Apple Announces AirPods Pro 3

Apple didn’t just announce new iPhones and Apple Watches today, it also introduced its new AirPods Pro 3 earbuds, offering what it claims is the best in-ear Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) in the market.

“With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality and the world’s best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones,” Apple senior vice president John Ternus says. “Combined with an improved fit that provides greater stability for even more people, heart rate sensing, extended battery life, and Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence, AirPods Pro 3 take personal audio to the next level.”

The AirPods Pro 3 earbuds look very similar to the AirPods Pro 2, model, as does its charging case. But there are some major upgrades, too:

ANC improvements. Apple says the new earbuds remove up to 2x more noise than AirPods Pro 2 and 4x the original AirPods Pro, thanks to new ultra-low noise microphones, advanced computational audio capabilities, and new foam-infused ear tips that provide better passive noise isolation.

Audio quality improvements. AirPods Pro 3 use a new multiport acoustic architecture that Apple says “precisely controls the airflow that carries sound into the ear, helping deliver an exceptional spatial listening experience.” They offer a new Adaptive EQ experience with improved bass, a wider soundstage, and improved vocal clarity across music, shows, and calls.

Battery life improvements. AirPods Pro 3 last for up to 8 hours while using ANC, up from 6 hours with the previous version. And battery life in transparency mode is up by 67 percent to 10 hours.

Updated design. While everyone’s ears are different, making finding a good pair of earbuds an individual issue, Apple designed AirPods Pro 3 to fit better for more people and provide better in-ear stability for HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) and other activities. It performed over 10,000 ear scans and over 100,000 hours of user research, and reengineered the earbuds to be smaller and better align with an ear’s internal geometry. Apple also provides a new XXS tip size in the box for people with small ear openings. And there’s IP57 sweat and water resistance.

Heart rate tracking. AirPods Pro 3 are the first Apple earbuds to offer heart rate tracking, providing integration with over 50 workouts in Apple Fitness. It does this with a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow. Users with AirPods Pro 3 and an iPhone can use the new Workout Buddy feature in iOS 26 for Apple Intelligence-powered workout sessions while getting real-time performance metrics on-screen.

Live translation. In arguably the best demo of the announcement event, AirPods Pro 3 users can use their earbuds like a Babelfish in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and get live language translation in real time during face-to-face conversations with people speaking another language. This feature is currently in beta, is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, and will be coming to four more languages by the end of the year, including Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified).

AirPods Pro 3 cost $249, the same price as its predecessor. You can preorder a pair today from Apple and they will arrive on Friday, September 19.

You can learn more on the Apple website.