AirPods Pro 3 Won't Get 'Major' Audio or Active Noise Cancellation Improvements

[bluecoast]

Ah, if only every product could be a first generation product... 🙄

People climbing over each other to be the most cynical is tired. The AirPod Pro's are great earpods. Apple is clearly leaning into the fitness market and if I was someone who strapped on a heart rate monitor, then I'd be glad not to need the extra bit of kit. I don't, so this doesn't sound all that important to me-- but then I don't need new APPs either. My 2's have done quite well considering how very many hours of use they get day in and day out for years and how many times that slippery little lozenge of a case has hit the floor.

I'm ok with Apple making products I don't need or want. I'm not so caught up in the Apple mystique that I feel the need to collect them all.

As you say the 2s are great.

What’s wrong, is Apple launching a new version ‘just because’.

Mind you … they do this every year with the iPhone, so 🤷‍♂️

 

[Happy_John]

As you say the 2s are great.

What’s wrong, is Apple launching a new version ‘just because’.

Mind you … they do this every year with the iPhone, so 🤷‍♂️

Or they simply won't release new AirPods Pro. That makes more sense then what the rumors are saying.

"Sense" mightn't come in to it though.

These rumors seem too sketchy and contradictory, to be honest, I'll wait to see what actually happens.

 

[Analog Kid]

As you say the 2s are great.

What’s wrong, is Apple launching a new version ‘just because’.

Mind you … they do this every year with the iPhone, so 🤷‍♂️

"Just because" they include significant new features. Maybe not new features I'm excited about, or you're excited about, but active health monitoring and a better fitting form factor are, in fact, significant new features.

When all they added was USB-C charging to the case and lossless audio in a niche scenario, they didn't increment the model number which led to some confusion around here-- but it seemed the conclusion was they didn't think those changes justified a marketing push. They think these features do.

 

[MNWildFan]

Wow, this is AirPods Max level of pathetic when it comes to this next generation...

They have all this technology at their disposal and all we get is a slightly smaller case and heart rate monitoring?

Talk about a giant punch to the gut!

 

[SoldOnApple]

Do you mean "Apple Lossless" or "Apple Hi-Def Lossless" (i.e. even more lossless than normal lossless)?

The fact that Apple Music offer both options should make people think about what "lossless" means when Apple says it.

There will be quality loss over Bluetooth. No way around that.

What you want is better sound quality and a more accurate reproduction/recreation of the original audio. But that's not "lossless" in any real sense.

I think most people mean at least CD quality without loss when they say lossless.

 

[Innovati0n]

They have all this technology at their disposal and all we get is a slightly smaller case and heart rate monitoring?

you saw the keynote early?

 

[anthony13]

Why would we buy them then? What?

 

[oneMadRssn]

Do people really need their headphones to measure their heart rate? I’d expect that most folks interested in that data already have a fitness tracker of some kind. Why can’t AirPods just be great headphones?!

Not need. And indeed the heart rate feature isn’t that interesting to me.

Still, I *hate* smart watches because of how distracting they are. So getting heart rate out of a device that doesn’t ping me with notifications and reminders is a plus.

 

[turbineseaplane]

No BLE Audio nor LC3 support? For a company that's all about accessibility you'd think they'd support Auracast? Apple must have selective hearing when their bottom line is involved.

They used to be all about accessibility.

It really is a mixed bag on that nowadays.

 

[kerr]

Maybe listening time will decrease by 15% like the AirPods 4 did.

When Apple don’t have much to add, this would be a perfect time to release in black and possibly another color or two (orange please).

If they’re called AirPods Pro 3 (rather than 2) and still come with H2, U1, Bluetooth 5:3, 6 hrs listening time (or less), and the same ANC/TM, no one should buy them.

 

[Spinarelo]

"upgrading" earphones without upgrading audio quality and ANC - why upgrade in the first place? I get the USB-C update on the APP2, but this? to add a heart rate sensor? quite odd at best ...

Not odd at all when it comes to Apple. This is right on par for them

 

[MakaniKai]

I feel like if there was a choice at Apple between “improve the audio quality” and “add heart rate tracking,” the former should have been chosen and the latter seen as a gimmick. But here we are today.

 

[HazMatt69]

LOL, Gurman is an idiot!

 

[ayephoner]

LOL, Gurman is an idiot!

lol

 

[kitt9000]

I had to come in and say that Apple must've read this post and stated lets hammer the new enhanced audio features and noise cancellation quite a few times to make this rumor look completely wrong. lol.

 

[GMShadow]

Mark Gurwrong.

 

[rbramseyjr]

10:07 am	Active Noise Cancellation is 4x better than AirPods Pro 1.
10:06 am	There's a new airflow system that helps improve audio quality and has twice the active noise cancellation compared to AirPods Pro 2.

-- apple event livestream coverage

lmao gurman getting bodied again

 

[neuropsychguy]

I feel like if there was a choice at Apple between “improve the audio quality” and “add heart rate tracking,” the former should have been chosen and the latter seen as a gimmick. But here we are today.

Yes, here we are today: "There's a new airflow system that helps improve audio quality and has twice the active noise cancellation compared to AirPods Pro 2."

What's funny about this rumor is the specs of AirPods Pro 3 were set months ago. Someone leaking a rumor to Gurman about no significant sound quality or noise cancelling improvements seems like he was getting trolled. Either that or maybe he was just making things up and guessing.

 

[iMatt.]

Very happy this was wrong

 

[dalep]

The upcoming AirPods Pro 3 that Apple is expected to unveil tomorrow will not include notable improvements to audio quality or Active Noise Cancellation, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple's new earbuds will have heart rate tracking, a health-related feature that Apple first introduced with the Powerbeats Pro 2. LED optical sensors will pulse to measure heart rate using blood flow, and if the AirPods Pro 3 work like the Powerbeats Pro 2, the data will sync with popular fitness apps.

The AirPods Pro 3 will also feature an updated design for a better fit, though there are no details on what exactly is going to change. The case is also going to be slimmed down, and it will be smaller like the AirPods 4 case.

News of no significant changes to ANC or audio quality is disappointing. There were some rumors of "much better" Active Noise Cancellation and Gurman himself said the AirPods would include a new H3 chip. New chips typically mean improvements to audio quality and ANC, and we could still get some small boosts, but it sounds like most of the focus will be on the new health feature.

Article Link: AirPods Pro 3 Won't Get 'Major' Audio or Active Noise Cancellation Improvements

This aged like milk...

 

[ManBun]

This guy is a hack

 

[bluecoast]

"Just because" they include significant new features. Maybe not new features I'm excited about, or you're excited about, but active health monitoring and a better fitting form factor are, in fact, significant new features.

When all they added was USB-C charging to the case and lossless audio in a niche scenario, they didn't increment the model number which led to some confusion around here-- but it seemed the conclusion was they didn't think those changes justified a marketing push. They think these features do.

Well we saw the new features and I eat my words - I am impressed.

I think the clue in the pitch was 'AirPods Pro users will be...'

It looks like it's a good upgrade from AirPods 2 if you got them back when they launched, as their battery life is probably taking a hit right now.

However, AirPods Pro OG users will get an awesome upgrade.