Apple AirPods Pro 3 Review — I Actually Wore These for a Month

I've been wearing the AirPods Pro 3 for about a month now. Not every waking hour — though my wife might argue otherwise. I wanted to live with them before writing anything. The Pro 2's were already excellent earbuds. So when Apple announced the Pro 3 with Live Translation, heart rate sensing, and a hearing aid mode, I was curious but skeptical. A lot of that stuff sounds good in a keynote and falls apart in real life.

Spoiler: some of it rocks. Some of it doesn't. Let me walk you through it.

Key Specs

Unboxing & First Impressions

The box is thin. Like, annoyingly thin. You slide off the top and there they are, nestled in paper wrapping — no plastic. Apple's been on that eco kick and I respect it, but I also kinda miss the satisfying peel of the old packaging. Whatever. Inside you get the buds, the case, a USB-C to USB-C cable (braided this time, nice), and four ear tip sizes: XS, S, M, L. I've got average ears and the mediums fit me perfectly.

First thing I noticed pulling them out: the stems are shorter than the Pro 2. Like, noticeably. They still have that little indent where you squeeze for controls, but it's more flush with the body now. The touch sensor on the stem — you swipe up and down for volume — is way better than I expected. On the Pro 2 I always had to fiddle. Here it's immediate. I'm not accidentally pausing my music when I adjust them anymore, which was my biggest gripe with the old ones.

Pairing was the usual Apple magic. Open the case near your phone, tap, done. I was up and running in maybe 10 seconds. The little animation that pops up shows the exact battery level for each bud and the case. That's been around forever but it still feels nice.

Design & the Case

Okay, the case. It's wider than the Pro 2 case. Like, noticeably fatter. I think they had to cram extra hardware in there for the new features. It still fits in that little coin pocket in jeans — barely — but it bulges. If you're someone who carries their AirPods in that tiny fifth pocket, you're gonna feel it.

The build quality is typical Apple: tight hinge, satisfying snap when you close it, no wobble. But it's still that glossy white plastic that picks up every micro-scratch and piece of lint in your pocket. I've had mine for a month and the back already looks like I dragged it across asphalt. I don't get why they don't use the same matte finish as the iPhone's aluminum or something. The gloss thing is getting old.

On the plus side, the case finally has a built-in speaker for Find My. This is huge. I lost my AirPods Pro 2 case under my car seat for three days once and had to tear the whole interior apart. Now you can ping it and it actually makes noise. Loud enough to hear from another room. I've used it twice already and it saved me a solid 20 minutes of frustration each time.

It also supports Qi2 wireless charging now, which is the same as MagSafe but also works with non-Apple chargers. I've been using a cheap Anker Qi2 pad and it works perfectly. No more hunting for a Lightning cable — I went full USB-C last year so everything charges on one cable now. Praise be.

Sound Quality — vs Pro 2 & Sony XM5

Let's talk about how they actually sound, because that's what matters most, right?

The Pro 2's were already good. Clean, balanced, Apple's typical "neutral-ish" tuning. But the Pro 3's are on another level. Bass hits harder — not Sony XM5 "my brain is rattling" hard, but close. You can feel kick drums in your ears now in a way the Pro 2 never delivered. The low-end is punchy without being muddy. I put on "Bubbles" by Yosi Horikawa — that track where ping-pong balls bounce around in a 3D space — and I swear I turned my head expecting someone to be behind me.

The soundstage is wider. Instruments have more separation. I A/B tested them with my old Pro 2's and the difference is obvious. On the Pro 2, everything sits kind of in the center of your head. On the Pro 3, stuff feels placed around you. Like, the guitarist is slightly left, the vocals are dead center, the drummer is behind and slightly right. It's not "live concert" level but for wireless earbuds under $300 it's impressive.

I also compared them to the Sony WF-1000XM5's, which my buddy let me borrow for a weekend. The Sonys have better noise cancellation — I'll give them that. The ANC on the XM5's is like wrapping your head in a blanket. The Pro 3's block out most stuff but the Sony's are still king there. But for sound signature? I prefer the AirPods. The XM5's are too bass-forward for me. Everything sounds like it's mastered for a nightclub. The Pro 3's are more honest. If you want to actually hear what the producer intended, go with the AirPods. If you want to feel your eyeballs vibrate, get the Sonys.

One thing the Pro 3's do better than both: spatial audio. Apple's head tracking is spooky good. I watched the new Dune movie on my iPad with spatial audio and when a sandworm rumbled from behind-left, I actually flinched. It's that convincing. Neither the Pro 2's nor the XM5's pull that off as well.

Live Translation at a Restaurant

Alright, this was the feature I was most hyped about. And the one I was sure would suck.

I took my wife to this little Mexican spot downtown. The owner — super nice guy, let's call him Carlos — mostly speaks Spanish. I know maybe 40 words of Spanish. Enough to order tacos, not enough to ask about the mole verde or whether the al pastor is actually cooked on a trompo.

So I put in one AirPod, opened the Translate app, and tapped the Live Conversation button. The idea is: Carlos speaks Spanish into the phone's mic, and I hear the English translation in my ear. Then I reply in English, and the phone speaks Spanish back out loud.

First attempt was rough. I held the phone between us like an idiot and he looked at me like I was filming him. I had to explain "no, no, it translates — just talk normal." He said "\u00bfQu\u00e9 quieres comer?" and about two seconds later I heard "What do you want to eat?" in my ear. Clear. Natural voice. No robot nonsense.

