Apple AirPods Pro 3 hands-on: Impressive ANC improvements

Apple’s “pro” AirPods were due for an update. Despite continuously upgrading the AirPods Pro 2 with new features since their introduction in 2022, Apple hadn’t produced another robust overhaul of its priciest earbuds yet. At today’s iPhone 17 event (or iPhone Air event, depending on who you ask), the company unveiled the latest model: the AirPods Pro 3. Apple has refined the design, added heart rate sensing, improved active noise cancellation (ANC), delivered live translation and more. And most importantly, it did so without increasing the price.

My brief demo with the AirPods Pro 3 focused entirely on the refined ANC. I wasn’t able to try any sustained heart rate tracking or live translation just yet, but I hope to have other opportunities for that later this week.

I was immediately impressed by the updated ANC system. The demo area at Apple Park is in a marble room outside of the Steve Jobs Theater. It’s a nightmare for shooting video, but it’s a great testing ground for ANC. That’s because you can seemingly hear every voice echo off the floor and walls. After starting in transparency mode twice with a video and music, I switched to ANC and it completely nixed the roar of the room. I escaped the chaos for a few seconds.

The AirPods Pro 3 even dulled voices around me, with the exception of one very loud talker, to the point the company representative had to tap me on the shoulder because I could no longer hear her questions. I’ll need more time with the earbuds to know if they really are better at blocking human voices, but after a few minutes with the new model, I can confidently say they can cancel more regular environmental noise than before.

This demo gave me a few minutes with the revamped design as well. The foam ear tips are obviously more comfortable, but the fit and feel will take some getting used to. I was actually surprised by how different they felt compared to the current silicone version, even though I’ve worn foam tips plenty of times in the past. They will ultimately be more comfy for longer listening sessions and I’m sure their passive noise isolation lends a hand with the ANC improvements.

I’m hoping to get more time with the AirPods Pro 3 today and tomorrow, so stay tuned for more coverage of Apple’s new earbuds from the iPhone 17 event.