AirPods 3 vs. AirPods Pro 1 Buyer's Guide

[DanTSX]

Having only recently purchased AP Pros, I'm happy (for my own sake) that the new AP3 doesn't have the ANC and Transparency mode, and that I didn't buy something about to become out of date.

The ANC and Transparency mode make all the difference when working at the office or home. And will really become useful once I begin to travel again. Of course you can buy better sound or noice canceling or battery life, but the AP Pros really fill out the most area under the curve. Especially so when you consider how easily they blend with a modern Apple ecosystem.

 

[iSayuSay]

At its current state, Airpods Pro is like that weird iPad Pro with A12z chip while the iPad Air had A14 chip a while back.

APP still has some arsenals of its own, namely ANC and transparency. But it won’t be long before Apple came out again with newer earbuds come out with the same features with cheaper price tag, i.e new Beats.

Also H1 chip is getting a bit long in the tooth. Been almost 3 years old and Apple needs a more efficient chip for battery life. I want 8-10hours for the buds alone.

 

[joshuamj]

yeah I’m tempted by the pros, especially the sales from Amazon and what not, but I’m comfortable buying a two year-old Apple product.

You ARE comfortable, or are NOT comfortable buying a two year old product? I wasn't sure if that was a typo haha.

I actually bought these while I await the AirPods 3 delivery next Tuesday. The sound quality is great, but they are just slightly uncomfortable to wear 😭 They do come with four ear tip sizes and four inner ear loops (grips?) though. I have wacky ears I guess lol

 

[WestonHarvey1]

no. they implement the same system as the Pro, the squeeze.

The tap was cool but not totally reliable for me.

 

[Mw0103]

Comparisons of APP sale prices to AP3 list price are going to quickly become irrelevant. The AP3 will go on sale soon enough—just like all AirPods before them.

AirPods have been my favorite Apple product over the past five years. I find uses for my APP and my AP2. APP for noisy environments—AP2 for everything else.

 

[alexjholland]

Here let me sum it up for you...

The AirPods 3 sell for $179 and feature outdated technology and design that is only approaching the level of the 2 year old AirPods Pro design yet remains inferior in many ways (lack of ANR, transparency, larger size) from the AirPods Pro and Apple produced Beats products such as the Studio Buds. When you consider the AirPods Pro often can be found selling for $199 (and sometimes less!) which is only $20 more and in many ways better products such as Beats Studio Buds sell for $149 (discounted often to $129) this is a disappointing launch.

Nice. Thanks, that makes sense and I think I was leaning this way, but thought - surely - there must be something new/better about the AirPod 3?

I’m buying three pairs (mum/sisters) for Christmas and even if the AirPod Pro 2 is launched soon after, that’ll be a total cost of £750 vs £600 for the current generation - so no regrets!

 

[840quadra]

I guess I don't understand the differentiation between these being either "in ear" or not. Both my standard AirPods and Pro models effectively go into my ear canal. The Pros may extend a tiny bit further with the benefit of a silicone seal to block outside sound.

Neither come close to going far into my ear canal as in the case of my etymotic or Final in ear monitors. I think some of the comments & vitriol over the pro’s ear intrusion is a bit extreme.

 

[deeddawg]

The Pros do come with the wireless charging case. I'm curious if the cases are interchangeable, i.e. AirPod 3s will work in Pro Case and vise versa.

New pros do come with MagSafe.
Old pros don’t.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I'm so glad for the Airpods 3.

I have just never been able to deal with any kind of in-ear tips, Apple or otherwise. It has always felt so intrusive in my ears. As a long time Airpods 2 user, this is definitely what I was hoping for 🙌

 

[clunkmess]

You ARE comfortable, or are NOT comfortable buying a two year old product? I wasn't sure if that was a typo haha.

I actually bought these while I await the AirPods 3 delivery next Tuesday. The sound quality is great, but they are just slightly uncomfortable to wear 😭 They do come with four ear tip sizes and four inner ear loops (grips?) though. I have wacky ears I guess lol

Yes i meant not comfortable lol. It would sting to get the Pros then have the Pro 2’s come out.

 

[Neil Harrison]

Here let me sum it up for you...

The AirPods 3 sell for $179 and feature outdated technology and design that is only approaching the level of the 2 year old AirPods Pro design yet remains inferior in many ways (lack of ANR, transparency, larger size) from the AirPods Pro and Apple produced Beats products such as the Studio Buds. When you consider the AirPods Pro often can be found selling for $199 (and sometimes less!) which is only $20 more and in many ways better products such as Beats Studio Buds sell for $149 (discounted often to $129) this is a disappointing launch.

Outdated technology ? Isnt it the same technology as the AirPods Pro.
Personally I feel apple has done will with this upgrade

I will sum it up better sound quality, battery life with magsafe charger. No ear tips and no noise cancellation to suit some (is a complete winner for me).

More than happy to spend the money

 

[ntr7ptr]

AirPods Pro kept falling out of my ears.

I’ve been waiting for these tipless AirPods for over two years.

I got the Pros on a good sale last year. I hate them. Keep falling out. Got foam tips, and I can never get a good seal with different sizes. They work GREAT, for a couple minutes. As long as I don’t move my mouth at all. Even talking on the phone breaks the seal. The only product from Apple I ever got that I regretted. I must have bad ear holes ?

 

[canyonblue737]

Outdated technology ? Isnt it the same technology as the AirPods Pro.
Personally I feel apple has done will with this upgrade

I will sum it up better sound quality, battery life with magsafe charger. No ear tips and no noise cancellation to suit some (is a complete winner for me).