I asked about the mole in English, the phone said "\u00bfC\u00f3mo es el mole?" — I think the grammar was a little off, but Carlos understood and launched into a whole explanation. I got maybe 80% of it through the translation. Some things got lost — he mentioned "chocolate y chiles" and the translation just said "chocolate and peppers" which misses the whole complexity of mole, you know? But for ordering food and having a basic conversation? It works.

The delay is about 1.5-2 seconds, which is fast enough that you don't lose the rhythm of a conversation. You do look a little ridiculous holding your phone out like a Star Trek communicator. But honestly? I'd use this again. Next time I travel abroad, these are coming with me. Way less awkward than shoving a phone screen in someone's face.

Big caveat: you need an iPhone 16 or newer. It runs locally on the neural engine. If you've got a 15 Pro or older, you're locked out. That's a bummer.

Heart Rate Sensing on a Run

I'm not a serious runner. I jog three times a week, 5K-ish, at a pace that my college self would mock. But I do track my heart rate — I've been using an Apple Watch Series 9 for the last two years.

The AirPods Pro 3 have PPG sensors inside the earbud canal. It shines a light into the skin in your ear canal and measures blood flow. Sounds gross. Works decently.

I went on my usual route — 3.1 miles, some hills, about 28 minutes. I wore both the AirPods Pro 3 and my Apple Watch. The Watch said my average HR was 152 bpm. The AirPods said 149 bpm over the same run. That's close enough. During sprints the gap widened to about 5 bpm, but honestly the watch has that problem too during intervals.

The annoying part? It's not automatic. You have to start a workout in the Health app or the third-party fitness app on your phone. The AirPods don't just passively track throughout the day. Which means if you forget to start the workout, you get nothing. Apple says they want to preserve battery — fair — but I'd like the option to just have it always on during workouts. My Garmin doesn't ask permission.

I also tried it on a stationary bike at the gym. Same deal — readings were within a few bpm of the chest strap. So the accuracy is solid. The convenience factor is what's in question. If you already own an Apple Watch, this feature adds nothing. If you don't, it's nice to have. It's not a reason to buy these on its own.

Hearing Aid Mode on My Grandpa

My grandpa turned 82 last month. He's got moderate hearing loss — the kind where you have to face him when you talk, and he nods along but misses half the conversation. He refuses to get actual hearing aids because "I'm not that old" and "they cost five thousand dollars." Fair points.

So I brought the AirPods Pro 3 over. I set up the hearing test through the Health app on my phone — it takes about five minutes. You sit in a quiet room, tap the screen when you hear tones at different volumes. It maps out your hearing profile. The test said my grandpa has moderate high-frequency loss, which tracks — he always complains that people "mumble" when they speak.

Then I enabled Media Assist for his profile, handed him the AirPods, and started talking normally from across the room. His face lit up. "I can hear you!" he said. I dropped my voice to a near-whisper and he still caught it. We watched the evening news together and he didn't ask me "what'd she say?" once. That's a first in about five years.

Is it as good as a $4,000 pair of prescription hearing aids from an audiologist? No. Those things are tuned professionally and have way more frequency bands. But for mild to moderate hearing loss? This is genuinely life-changing. My grandpa actually asked me how much they cost. When I said $279 he didn't believe me.

The catch: battery life with the hearing assist features on is worse — about 4.5 hours instead of 7. And you've got to have an iPhone nearby for the audio processing. It's not doing it all on the buds. But for the price of a dinner out, you can give someone back their ability to hear conversations. That's kind of incredible.

Apple should market this harder. This is the kind of feature that actually improves lives, not just convenience.

Battery Life — the Real Numbers

Apple says 7 hours with ANC on. Here's what I actually got: about 6.5 to 7 hours, depending on volume. I listen at around 60-70% volume — I like my music loud enough to block out the subway but not so loud that I get tinnitus at 40. At that level, I got 6 hours 45 minutes on one charge. Another time I got 7 hours 10 minutes when I was listening to podcasts at lower volume.

The case gives you about three full charges. So total: somewhere around 26-28 hours before the case itself needs to be plugged in. That's a full work week of commuting, gym sessions, and random calls for me.

Quick charging is good. Five minutes in the case gives you about an hour of listening. Enough to get through a workout if you forgot to charge them overnight. I do that more than I'd like to admit.

Important: if you use the hearing aid features or Live Translation heavily, battery takes a hit. Those features use the H3 chip pretty aggressively. I did an hour of Live Translation at the restaurant and dropped from 100% to 78%. So keep that in mind if you're traveling and planning to translate all day.

The case charges over USB-C, MagSafe, or Qi2. I mostly use a MagSafe puck at my desk. The Qi2 support is nice because I also have a Samsung phone — their chargers work with these now. Not that I'd ever switch, but the option's there.

Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

Don't Buy These? Here's What Else to Look At

• AirPods 4 (with ANC) — $179, no ear tips but great for people who hate the in-ear seal. No translation or hearing aid features though.
• Sony WF-1000XM5 — Better ANC, bassier sound, but the case is bulkier and no Apple H1/H3 integration. Good for Android users.
• AirPods Pro 2 — Still great earbuds and you can find them on sale for under $200 now. You miss the new features but save $80-100.