Apple Was Caught Off Guard by AirPods Pro 3 Popularity

[LouisMac90]

I find it a bit strange to hear. They got massively discounted on Amazon throughout Nov/Dec - as witnessed here with multiple headlines “Lowest price seen “ multiple times? That is very unusual for a brand new Apple product.

I tried them - and returned them. They did not fit my ears. Could do max 1 hour with them in my ears.

I refurbed my AP2’s and are still happy with those.

Amazon store even if it states sold by Apple isn't actually ran by Apple its Amazon as an authorized reseller that's why you always see deals from third parties. They buy the stock at a discounted rate but cannot sell them for more than original the manufacture in this case Apple.

 

[LouisMac90]

Are they that much better than the 2s? I love my Pro 2!

Sound is very subjective but the sound quality overall is really good with better base plus the ear tips are like a rubber/foam material unlike the previous ear tips. You can go into an Apple Store to try them (don't worry they sanitize before each person).

 

[Nicky G]

I wonder why they’re being so regularly discounted at this point? Unless they shifted production upward, overproduced, and now they have so many they need to unload a bunch?

 

[AppleMega]

With AirPods Pro 2 I rarely used my AirPods Max.
With AirPods Pro 3, my AirPods Max have been retired.

 

[zubikov]

Is that why they dropped to $200 before Xmas and stayed there since? Because there's too much demand?

Also I'm the small camp of people that had to return Airpod Pro 2s because their fit was so bad it was painful, but Airpod Pro 3s fit perfectly. They sound just fine.

 

[contraband]

I don't buy this. I read about lots of dissatisfaction with the physical redesign.

 

[emulator]

Is that why they dropped to $200 before Xmas and stayed there since? Because there's too much demand?

Also I'm the small camp of people that had to return Airpod Pro 2s because their fit was so bad it was painful, but Airpod Pro 3s fit perfectly. They sound just fine.

Actually it's $200 every other week somewhere, it was Amazon again a few days ago.

 

[JTK Awesome]

With AirPods Pro 2 I rarely used my AirPods Max.
With AirPods Pro 3, my AirPods Max have been retired.

Diff'rent Strokes for diff'rent folks.

Good luck using APP instead of APM on a long flight (for example).

 

[yadmonkey]

The EMF disables the part of the brain that worries about it. Nice feature.

I love that someone disagreed with my very sincere comment.

 

[kaz911]

Amazon store even if it states sold by Apple isn't actually ran by Apple its Amazon as an authorized reseller that's why you always see deals from third parties. They buy the stock at a discounted rate but cannot sell them for more than original the manufacture in this case Apple.

Rule #1 of business : NEVER discount a product that sell like hotcakes

If it was such a great success - they would NEVER have discounted it multiple times. Does not matter who is selling - but only idiots discounts products that sell fast. Every discount is off the bottom line profit.

If you want to use it as a “pull in” you would say 50% of extra “ear buds” when you buy AP3.

 

[SactoGuy18]

That's strange not to predict they would be popular. They are far and away the best product in a crowded market -- better musically, better transparency, better noise control, better battery life, better connectivity, better looks, better fit. The price is insanely low for the quality, too.

Even in the domain of over-the-ears headphones they're superior to everything but a handful of rivals.

But I think that may change because 1) we may see a separate Headphones app in iOS 27 that supports third party wireless headphones much better and 2) we really don't know what wireless codec for headphones the N1 (and likely N2) will support beyond AAC.

 

[dasmb]

But I think that may change because 1) we may see a separate Headphones app in iOS 27 that supports third party wireless headphones much better and 2) we really don't know what wireless codec for headphones the N1 (and likely N2) will support beyond AAC.

Honestly, codec is a bit of a red herring for practical audio quality. Yes, better coding + more bandwidth generally = better, but properly managing the existing AAC bandwidth can result in plenty of resolution.

More important aspects of quality: noise floor + external noise distortion (which is why the AirPods family are the best in the business -- no other manufacturer has a noise floor as low or distortion free), transparency (brands like SONY and Focal have excellent ANC but struggle with transparency), bandwidth consistency (as distance from transmitter increases, as competing signal count increases...does the device work for the marathon, or a crowded train hall during rush hour), physical user experience switching devices & the like.

Apple has a heck of a moat on these unrelated to compression.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Honestly, codec is a bit of a red herring for practical audio quality. Yes, better coding + more bandwidth generally = better, but properly managing the existing AAC bandwidth can result in plenty of resolution.

More important aspects of quality: noise floor + external noise distortion (which is why the AirPods family are the best in the business -- no other manufacturer has a noise floor as low or distortion free), transparency (brands like SONY and Focal have excellent ANC but struggle with transparency), bandwidth consistency (as distance from transmitter increases, as competing signal count increases...does the device work for the marathon, or a crowded train hall during rush hour), physical user experience switching devices & the like.

Apple has a heck of a moat on these unrelated to compression.

One possibility is that Apple could expand the bandwidth of AAC using the N1 and N2 chip so it has the sound equivalent of as high as 512 kilobits/second data rate, which would make the sound quality just about the same as Apple Lossless. The replacement for the H2 chip we may see on future AirPods Pro and AirPods Max products could support this much higher AAC rate.

 

[S.B.G]

I was caught off guard how terribly they fit in the ear. They were returned and back to the lovely APP2 with foam comply tips.

Same here. I returned them within a day or two of receiving them. They hurt my ears regardless of which tips I used. I still the APP2 today.

 

[yadmonkey]

Same here. I returned them within a day or two of receiving them. They hurt my ears regardless of which tips I used. I still the APP2 today.

Interesting. I have the OG APP and they hurt my ears with all the tips. Wonder if they APP3 would be better or worse.

 

[SactoGuy18]

Same here. I returned them within a day or two of receiving them. They hurt my ears regardless of which tips I used. I still the APP2 today.

The issue is that the "fit" of the AirPods Pro 3 can be a bit different from the AirPods Pro 2. You may have to use a third-party ear tip like those from Comply to get a better "fit" for your ears. Fortunately for me, the APP3 I got fit perfectly with the default tips installed.