Instead of kicking things off with the phones or sales figures, Apple began with its accessories first, specifically, the long-awaited AirPods Pro 3. Its predecessor launched back in 2022, and this has been rumored for years and is finally here. Apple equipped the new buds with meaningful updates that should make it worthwhile to upgrade.
For starters, the AirPods Pro 3s have a mild redesign for a smaller footprint as Apple hopes to fit comfortably in more ears. It also swaps out the silicone for foam tips to offer a better seal for noise cancelling. Next up, underneath the new tips are built-in heart-rate sensors that work with on-device AI to monitor your heart for workouts, as it now supports up to 50 different workout types.
Speaking of workouts, Apple gave its IP rating a small boost to help combat sweat, going from IP54 to IP57. Apple took a page from Google’s playbook and added a Live translation feature, which is built in and works with Apple Intelligence. And lastly, the AirPods Pro 3 have improved battery life across the board with up to 8 hours of juice with ANC on, and hearing aid users get up to 10 hours of use.
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 will retain its current price of $249. It’s up for preorder now and will arrive on September 19th. I hope no one just bought the Pro 2 within the last 6 months or so.
