different.
The Airpods and Earpods got a lot of hate because lots of people can't use them. The design of those airpods/earpods don't fit onto people's ears and they fall off.
That's exactly why I don't like them as they don't fit and fall out every time.
Was expecting the new AP3 to be different, but apparently, some of the reviews, like Engadget's review, stated that it's essentially the same, on ear design.
I'll stick with the AP Pros.
 
I’ll be stocking up on AirPod 2s I think. I love that they are small and light and sit in the ear and feel like they are not even there and don’t cut ambient sound. I never had one problem with them falling out.

Don’t like the pros and suspect I won’t like these. I’m hoping for an airpod SE already.
I prefer the originals over the Pros as well, but I don't see a reason why I wouldn't like these. Apart from the stem design, they are much closer to the original AirPods than the Pros given that they don't have silicone tips.

I was worried about an actual Pro-like fit, but now I'm relieved. I'll be happy to replace my AirPods 2 with these once they die, no need to stock up.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.