AirPods Pro 3 - An Apple Critic’s Perspective

Quick Overview

The AirPods Pro 3 are an incredible overall package, offering superior sound quality, better ANC, and significant battery life improvements over the Pro 2s, though the high price and lack of Android feature support remain major drawbacks for non-Apple users.

Key Points: The AirPods Pro 3 deliver substantially better sound quality than the Pro 2s, with frequency response charts showing improved performance across the spectrum, especially in the bass and treble regions when ANC is active. Battery life is significantly increased: ANC usage yields 8 hours (2 hours more than Pro 2), and Transparency mode offers 10 hours (4 hours more than Pro 2) on a single charge. The new AirPods Pro 3 are slightly larger than the Pro 2 case (43.99g vs 50.8g), and the ear tip attachment is overly tight, requiring tools or excessive force to remove, which is a design flaw. The reviewer, despite being an Apple critic, ultimately loves the Pro 3s for their performance, stating they are close to being 'too good' for their own good, especially regarding ANC effectiveness. Lack of Android feature support is a significant negative, as features like Automatic Ear Detection, Conversational Awareness, and Head Gestures require an Apple device; however, the third-party app LibrePods offers some functionality but requires root access. The price point of $249 USD (or $848 USD bundled with the cheapest iPhone 15e) is noted as expensive, especially considering Apple's perceived hostility toward Android users. The ANC is so effective that the reviewer found it jarring when turning it off in noisy environments like airplanes or gyms, indicating a very positive performance in noise cancellation.

Context: This video provides a critical review of the Apple AirPods Pro 3, contrasting them directly with the previous generation, the AirPods Pro 2. The reviewer, Linus Sebastian, evaluates various aspects including sound quality (using frequency response charts comparing against target curves), active noise cancellation (ANC) effectiveness in real-world noisy scenarios (planes, gyms), battery life improvements, physical design changes (like the ear tip attachment), and cross-platform usability, particularly for Android users who rely on third-party apps like LibrePods for feature parity.