Apple AirPods Pro 3: Release date, price, specs, rumors, and more

The Apple AirPods Pro are the defacto earbuds for iPhone owners. These earbuds have some of the industry’s best active noise canceling (ANC) and plenty of advanced software features. Apple fans and industry experts are already speculating about the Apple AirPods Pro 3. We’ve gathered information from far and wide so you can stay current on the next AirPods Pro.

Will there be an Apple AirPods Pro 3?

The AirPods Pro (3rd generation) will come to market. Apple’s Wearables and Home Accessories category, which includes all AirPods, outsold its Mac and iPad categories’ sales in Q2 of 2023. There’s no chance the company will halt production of its most iconic earbuds.

An optimistic timeframe for the AirPods Pro 3 release is September 2024. Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that the next-gen AirPods will ship in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025. Waiting until 2024 or 2025 makes sense, given how nearly 35 months passed between the release dates of the AirPods Pro 1 and AirPods Pro 2. If Apple retains the same window between the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3, we can expect to see the AirPods Pro 3 in August 2025.

The AirPods Pro 3 will likely share many of the same features as the AirPods Pro 2. Here’s what we’ve deduced based on rumors and industry trends.

Design

Like the AirPods Pro 1 and AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Pro 3 will have a sealed fit with interchangeable ear tips. The earbuds will have the same stemmed design as we’ve seen before, and you can expect to see Apple’s force sensors for controlling playback and calls. Apple has only ever released its earbuds in white, and it will stay the course for its AirPods Pro 3.

The AirPods Pro 3 will have a water-resistant build with an IPX4 rating or greater. The previous two AirPods Pro generations merit an IPX4 rating, allowing them to endure splashes from any direction. There’s no reason for Apple to skip out on this certification for the AirPods Pro 3.

Perhaps the most notable change we’ll see on the AirPods Pro 3 is a new charging port on the case. Reliable leaker Mark Gurman shared that Apple plans to transition its products from Lightning to USB-C ports. This makes sense as the EU declared that companies must use the common charging port standard (USB-C) for relevant devices by December 28, 2024. No matter what, the case will work with Qi and MagSafe charging accessories.

Aside from rocking a new charging port, the AirPods Pro 3 case should house a lanyard loop and an integrated speaker like the AirPods Pro 2 case. We could see an updated U2 chip inside the case rather than the current U1 chip in the AirPods Pro 2 case. Likewise, we could see a new H3 chip in the AirPods Pro 3 earphones because Apple debuted the H2 chip with the AirPods Pro 2. The benefits of these chipsets revolve around supported software features.

Software features

The Apple AirPods Pro 3 will come packed with Apple-exclusive features like automatic switching between iOS devices and battery optimization. You’ll also need an iPhone or iPad to update the firmware on the next AirPods Pro.

As mentioned, the AirPods Pro 3 could debut the H3 and U2 chips for the earbuds and case, respectively. Replacing the U1 chip with a U2 chip could expand your options for locating the AirPods Pro 3 case in the Find My app. If Apple ships the AirPods Pro 3 with an H3 chip, we’ll see improved noise canceling and Adaptive Transparency. The H3 chip’s extra processing power may also enable health-related features.

According to Gurman, Apple is working on a hearing test to help listeners catch issues early. This is a natural progression for Apple as the AirPods and AirPods Pro have some of the most comprehensive hearable features on the market. Two popular accessibility features include Conversation Boost and Live Listen, which help listeners hear others’ voices in different contexts. Apple may take its health-related features beyond hearing accessibility. Gurman reports that Apple intends to add temperature sensors to its AirPods, so the buds may detect when you’re developing a cold.

At WWDC 2023, Apple unveiled Personalized Volume, Conversational Awareness, and Adaptive Audio for the AirPods Pro 2, which will work on the anticipated AirPods Pro 3. The AirPods Pro 3 will learn your volume preferences for specific environments with Personalized Volume. The buds will then make adjustments on the fly based on your previous settings.

Adaptive Audio is a bit different. Depending on your environment, this will let the AirPods Pro 3 use a combination of ANC and Transparency pass-through. Going from quiet to loud space may prompt the earbuds to switch ANC on. This differs from Conversational Awareness, which senses when you speak. The buds then decrease the volume of your audio content while simultaneously reducing background noise and enhancing the voices of people in front of you. If you’ve ever used Sony’s Speak-to-Chat function on its WF-1000X earbuds or WH-1000X headphones, this Conversational Awareness will feel familiar.

Sound quality and noise canceling

The AirPods Pro 3 will likely have a slightly modified frequency response compared to the AirPods Pro 2. As you can see in our AirPods Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro 1 comparison chart above, Apple made some notable tweaks to how the second-gen AirPods Pro deliver sub-bass content. Regardless of how Apple adjusts the sound quality of the AirPods Pro 3, the earbuds will sound good to most consumers.

The AirPods Pro 3 will also have better noise canceling than the AirPods Pro 2 before them. Apple improved the AirPods Pro 2 noise canceling from the AirPods Pro 1, and the company knows it can’t just rest on its laurels.

Our AirPods Pro 2 vs AirPods Pro ANC comparison chart above shows how Apple improved the ANC between generations. As you can see, the AirPods Pro 2 attenuate low frequencies by 2-12dB more than the AirPods Pro 1. The jump in ANC performance between the AirPods Pro 2 and 3 could look similar to the leap from the AirPods Pro 1 to 2.

• Apple AirPods Pro (1st generation): $249
• Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation): $249

The AirPods Pro 3 will likely retain the same $249 price point as the previous generations. If Apple holds the price steady, this could sway a lot of iPhone owners away from the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 ($249 at Amazon) and Sony WF-1000XM5 ($298 at Amazon), both of which debuted for $299.

No matter how Apple prices the AirPods Pro 3, we can expect them to go on sale during various holiday seasons. The AirPods Pro 2 currently cost $199 at Amazon and often go on sale for $199 or $229.

Here’s our wishlist for AirPods Pro 3 features.

Better microphone quality

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 have good microphone quality, but it could be better in sub-optimal conditions. It would be exciting to see Apple improve the noise suppression on the AirPods Pro 3 microphone system. Frankly, microphone improvements are inevitable, given the significant leap in quality from the Beats Studio Buds to the Studio Buds Plus. (Note: Apple owns Beats.)

You can hear how the AirPods Pro 2 suppress the speaker’s voice in noisy simulated environments below.

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) microphone demo (Street conditions):

The case could house a Lightning charging port if Apple releases the AirPods Pro 3 before December 28, 2024. However, Apple is probably thinking ahead and will integrate a USB-C charging port into the AirPods Pro (3rd generation) case. Certain iPads have supported USB-C for years, so Apple has supply chain access to the necessary hardware.

Longer battery life

Apple’s official battery life for the AirPods Pro 2 is 6 hours with ANC on. In our standardized testing, the AirPods Pro 2 lasted five hours and 43 minutes with ANC on. This is average for wireless noise canceling earbuds. For Apple to stay competitive with Bose and Sony in the battery department, it must bump the AirPods Pro 3 battery life to at least seven hours.

Improved durability

The AirPods Pro 2 have an IPX4 water-resistant build, which bodes well for most types of exercise. I’d like a combined dust- and water-resistant rating on the AirPods Pro 3. This improved durability specification would set the AirPods Pro 3 apart from other flagships, making them an even better pick for rock climbers and those who live in desert regions.