What's Different With the AirPods Pro 3 Design

[MacRumors]

Apple tweaked the design of the AirPods Pro 3, changing the fit of the tips in the ears and bringing some updates to the case. On the whole, the AirPods Pro 3 look a lot like the AirPods Pro 2, but there are some differences to be aware of.

Earbud Design

Apple reengineered the AirPods Pro 3 using more than 10,000 ear scans and more than 100,000 hours of user research.

Apple says internal architecture was revamped to make each AirPod slightly smaller, and the external geometry of the ear tip was aligned to the center of the body to improve stability. Basically, the ear tips are now rotated inward.

The shape is meant to better fit into the ear canal, improving sound isolation and ensuring that the AirPods Pro stay in place during workouts.

When it comes to actual size, there are a couple changes. The AirPods Pro 3 are the same height as the AirPods Pro 2, so the stem isn't any shorter. Width is now 19.2mm, down from 21.8mm, so they're a little bit slimmer. They're also deeper, though, measuring 27mm, up from 24mm. Weight increased too, so the AirPods Pro 3 are 5.55 grams, while the AirPods Pro 2 were 5.3 grams.

Charging Case

There were rumors that Apple would slim down the AirPods Pro 3 Charging Case, like it did with the AirPods 4 Charging Case last year.

That didn't happen. The AirPods Pro 3 Charging Case is actually larger than before. It measures in at 1.86 inches tall (up from 1.78 inches), 2.45 inches wide (up from 2.39 inches), and 0.86 inches deep (up from 0.85 inches). It's not as heavy, weighing 1.55 ounces, down from 1.79 ounces.

AirPods Pro 2 on left, AirPods Pro 3 on right​

The case for the AirPods Pro 3 has an attachment point for a lanyard, along with a capacitive pairing button and an invisible LED that only shows up when the case is opened or charging.

Battery life for the earbuds themselves is up, but the charging case doesn't last as long. Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the AirPods Pro 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

You can pre-order the AirPods Pro 3 now, and the earbuds will launch on September 19. Pricing is still $249.

Article Link: What's Different With the AirPods Pro 3 Design

 

[Lyrics23]

A larger case for a smaller battery, to hold smaller earbuds. I’m curious how that works out.

 

[Taq'aix]

Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

Why???

 

[BelgianChoklit]

I own the Pros 2 and the ANC is essantial for being able to work at the office. I have a colleague behind me who makes internal burp noises after lunch and he also yawns starting from 3pm most of the time. These noises drive me nuts. Then there's the occasional person eating a biscuit which I hate as well. So while the ANC is great on the Pros 2, I'll be trying the 3 out at the Apple Store with the mix of earwax of the entire city inside them, and wait for good deals at the end of the year or next year.

 

[De4our]

Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

Why???

I’d lean towards the U2 chip in the charging case either being more power hungry or large enough physically to require a smaller battery. Either that, or similar to them re-using the H2 and S10 chips it has something to do with supply chain issues in securing the larger batteries to meet demand.

 

[tyranne201]

did they lie about sound quality? same chip and sound architecture of AirPods Pro 2.

"Custom high dynamic range amplifier" is available in both 2 and 3.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

Why???

You mean listenint time? Yes the case is smaller so probably that's the reason. Still more than enough for me.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

A larger case for a smaller battery, to hold smaller earbuds. I’m curious how that works out.

Not sure but I think the volume is smaller.

 

[Palindrom]

At first I was worried about making a bad deal when I got the pro 2 like 2 months ago in a deal, then I compared the data sheet yesterday and I saw that sound vice not much could be different between pro 2 and 3 since they share the same chip.

I am not sure about the anc. I have experienced that for all the pro and max the advertising and subjective marketing from owners of those were way more promising than what all the headphones could deliver in the end. I can still hear people talk in the room with anc turned on on pro 1&2 and max as long as no playback over the headphones

Happy over having the pro 2 with 30h of possible playback with the case instead of the 24 with the pro 3

 

[dustin_]

Yes the case is smaller so probably that's the reason.

what? no, the pro 3 case is larger. with worse battery life.

 

[BelgianChoklit]

what? no, the pro 3 case is larger. with worse battery life.

Then I don't get it. I first thought it was bigger in one dimension and smaller in the other 2 with the volume being smaller but that's not the case it seems.

 

[Digitalweddings]

Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

Why???

Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

Why???

It’s a typo

 

[dustin_]

It’s a typo

by apple?

eta: i guess the 3’s do specify w ANC enabled. the 2’s do not.

 

[jaysapple]

Super glad that mark gurman was wrong about his last minute rumor, stating that there was no improvement to audio quality. As far as the battery life of the case goes, the 3’s mention 24hrs WITH anc, while the 2’s dont specify if anc is on or not.

 

[WilliamG]

A larger case for a smaller battery, to hold smaller earbuds. I’m curious how that works out.

This. What’s going on here?

 

[ghostface147]

10,000 ears? There’s over 8 billion people in the world.

 

[somethingelsefl]

Looking forward to the AirPod Air in five years which is 50% and can get lost in my ear canal

 

[Taq'aix]

At first I was worried about making a bad deal when I got the pro 2 like 2 months ago in a deal, then I compared the data sheet yesterday and I saw that sound vice not much could be different between pro 2 and 3 since they share the same chip.

I am not sure about the anc. I have experienced that for all the pro and max the advertising and subjective marketing from owners of those were way more promising than what all the headphones could deliver in the end. I can still hear people talk in the room with anc turned on on pro 1&2 and max as long as no playback over the headphones

Happy over having the pro 2 with 30h of possible playback with the case instead of the 24 with the pro 3

I don’t know. I think you’re massively missing out.

 

[Shin-Ra]

Whilst the AirPods Pro 3 don’t support Bluetooth 6 like the new iPhone 17’s N1 wireless networking chip/radio, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any other benefits from Apple-Apple N1-to-H2 comms.

For example the Vision Pro supports low-latency lossless audio H2‑to‑H2:

And if you want to use headphones with Apple Vision Pro, AirPods Pro 2 with USB‑C and AirPods 4 offer the perfect experience — featuring Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency, supported by the H2‑to‑H2 connection across devices.

But I’ve found no such mention of this in the iPhone 17 specs. It could be a limitation of distance and antenna design, the Vision Pro being predictably close to your ears and large in surface area for a better antenna.

 

[jib2]

This. What’s going on here?

I suspect that it takes more power to charge the AirPods 3 Pro since they last longer (without the charge case). If the battery is the same size, it wouldn't recharge the more powerful AirPods as long as the less powerful AirPods 2.

 

[vvvvvv]

Surely I'm not the only one who saw black Airpods during the event. Where are those?

 

[Black0ut21]

I wish they had custom Option where they could scan my ears make ones fit to me id pay more for that

 

[Palindrom]

I don’t know. I think you’re massively missing out.

Well, you don’t know 😉

 

[titanium69]

Bigger case, less case battery…

Apples knows the typical apple user is a dumbo… why bother to invest & innovate if they’ll buy it anyway & it’ll be a success.

Jobs was the driving force behind apple being the industry leader… now under cook it’s just another shareholders-first bare-minimum spend ******** company.

 

[svish]

Don't know why the charging case provides less battery backup when it is actually slightly bigger. Expecting the fit to be better with the new model.