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The overall consensus right now is that the AirPods Pro 3 are some of the best, if not the best wireless earbuds money can buy. New health features, real-time AI language translation, and an uptick in both active noise cancellation and battery life are all hallmarks that have earned these buds critical acclaim. Our reviewers at Tom’s Guide also like their boosted voice calling and ergonomic design, which our fitness editor, Jane McGuire, found “a lot more comfortable” and “snug” than previous entries. All virtues aside, the AirPods Pro 3 don’t feel like a major upgrade from the AirPods Pro 2. There are substantial omissions from this flagship release. I’m not just talking about a missing USB-C cable. You read that correctly – no charging cable comes with the purchase. Better craftsmanship, less-restrictive connectivity, and an updated take on its MagSafe charging case are just some of the advancements Apple could have implemented. It didn’t, and that decision may hurt the product’s popularity in the long run. Here is a list of the 5 things Apple should have added to the AirPods Pro 3. 1. Personalized Spatial Audio for ALL Apple’s spatial audio format is fantastic for immersive listening and outperforms every competitor, except Bose’s Immersive Audio technology. The latter produces a livelier soundscape when watching movies (check out my spatial audio experience with horror flicks). It also works universally with all stereo content. Opening Personalized Spatial Audio to Android and Windows users could have been a huge selling point for the AirPods Pro 3, even if the feature was limited to Apple Music and Dolby Atmos content. 2. A more eco-friendly and repairable design The latest iFixit teardown has every AirPods Pro 3 owner clutching onto their charging case. A 0/10 repairability score is disturbing. Some of the biggest complaints reported were that glue was holding most of the internals together and that the removal of parts was breaking plastic and tearing cables. This level of chintziness would explain how Apple was able to keep pricing at $249. Meanwhile, other luxury brands like Bowers & Wilkins and Sony have invoked price hikes on their flagship products to counter production costs and tariff fees. Clearly, Apple wants consumers to go through the company for repairs because it makes a killing in annual AppleCare coverage plans. At the same time, this lackluster effort to cut costs undermines Apple’s sustainability promises. Tossing your broken AirPods into the trash and splurging on another pair doesn’t do the environment, or your bank account, any favors. 3. Lossless audio over Bluetooth The Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) remains in passive audio purgatory. This technology was designed to preserve the original data in a music file without compression and produce 24-bit hi-res audio. Unfortunately, ALAC can only be enjoyed when using wired headphones. There is Spotify Lossless, but that also requires a wired connection. Not to mention, the results are far less convincing than other lossless music streaming services, like Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, and Tidal. Apple is taking forever to get ALAC working over Bluetooth, if that’s even a goal. Contingency plans should have been in place to include wireless lossless audio on the AirPods Pro 3. One option could have been partnering with Qualcomm to employ aptX Adaptive/Lossless. Restrictions around Apple’s ecosystem may not allow the codec to be used. We don’t know. Still, I wouldn’t bet against Qualcomm’s mobile audio experience. 4. A true MagSafe smart case Technically, the AirPods Pro 3 have a smart case. Touch controls and a built-in speaker with Precision Finding integration label it as such. However, it is nowhere near as high-tech as JBL’s smart case. Models like the Tour Pro 3 let you use the accessory as a remote control to change settings and enable numerous features. It even doubles as a wireless audio transmitter when plugged into any analog or USB source. The AirPods Pro 3 make certain functions easy to activate, such as voice commands and volume adjustment (the indented touch panels work flawlessly). Now, imagine using the AirPods Pro 3’s case to cycle through listening modes, manage playback, and turn on Optimized Battery Charging. Talk about a squandered opportunity. 5. Multiplatform compatibility I’m basically beating a dead horse by complaining about the AirPods multiplatform support. If it isn’t issues with pairing, then it’s the scarce number of features afforded to Android users. They should at least be able to use their phone’s native assistant (Google Assistant). Beats’ proprietary chipset bridges the gap between Android and iOS. Current brand offerings (e.g., Fit Pro, Powerbeats Pro 2) boast multipoint technology to connect to two devices simultaneously, no matter the platform. Connectivity is seamless and performance between devices is uncompromised. The AirPods Pro 3 run on the H2 processor, which is tied to iOS and macOS. Beats’ processor could have expanded and improved functionality on the AirPods Pro 3 across multiple areas. More from Tom's Guide