More than happy to spend the money

that's correct... the airpods pro and their tech/design are 2 years old right as this "new" Airpods 3 launches. that's old and it will seem even older when the Airpods Pro 2 launch in 6-9 months in the form of a stemless earbud (like all the competitors, including Apple's own Beats have moved to) but the AirPods 3 are stuck in their "new" form until at least late 2023. i wouldn't be as hard on them if the pricing weren't also absurd in light of the pricing of the Pros... which regularly sell for only $20 more but have considerable additional technology and features.

i totally admit the ONE and only thing i can see good about these is the tip-less design which is getting more and more rare to find in the industry, and if you are someone who likes that i guess these are an upgrade from the old ones... just radically overpriced vs. the competition that Apple brings from the AirPod Pro *and* their Beats brand with cheaper and in many ways superior products like the Studio Buds.

 

[827538]

Maybe not "need" but they do muffle external sound enough to want Transparency mode.

Is it really so hard to just remove one?

 

[827538]

all the rumors point to a launch of the AirPods Pro 2 in 2022 with them becoming true "buds" with no stem.

I have tried bud types before and I actually prefer the stem.

 

[svish]

Airpods 3 offer excellent value.

 

[KindJamz]

Very impressed with the battery life.

I’m more interested in sound with headphones. As long as they last 4-5 hours a charge I’m cool

 

[davidhunter51]

I want an update to PowerBeats Pro. They are the only devices that stay in my ears when walking, jogging, or just running around the house doing tasks. The ear hooks are so easy to get used to, but the case is bulky. Not sure why Apple hasn't upgraded those as an option.

 

[gaximus]

New pros do come with MagSafe.
Old pros don’t.

View attachment 1873076

Thats the MagSafe, All Pros come with wireless charging though, and work with the MagSafe charger, just don't magnetically stick to it. Thats probably why I was confused.

 

[Whathappened]

Just for AirPod Pros, I took the risk and was hoping these didn’t outshine the pros! Totally happy I got them now! Kinda simple but the Pros are still way ahead with some cool features! I absolutely love them! Noise cancellation and transparency mode alone are insane, it’s like magic just blocking out the world.

Right, and if you don’t want anc and don’t care about transparency, the AirPods 3 are the better deal.

Here let me sum it up for you...

The AirPods 3 sell for $179 and feature outdated technology and design that is only approaching the level of the 2 year old AirPods Pro design yet remains inferior in many ways (lack of ANR, transparency, larger size) from the AirPods Pro and Apple produced Beats products such as the Studio Buds. When you consider the AirPods Pro often can be found selling for $199 (and sometimes less!) which is only $20 more and in many ways better products such as Beats Studio Buds sell for $149 (discounted often to $129) this is a disappointing launch.

And you think the AirPods 3 won’t see any discounts? Come on…

 

[Rocko99991]

I can't seem to find an answer for this anywhere: do the 3rd Gen AirPods work with tap and double tap as the originals and 2nd Gen? The one thing I hate about my AirPods Pro is having to grab and squeeze the stem to control them. The tap on my original AirPods is so much quicker and easier. I'll cancel my order for the 3rd Gen if tap control has been eliminated.

Nope-which is a travesty. Pushing a button on the pod moves it around, losing a good fit, takes longer, is less intuitive, just plain worse than tapping.

 

[Eso]

I can't stand in-ear headphones so I'm glad they're not forcing that onto the regular AirPods.

The pros aren’t in-ear though. They press up against the opening of the ear canal but are not inserted into it. They rest in the bowl of the ear like any other ear bud, and merely fit snugly as a necessity for ANC.

 

[areudum]

Hoping the airpods 3 will be nice

i will have then ”upgraded” a lot of my devices(except laptop) here in 2021

iphone pro 13, ipad pro 12.9 and now airpods.

 

[ctdonath]

Is it really so hard to just remove one?

I'm involved in UI design, so am sensitive to subtle yet meaningful "friction" in a user's experience.

Regardless of how "hard", removing one (distinct actions: notice someone talking, try to listen, decide sound is slightly yet annoyingly muffled, pick an ear, reach up, remove, now have one hand occupied with holding bud, decide this is going to take longer, find somewhere safe to put it down, put it down, listen, conversation ends, eventually get annoyed that one ear doesn't have phone's audio or that music stopped, find bud, pick it up, put it back in) is harder than not removing one (distinct actions: none) while still hearing voices & background sounds come thru at normal volume.

If you're professionally using them for 2-6 hours a day, friction matters.

 

[827538]

I'm involved in UI design, so am sensitive to subtle yet meaningful "friction" in a user's experience.

Regardless of how "hard", removing one (distinct actions: notice someone talking, try to listen, decide sound is slightly yet annoyingly muffled, pick an ear, reach up, remove, now have one hand occupied with holding bud, decide this is going to take longer, find somewhere safe to put it down, put it down, listen, conversation ends, eventually get annoyed that one ear doesn't have phone's audio or that music stopped, find bud, pick it up, put it back in) is harder than not removing one (distinct actions: none) while still hearing voices & background sounds come thru at normal volume.

If you're professionally using them for 2-6 hours a day, friction matters.

I use mine all the time for work and gym, I find them to have no friction issues.

Vs pull my iPhone out my pocket, swipe down, hold AirPods symbol, select transparency, put phone away.

Vs pull AirPod out. I think your way is the harder way, also why do yanks keep using 'thru' it's not a word, the correct word is through.