So apple’s AirPods are still the gold standard when it comes to earbuds, they have a lot of useful features, they sound good, they have a great performing microphone for phone calls, and they have a long battery lives while still having a very small case. And now we have the AirPods Pro 3 which have improved active noise cancelation, they now have built in heart rate monitors, they have better stamina and they even have better radios. Overall, the AirPods Pro 3 have some big upgrades over the AirPods Pro 2… but I still prefer the AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods Pro 3.
Now when it comes to pricing, even though these earbuds now have built in heart rate monitors like the Powerbeats Pro 2… they still have the same retail price of $250 just like the AirPods Pro 2… however, unlike all of apple’s other earbuds which come included with a USB C charging cable… the AirPods Pro 3 doesn’t come included with this cable. So if you need a USB C cable, you’re going to have to buy it separately. Tell me that apple isn’t trying to hide inflation. Nonetheless if you want to pick these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button. And if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch some of the related videos in the description below.
Now the main reason why I prefer the AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods Pro 3 is because of the hardware. First starters, the AirPods Pro 3’s case looks identical to the AirPods Pro 2’s case… and this case is still great for every day carry cause its very small, and its noticeably smaller from other earbuds out there like lets say the Sony WF-1000XM5’s or Galaxy Buds 3 Pro… and its way smaller than the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds 2 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 earbuds. However, this new AirPods Pro 3 case is noticeably larger than the AirPods Pro 2’s case. Its a little thicker, its a little wider and its a little longer as well. And as someone that used to daily drive the original AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2… this larger case is noticeable.
And personally, I find it super odd that the AirPods Pro 3’s case has actually gotten bigger, cause when we went from the AirPods 3 to the AirPods 4… this case actually got smaller. But also, since the earbuds on the AirPods Pro 3 have a different sculpt to them, dropping them into their case is a different than dropping your AirPods Pro 2 into their case. And for some reason is doesn’t feel as natural.
But one of the things that I really like about AirPods in general in that you can track them down using find my for when you eventually lose your earbuds and the case also has a built in speaker so you can more easily find your earbuds. But one upgrade the AirPods Pro 3 does have over the AirPods Pro 2 is that its using apple’s new radio. So you’re going to be able to more easily track your case down cause you’re going to have a longer range and its able to go through more walls. Basscily, with this new case, its going to be easier for you to find it again using your phone.
But then theres the battery life on these earbuds, and personally I do think that its a down grade because the AirPods Pro 3 have less battery than the AirPods Pro 2 while having a slightly larger case. Now the AirPods Pro 3 have an advertised combined battery life of 24 hours. The earbuds themselves can go for up to 24 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on. The earbuds themselves can go for 8 hours and the case can supply 2 additional charges. And if you want, you can always extend the battery life of these earbuds even more by using them with their ANC turned off, which is what it do.
Where as with the AirPods Pro 2, these earbuds have a combined advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned on… the earbuds themselves can go for 6 hours and the case can supply 4 additional charges. So the AirPods Pro 3 have better stamina than the AirPods Pro 2 cause they can go longer while on a single charge… but the AirPods Pro 2 have better overall battery life while having a smaller case. And personally I prefer a smaller case and longer combined battery life. The max that I need my earbuds to go on a single charge is maybe 4 hours.
And wen it comes to charging these earbuds, like I mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro 3 doesn’t come included with a USB C cable anymore… so keep that in mind… but you can also charge this case wirelessly, and since it does have MagSafe, this case will automatically attach itself to your mag safe charger unlike the original AirPods Pro… or you can also use your apple watch charger to charge this case up. In general, I like having all of these different options when it comes to charging my earbuds… but like I said, I prefer the battery life performance on the AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods Pro 3 cause you have a longer combined battery life while having a smaller case which I feel is more important for every day carry.
But then theres the fit… like I mentioned earlier, the sculpt of the AirPods Pro 3 is different from the AirPods Pro 2. Sizewise, these earbuds are the same, but they do fit differently. Now the AirPods Pro 2 are shallow fitting in ear earbuds, as in they dont go in super deep into your ear canals so they dont fell as intrusive as a pair of standard fitting in ear earbuds. However with the AirPods Pro 3, these actually go in a little deeper than the AirPods Pro 2… so they do feel a little more intrusive. But the really wired thing is that since the angle of the ear tip is much harsher… the earbuds themselves do rest as naturally in the bowl of your ears like with the AirPods Pro 2. So the lock down on the AirPods Pro 3 isn’t as good as with the AirPods Pro 2… so I do find them to wiggle out a little easier.
But also, the AirPods Pro 3 have a more of a floating affect to them than the AirPods Pro 2… so they do look bulkier than the AirPods Pro 2. And since the AirPods Pro 3 stick out more than the AirPods Pro 2… these are actually a less comfortable to sleep with especially if you’re a side or stomach sleeper. So the AirPods Pro 3 have some very big upgrades on them over the AirPod Pro 2, but I still prefer the AirPods Pro 2 cause they fit better, they’re more low profile, they have a smaller case and they have a longer combined battery life. Plus they actually come with a charnging cable.
