So whether you’re an iPhone user or an android user, Apple’s AirPods are the gold standard when it comes to wireless earbuds, they have a small case, a long battery life, they sound good, they have a good mic for phone calls and they fit relatively well. And now we have the AirPods Pro 3, but personally I still prefer the AirPods 4… so today we’re going to compare these two earbuds and lets see which ones are right for you.
Regarding pricing, there are two versions of the AirPods 4, theres the version without active noise cancelation which retail for $130… and the version with active noise cancellation which retail for $180 and that’s the version that we’re going to be talking about today. And then theres the AirPods Pro 3 which have a retail price of $250… but also keep in mind that these earbuds no longer come included with a chargning cable, which I think is rude. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of 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.
So first lets talk about these cases, one of the main reasons why I like AirPods so much is cause they have a very small case for everyday carry. The AirPods Pro 3’s case is smaller than the Sony WF-1000XM5’s case, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro ’s case, and its way smaller than the Bose QC Ultra earbuds 2 case and Sennheiser Momentum 4’s case. And the AirPods 4’s case is even smaller than the AirPods Pro 3’s case while having all of the same features. But the really weird thing is, the AirPods Pro 3’s case is actually a little larger than the AirPods Pro 2’s case, enough where you’re going to notice a difference when you first handle this case. And I find this to be super weird, cause when we went from the AirPods 3 to the AirPods 4, this case got smaller. But overall, one of the reasons why I like the AirPods 4 over the AirPods Pro 3 it cause of the smaller case… and its even more noticeable now cause the AirPods Pro 3’s case is larger than the AirPods Pro 2 case.
Now when it comes to charging these cases, both of these cases charge via a USB C port… but like I mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro 3’s dont come included with a USB C cable anymore. But also both of these cases have wireless chargning, you can charge them up with your mag safe charger and you can charge them up with your apple watch charger.
And even though the AirPods 4’s case is way smaller than the pro’s this case still have a built in speaker so you can more easily find these earbuds with the Find My app. However, tracking these earbuds with the fine my app is a little different. With the AirPods 4’s they just tell you if you’re getting closer to them, so you’re kind of playing a game of hot an cold. Where as with the AirPods Pro 3’s these will actually tell you the direction that you need to go and they also have more range. So taking these earbuds down is going to be a little easier.
But then theres the battery life on these earbuds, and this is an area where the AirPods Pro 3 have gotten a down grade relative to their predecessors and AirPods 4’s. With the AirPods Pro 3’s these earbuds have a combined advertised battery life of 24 hours with their ANC turned on. The Earbuds themselves can go for 8 hours and the case can supply 2 additional charges. And if you want you can extend their battery life even more if you use them with their ANC turned off, which is what I do.
Where as with the AirPods 4, these have an advertised combined battery life of 30 hours, but with their active noise cancelation turned off, the earbuds themselves can go for 5 hours and the case can supply almost 5 charges. But if you were to use these earbuds with their ANC turned on, then their battery life is going to be shorter. But personally, I prefer the battery life performance on the AirPods 4’s over the AirPods Pro 3 cause they have a much smaller case… now yes, the AirPods Pro 3 have much better stamina on a single charge, but the case is much larger as well.
Because for comparison sake, the AirPods Pro 2, these have an advertised combined 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. But like I mentioned earlier, the AirPods Pro 2’s case is noticeably smaller than the AirPods Pro 3’s case. So the AirPods Pro 2’s have a better battery life to case size ratio than the AirPods Pro 3.
