The AirPods Pro 3 Will Be More Forgiving for the Tiny-Eared

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At its "Awe Dropping" iPhone event today, Apple unveiled the AirPods Pro 3, which come with a number of improvements to audio, health tracking, and fit.

With the AirPods Pro 3, Apple has made improvements to its earbud design, and they now feature a new multi-port acoustic architecture. This architecture controls the airflow, which helps sound travel into the ear more accurately, while also improving spatial audio.

The AirPods Pro 3 also have a next-generation Adaptive EQ, which uses the new architecture to help improve the bass and widen the soundstage, so users can hear details in songs more clearly.

Active Noise Cancellation on the AirPods Pro 3 has also been improved, with the ANC supposedly being two times more effective than on the AirPods Pro 2, and four times better than on the original AirPods Pro. To do this, the AirPods Pro 3 uses ultra-low noise microphones, Apple's own advanced computational audio, and new foam eartips, which help deliver better passive noise isolation. Apple will also be offering a new XXS size eartip with the AirPods Pro 3.

Additionally, the new AirPods Pro 3 now offer a promised eight hours of music playback with ANC on, which is a 33% increase over the previous model, which offered up to six hours with ANC.

For those who work out with their AirPods, the AirPods Pro 3 come with an IP57 sweat and water resistance rating, which is up from an IPX7 rating on the outgoing model. The earbuds also have a custom-built heart rate sensor, so you can track your heart rate during workouts.

And it wouldn't be a tech product in 2025 if it didn't have some kind of AI feature. With the AirPods Pro 3, Apple is adding Live Translation, which is powered by Apple Intelligence and computational audio. When speaking to someone in one of the supported languages, the AirPods will play the translation back in your ear. You'll also be able to show the Live Translation transcription on your iPhone.

Supported languages include English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, with support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) coming by the end of the year.

Live Translation with AirPods isn't exclusive to AirPods Pro 3; it'll work on AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation and AirPods Pro 2 and later with the latest firmware and paired to an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone running iOS 26 and later.

The AirPods Pro 3 are available for pre-order today for $249 and will start shipping and be available in stores on September 19th.