Everything We Know About AirPods Pro 3
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AirPods Pro are arguably the best Apple accessory. They sound great, have smart features , and are often on sale . If you’re part of the Apple ecosystem, even if you only have one or two other Apple products, I recommend these as the best headphones.
But they’re definitely not cutting-edge: Apple hasn’t updated the AirPods Pro line since 2022, meaning the earbuds you can buy today are no different from the ones you could buy three years ago. Sure, the company has rolled out new software features in that time, including one that turns the earbuds into FDA-cleared hearing aids , but the hardware is the same. These devices are in need of an update.
And if rumors are to be believed, that’s going to happen during tomorrow’s ” Awe Dropping ” event. Along with the iPhone 17 series , the company will likely unveil the AirPods Pro 3, the third generation of its over-ear headphone line. While we probably won’t get an update to the AirPods Max ( which were “upgraded” to USB-C last year ), the latest AirPods Pro sound pretty cool, no joke.
Here’s what we’ll get, according to leaks and rumors:
New H3 chip
As you’d expect from an update like this, the new AirPods Pro will likely feature updated hardware. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman , that includes a “new chip,” and while he won’t confirm it, it’s almost certainly the H3. This is the chip that powers Apple’s AirPods, and is responsible for intelligent audio enhancement, voice quality enhancement during calls, and transparency mode, to name a few. The current AirPods Pro use the H2, so it makes sense that Apple would use the H3 in the new Pro pair.
Details about the H3 are still fairly sparse, so it’s hard to say what hardware advantages this chip will have over the H2 until Apple reveals them in a keynote. However, this H3 chip will likely be responsible for some of the new features rumored to be exclusive to the AirPods Pro 3.
Improved sound quality
It won’t come as a surprise, but the AirPods Pro 3 will likely sound better than the AirPods Pro 2. We don’t have details on how much Apple has improved the audio this time around, but I’d imagine the H3 chip will play a big role. MacRumors also believes that Apple is improving the active noise cancellation in the third-generation AirPods Pro, so the earbuds should perform even better in noisy environments.
Heart rate monitor
In February, Apple released the Beats-branded Powerbeats Pro 2 headphones . These headphones cost the same as the AirPods Pro 2, but they come with a number of unique features. These include over-the-ear hooks that help keep the headphones in place during workouts, as well as something even more technically impressive: heart rate monitors.
Apple has equipped these earbuds with sensors to track your heart rate while you’re using them, just like you would with a miniature Apple Watch in your ears. It’s convenient and makes sense for a product designed for exercise. If you don’t use a fitness tracker, the earbuds will help you track your workouts more accurately.
Naturally, you’d expect Apple to implement such technology into its flagship line of headphones, and if the rumors are true, it will: Back in December, Gurman reported that Apple was working on building heart rate and temperature sensors into the AirPods Pro 3. The technology is reportedly still more accurate on the Apple Watch, but “the headphones aren’t that different.”
Minor redesign
The AirPods Pro 3 may not look much different from the AirPods Pro 2 at first glance, but rumors suggest they will be slightly different. One leaker suggests that the charging case could be smaller this year, and the button on the back could be replaced by a capacitive button on the front. This would be similar to the AirPods 4 design , so I would expect Apple to almost certainly continue this idea.
Apple is still working on adding cameras and ‘air gestures’
It may seem far-fetched, but Apple appears to be working on adding cameras to its headphones . Gurman believes the ultimate goal is to help power some of the company’s AI features, an area where Apple has struggled to compete in the past few years .
However, Gurman doesn’t expect to see these cameras in the AirPods Pro 3. In fact, he claims that the technology won’t be in the AirPods for at least a couple of years, if at all. His words are somewhat undermined by a new rumor that Apple will release two AirPods Pro 3 models: one without cameras coming this year, and one with cameras coming next year.
Rumor has it that Apple could replace the AirPods’ squeeze feature with gesture controls. For example, instead of just pressing the housing to pause music, the cameras would track your hand movements. I’m not sure if Apple will announce a second AirPods Pro 3 model or even mention camera integration, but it’s worth mentioning.