Apple recently announced the AirPods Pro 3, but what exciting and advanced features will the new headphones add to the AirPods experience?
“With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality and the world’s best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Combined with an improved fit that provides greater stability for even more people, heart rate sensing, extended battery life, and Live Translation enabled by Apple Intelligence, AirPods Pro 3 take personal audio to the next level.”
Sound Quality
The new AirPods feature high-quality spatial listening with a multiport acoustic architecture that controls the airflow that carries sound into the ear. Next-gen Adaptive EQ, a new architecture that transforms bass response, allows users to hear every instrument and brings vocal clarity to higher frequencies in music, shows, and calls.
Noise cancellation is also enhanced within ultra-low noise microphones and advanced computational audio. New foam-infused ear tips also make for greater passive noise isolation. According to Apple, the ANC is up to 2x more effective than AirPods Pro 2, with 4x more noise removed compared to the original AirPods Pro
Workout Features
AirPods Pro 3 allow users to level up their workouts. They’re equipped with the smallest custom-built photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, which shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow. The new tech also includes accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model on iPhone, which allows users to start up to 50 different workout types, track their heart rate and calories burned, close their Move ring, and earn awards in the Fitness app. The combined iPhone and AirPods Pro 3 will also allow users to access the Workout Buddy, a fitness experience that reviews a user’s workout data and fitness history to provide personalized insights.
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Live Translation
Perhaps the most exciting new feature, AirPods Pro 3 enables in-person communication across select languages in real-time. Powered by Apple Intelligence and computational audio, this feature helps users communicate across languages by translating spoken words into the user’s preferred language via the AirPods.
Live Translation on AirPods is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, and will be coming to four more languages by the end of the year: Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified). This allows users an opportunity to make rare cross-cultural connections, whether they’re traveling abroad or working regularly with non-English speakers.
Hearing Health
Building on the experience introduced last fall, users can use the headphones to minimize loud environmental noise. The headphones provide a Hearing Test, which allows users to test their hearing with scientifically validated results and receive personalized assistance. The new version also makes the Conversation Boost feature automatic, which provides amplification and background noise reduction in louder environments to Hearing Aid users.
Environmental Benefits
Coinciding with Apple’s carbon-neutral plans, AirPods Pro 3 are made from 40 percent recycled content, including 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery and 65 percent recycled plastic in the case. Manufactured with 40 percent renewable electricity, like wind and solar, the paper packaging is also 100 percent fiber-based.
