Hands-on: AirPods Pro 3 is the best noise cancellation demo I’ve ever heard

I use my AirPods Pro 2 every single day. They’re my buffer against the screech of the tube tracks on the commute, the randy foxes in the garden at night, and the general hubbub of inner city life. So when Apple revealed the new AirPods Pro 3 model at today’s iPhone 17 launch event, I may have given a slightly embarrassing squeak of joy.

Regardless, I wasn’t prepared for quite how big a jump in noise-cancelling performance these new AirPod Pro 3 in-ears represent. I had a demo of the new buds on the event show floor at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, a manic scrum of journalists and influencers creating the sort of din that would make even the most hardy among us anxious. Throw in some block-rocking beats from the on-site sound system, and it was hard to hear yourself think.

But pop in the new AirPods Pro 3, and, genuinely, that noise just disappeared, almost completely. Apple’s claiming that the AirPods Pro 3 are now the world’s best in-ear buds when it comes to noise cancelling, and it’s hard to argue against that. Of all the things Apple revealed today, these may be my most-wanted.

Pushing noise-cancelling to its limits

So what’s making that noise-cancelling tech so impressive in the new models?

There’s a few design tweaks at work here that make it possible. Firstly, the earbud shape itself has changed. Slightly smaller, it’s now shaped to angle sound directly into your ear canal rather than resting in front of it. The ear-tips now come in five different sizes too, for greater comfort and sealing fit over a range of ear shapes, and those tips are now ‘foam-infused’, which ups the passive noise cancellation at work.

Throw in a new multi-port acoustic architecture, improved noise-cancelling algorithms and a wider-feeling soundstage, and the collective bump in performance feels transformative. Apple’s claiming that the noise cancellation level here is twice as good as on the AirPods Pro 2, and 4x greater than on the original AirPod Pro models.

Smart features for healthier listeners

Away from the noise-cancelling improvements, Apple’s packed the AirPods Pro 3 with other smart features.

Top of the list is a new heart-rate monitoring function. A small sensor now sits in each bud to monitor how fast your blood is pumping. I won’t pretend to be a cardiologist, so the next line is direct from Apple’s press release — the AirPods Pro 3 use “a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow.”

From there, it can get a pretty accurate reading of how your heart is doing and, in combination with accelerometers, gyroscopes and GPS functionalities already present in AirPods Pro, enables a whole range of workout tracking options using just the earbuds alone. With an on-device AI model, Apple’s also introducing the ‘Workout Buddy’, a nice assistant that will help you keep track of your workout goals via audio cues and positive messages using just the buds alone.

The AirPods Pro 3 are now also IP57 rated for sweat and water resistance, so when you’re working out, they’re well protected against the elements.

AI features extend to a new Live Translation feature, too. By squeezing the pressure sensors on both earbuds simultaneously, the onboard microphones then start looking out for words spoken in languages other than your native tongue, and will translate back to you what is being said in real time. And, so that the other members of the conversation can understand your responses, your iPhone screen will relay text in both languages.

All these new features would be a drain on the battery, but Apple’s ready to counteract that with improvements in that regard too— you’ll now get 8 hours per charge compared to 6 hours on the last version, with the case acting as ever as a recharge station. 10 hours of transparency mode on a single charge is now offered too — handy for those who use the feature over longer stretches of time as a hearing aid.

It’s looking like a mighty upgrade then, and set to lock in the omnipresence of Apple’s white buds in ears the world over. The AirPods Pro 3 go up for pre-order today, priced at $249, and land on general sale from September 19th.

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