By Adrian Weckler

Copyright independent

AirPods Pro 3

Price: €249

Pros: better sound, better noise cancellation, longer battery sessions, better fit, lower price

Cons: no Live Translation in EU, no charging cable in box

Having tested the newest AirPods Pro 3 for the last few days, I’m mostly impressed. There are two main highlights, a few minor ones, and one big feature that, frustratingly, won’t be available in the EU market for the time being.

Maybe the most impressive upgrade is the active noise cancellation (ANC), a step up from AirPods Pro 2, which were already the best you could get in any set of earbuds.

Select ANC mode and most of the world goes quiet in a way you’d normally only expect from better sets of over-ear headphones.

Apple says that AirPods Pro 3 have up to twice the ANC effect of AirPods Pro 2 and up to four times that of the original AirPods Pro.

This is a big claim, so I pitched them against two of the best overhead models, Sony’s WH-1000XM Series 6 and Apple’s own AirPods Max. While both the overhead models are, to me, still slightly ahead on blocking out noise completely, the AirPods Pro 3 are genuinely close behind. That’s quite a result for buds and puts AirPods Pro 3 top of the in-ear, mini-headphones pile for ANC.

While we’re talking about it, the updated transparency mode is worth mentioning, too. For those unaware, transparency mode is the mirror opposite to ANC — it lets you hear noise around you naturally, useful when you need to be aware of stuff as well listening to something from your phone or device.

Usually, transparency mode on headphones is tinny because the external microphone tech, which pipes external sound into your ears, is fairly crude. But with the occasional echoey exception, I found the transparency mode with AirPods Pro 3 almost flawlessly natural — easily the best transparency mode I’ve ever experienced, outside actual ‘open ear’ buds from the likes of Bose or Nothing.

This also helps with another feature that Apple is doubling down on, using AirPods Pro as a hearing aid.

The second most impressive update, for me, is sound quality. AirPods have seen steady improvements in audio quality with each generation and I found the AirPods Pro 3 are no exception. Apple says the buds are redesigned for better bass and clearer vocals and I can definitely hear it. They’re now very close to most of the best overhead wireless headphones that you can buy.

There are a few other upgrades also worth mentioning.

(i) There’s a new heart-rate sensor in AirPods Pro 3, which means you can use it as a fitness-tracking accessory without needing an Apple Watch. This includes compatibility with Apple Intelligence’s ‘Workout Buddy’ motivational pep-talk dialogue that personalises and comments on your exercise routines.

(ii) Battery life is up to eight hours per session using noise cancellation, instead of six for the previous model. (This can be stretched ot 10 hours if you’re using the transparency mode or using them as a hearing aid.) But the overall battery capacity of the recharging box remains unchanged at 24 hours, meaning three charges instead of four per full box charge.

(iii) There’s a new extra small (XXS) size for those with petite ears, while Apple has slightly tweaked the design of the rubber tips themselves, aiming for a better, snugger fit. I’ve never really had a problem with AirPods Pro, but these are definitely firm in my ear, no matter what I do.

(iv) The AirPods Pro 3 are actually cheaper than their predecessors, which themselves had cost less than the originals. It means that AirPods Pro have gone from €300 to €250 in the space of two years, although do note that these earbuds do not now come with a charging cable in the box.

However, there is one big new feature in the AirPods Pro 3 that we’re not getting in the EU, at least for the time being. This is Live Translation, which translates speech in French, German, Portuguese or Spanish into English in real time for you, and vice versa.

It was arguably the ‘wow’ feature of the launch, and will also work on AirPods Pro 2 and the pricier ANC version of AirPods 4.

But it looks like it’s not being launched in the EU because of regulatory complications, which Apple may or may not clarify in the coming weeks.

Despite that, it’s hard not to recommend AirPods Pro 3, especially at the lower price.