But now lets talk about some of these upgrades. Now the AirPods Pro 3 have built in heart rate monitors in them, which is super cool. However if you already have and apple watch, then your watches heart rate monitor is going to track your heart rate… so if you have an apple watch, then the heart rate monitors on the AirPods Pro 3 are pointless. And even if you’re someone that wants to use the AirPods Pro 3 to workout with… peronsally I wouldn’t recommend the AirPods Pro 3 for working out with cause they do wiggle out easier than the AirPods Pro 2. If you want earbuds to workout with and you need a heart rate monitor cause you dont have an apple watch, then you should might as well just get the Power Beats Pro 2.
Now when it comes to sound, both the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 sound really good. They both sound very balanced and full. However I do feel that the AirPods Pro 3 do sound a little better cause their bass does resonate a little more, making these earbuds sound more full and dynamic. And personally I am not surprised that these earbuds have better resonance in their bass cause the AirPods 4 also have a lot of resonance in their bass. Overall, I like how both the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 sound and I think that they will impress everyone… however I do prefer the sound of the AirPods Pro 3 cause it does sound a little fuller thanks to the additional resonance in the bass… however this improved resonance isn’t a huge difference and it definitely shouldn’t warrant an upgrade over the AirPods Pro 2.
And when it comes to the media controls, its the same thing, the AirPods Pro 3 have these stems that you can squeeze to play or pause your music or you can skip through your music… but you can also swipe up and down to adjust your volume, and this swiping gesture is super accurate even though this is a very small area… and keep in mind that this swiping gesture is still exclusive to the Pro AirPods, cause the AirPods 3 and AirPods 4 dont have these swiping gestures.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds… now apple claims that the ANC on the AirPods Pro 3 is 4 times better than the ANC On the original and its twice as good as the ANC on the AirPods Pro 2. And when it comes to our current ANC Rankings, it goes, AirPods Pro 3, followed by the Sennheiser Momentum 4 but they go in super deep into your ear canals. right below them are the AirPods Pro 2 which are a lot more comfortable. Right below them are the Bose QC Ultra 2. Below them are the Sony WF-1000XM5’s which aren’t as comfy cause of their foam ear tips, right below them are the Bose QC earbuds, below them are the AirPods 4, below them are the Sony Linkbuds S, below them are the Pixel Buds 2 pro, below them are the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
Now the AirPods Pro 3 have better active noise cancellation than the AirPods Pro 2 partly because of better software… but also because there are some hardware changes. Like I mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro 3 fit differently than the AirPods Pro 2… they go in a little deeper into your ear canals, so they’re going to passively block out a little more noise, but they are going to feel a little less comfortable. But also, the ear tips on the AirPods Pro 3 are a little different as well… they now have a little bit of foam which is going to help get you better seal as well and passively block out more noise than the AirPods Pro 2. But the very important thing here is, these ear tips still feel like silicon… so they dont get stretchy and irritating like with other foam ear tips out there.
So yes, the AirPods Pro 3 block out more noise than the AirPods Pro 2, part of it is software and the other part is hardware. Fit wise the AirPods Pro 3 aren’t as comfortable but they do passively bloke out more noise than the AirPods Pro 2. But more importantly, the AirPods Pro 3 manage to block out noise with less cabin pressure than the AirPods Pro 2… its still there, but its not as strong as before. But personally I still gravitate towards the AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods Pro 3 cause of their better hardware.
But then theres the ambient mode on these earbuds, and for the most part, the ambient mode on the AirPods Pro 3 is the same. Its sounds super natural, almost like youre not wearing earbuds and the microphone array does a really good job of not picking up any wind noise when walking outdoors. And since this is an active ambient mode, the AirPods Pro 3 will save your ears from getting blasted if there's a sudden loud sound. And finally we’re going to jump in to the microphone test.
But with all of that being said, the AirPods Pro 3 do have some important upgrades on them over the AirPods Pro 2. They block out more noise, they sound a little better cause they have more resonance in their bass, the earbuds themselves have more stamina and the case is easier to find through the Find My app cause you have more range. But personally I still prefer the AirPods Pro 2 cause I prefer their hardware. First off their case is a noticeably smaller and you have a longer combined battery life. Which I feel is more convenient, but also I prefer how the AirPods Pro 2 fit over the AirPods Pro 3 cause they dont feel as intrusive, but they also offer you better lock down. If you’re looking for a pair of earbuds, you cant go wrong with the AirPods Pro 3, but if you already have the AirPods Pro 2 and they’re fine, there’s no need to upgrade… and even still, id recommend that you buy the AirPods Pro 2 over the AirPods Pro 3 while you can.