But then theres the fit of these earbuds and they fit very differently from one another. Now the AirPods 4 are standard earbuds that just rest in the bowl of your ears, they’re very comfortable and you can easily wear them for multiple hours on end and they even give you really good lock down. And the really cool thing about the AirPods 4 is that when we went from the AirPods 3, the AirPods 4 actually got smaller and they fit better and more comfortable. The only issue is, since these are just earbuds, they dont passively block out any noise. So you music isn’t going to sound as detailed. But then we have the AirPods Pro 3, and these are a pair of shallow fitting in ear earbuds. They dont go in as deep as a standard pair of in ear earbuds, so they dont feel as intrusive, however they do go in a little deeper than the AirPods Pro 2, so they’re a little less comfortable than their predecessors. But also, the really weird thing about these earbuds is that they dont offer as much lock down as their predecessors, so they can wiggle out a little easier. But another super weird thing about the AirPods Pro 3 is that they actually stick out more than the AirPods Pro 2’s, so they look bulkier, and they’re less comfortable to sleep with. Where as with the AirPods 4, since these are more low profile, they look sleeker and they’re better to sleep with.
But overall, since the AirPods Pro 3’s are a pair of in ear earbuds, they are going to passively block out noise, which is going to help with your active noise cancelation as well. But if you’re someone thats upgrading from the AirPods Pro 2, you’re going to notice that they dont fit as comfortably and they dont have as much lock down. Personally I prefer the AirPods 4 cause they are more comfortable cause they dont feel as intrusive, they give you better lock down so they dont wiggle out, and they are also more low price so they look sleeker and they’re better to nap with.
Now one very big feature the AirPods Pro 3 have over the AirPods 4 is that they have a built in heart rate monitor, which is a big reason why they have such a different sculpt and fit compared to the AirPods Pro 2. 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.
But when it comes to sound, these two earbuds sound very different from one another. The AirPods Pro 3 sound much better than the AirPods 4. The AirPods 4’s sound good and they have a lot of resonance in their bass, but the mids aren’t as defined. Plus like I said earlier, since these earbuds don't passively block out any sound, your music is going to be fighting against some noise pollution most of the time. And as a result, you’re going to have to use these earbuds at a higher volume. Where as with the AirPods Pro 3, since these do passively block out noise pollution, you’re going to gave better clarity in the mids. But also, these earbuds have a lot of resonance in their bass just like the AirPods 4, so your music is going to sound more dynamic and balanced. Overall, I think both of these earbuds sound good, but the AirPods Pro 3 do sound more balanced.
And when It comes to the media controls on these earbuds, both of these earbuds have stems that you can press to play and pause your music and you can skip through your music. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 you can also swipe on these stems to adjust your volume, which is something that you cant do on the AirPods 4, and I will admit, I miss not having the swiping gesture on my AirPods 4.
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 active noise cancellation on the AirPods 4, and I think its super impressive as well cause these earbuds are able to block out a lot of noise, and they dont passively block out nearly as much noise as the AirPods Pro 3. The only thing is, some times the cabin pressure can be a lot. But thats why I only use the ANC on any of my earbuds and headphones when I have to.
And then theres the ambient mode on these earbuds, and they both sound good and they both do a really good job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors, however the ambient mode on the AirPods Pro 3’s does sound more natural than the ambient mode on the AirPods 4. But regardless both of these ambient modes are some of the best ones on the market right now. And finally we’er going to jump into the sound test.
But with all of that being said, both the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 are great whether you’re an iPhone user or an android user… but personally I prefer the AirPods 4 over the AirPods Pro 3. From a fit and convince standpoint, the AirPods 4 are much better. They have a smaller case, they fit a lot more comfortably, they have better lock down, they look more low profile and they are more comfortable to sleep with. But they dont block out as much noise as the AirPods pro 3 which is to be expected, and they dont sound as good as the AirPods Pro 3 cause they do have a warmer sound signature. But when im looking for wireless earbuds, I want the smallest case and most comfortable fit, and as someone that has also been using the AirPods Pro 2… I find the hardware on the AirPods Pro 3 to be a downgrade, their case is noticeably larger, they have less battery life compared to the AirPods pro 2 and they dont fit as well. I actually feel that if you want the AirPods Pro, I would get the AirPods Pro 2 before I get the AirPods Pro 3.