AirPods Pro 3 Do Not Include a Charging Cable in the Box

[MacRumors]

While the AirPods Pro 2 included a USB-C charging cable in the box, the AirPods Pro 3 unveiled on Tuesday come without one, according to Apple's website.

Apple's tech specs page for the AirPods Pro 3 confirms the USB-C charging cable is sold separately. In the U.S., Apple's cheapest USB-C cable costs $19, but you can of course use pretty much any USB-C charging cable from any brand.

The case for the AirPods Pro 3 can be wirelessly charged with MagSafe, Qi, and Apple Watch chargers, so a charging cable is not strictly required.

AirPods Pro 3 also ship without a charger, but that has been the case since the original AirPods Pro launched in 2019, so that is no surprise.

In the U.S., AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249, just like the AirPods Pro 2 were. However, while there was no price increase, Apple is now poised to earn some extra revenue from additional sales of USB-C charging cables.

AirPods Pro 3 are available to pre-order now, and they launch on Friday, September 19. Read our coverage of Apple's announcement to learn about new features, including improved sound quality, increased active noise cancellation, longer battery life, better fit, in-ear heart rate monitoring during workouts, and much more.

Article Link: AirPods Pro 3 Do Not Include a Charging Cable in the Box

 

[clayj]

Brazilian judges complain about this in 3, 2, ...

 

[chriscl]

Oh Apple, you absolute penny-pinching peasants.

 

[Black.Infinity]

One day we will see, charging case sold separately 😟

 

[MacUserFella]

Let’s be real tho, if you’re buying AirPods, you have an Apple device with a cable

 

[Matthew.H]

I get the reasoning behind it. USB-C cables are everywhere now and most people probably have one or more of them at this point. Quite surprised they didn't take them out of the iPhone boxes this year as well.

 

[pamon]

apple just needs users to build it themselves. unreal no charging cable. really would that hurt the bottom line Timmy?

 

[Levithescienceguy]

That's fine. We all have USB-C charging cables at home anyway, not to mention MagSafe pucks.

 

[bookcase]

I can't imagine people buying these don't have a USB-C cable lying around -- likely a dozen of them. Most will have an iPhone.

 

[Black.Infinity]

Let’s be real tho, if you’re buying AirPods, you have an Apple device with a cable

now if your cable is bit damaged instead relying on Air Pods cable you have to buy a new cable. More money for apple

 

[ab2c4]

I get the reasoning behind it. USB-C cables are everywhere now and most people probably have one or more of them at this point. Quite surprised they didn't take them out of the iPhone boxes this year as well.

lol, maybe next year apple will have the "courage" to do that.

 

[ELman]

But it comes with a lanyard loop.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

That's fine. We all have USB-C charging cables at home anyway, not to mention MagSafe pucks.

I have yet to see a magsafe puck in person, other than an Apple Store, and nearly everyone I know has iPhone.

Most do have usb-c cables.

 

[Supermacguy]

Dan, please do a review and let us know what features are not available if we use iOS 18 (I'm going to hold off on liquid glass).

 

[ab2c4]

I have yet to see a magsafe puck in person, other than an Apple Store, and nearly everyone I know has iPhone.

Don't feel bad, I only know one person that has a magsafe puck.

 

[markgpearse]

Makes sense to me. Most people have multiple USB-C cables. If you need one, buy from a third party... Apple's cable are awful (at least that's how I remember my lightning cables.)

 

[ab2c4]

I have no problem with this. Seems like most people have a bunch of cables laying around that they bought on Amazon anyways.

 

[paradox00]

I honestly wish nothing came with USB-C cables, unless they are USB4 or better. I have so many trash cables I’ll never use. Apple’s cables are good enough that I’d use them for charging, but not good enough that I’d purchase them over other options. They should at least be cheaper.

 

[contacos]

They could have sold reverse charging on the iPhone as a feature to justify this but apparently that's still not possible either ...

 

[CasinoOwl]

I don't have a problem with this since I have an abundance of charging cables already. But what would be a good customer experience is allowing a free cable alongside the purchase for people that want/need one.

 

[theluggage]

Apple is now poised to earn some extra revenue from additional sales of USB-C charging cables.

Or buy a cheaper one without Apple branding.
Or just use the one of the handful you probably already have by now.
Or buy a wireless charger.

Ok, it would be nice if Apple had passed on the savings, but the “savings” to Apple are a couple of bucks, not the $20 retail cost.

 

[decimortis]

Don't feel bad, I only know one person that has a magsafe puck.

I use one with my iPhone 14 Pro and it's fantastic.
*whispers: Don't tell Apple I bought the $17 generic one off Amazon though.

 

[S.B.G]

This is a non-issue for me. I have a lot of USB-C cables from various Apple and non-Apple devices. I don't need yet another one that comes included.

If I did need the cable, I can order it separately.

 

[profets]

This was the same for AirPods 4 when they launched last year right?

 

[g35]

I get the reasoning behind it. USB-C cables are everywhere now and most people probably have one or more of them at this point. Quite surprised they didn't take them out of the iPhone boxes this year as well.

I wouldn't mind getting a more useful cable with it, I'd like to be able to have enough for guest rooms etc. But the 1 m cables are worthless to me, they're too short to be useful when you're sitting at any of the sofa/bed/desks, so I don't mind this.