According to Apple, the AirPods Pro 2 are the most popular headphones ever. While a follow-up could trump that statistic, the company will have to actually release the AirPods Pro 3 first.
While some AirPods fans thought that we'd see the AirPods Pro 3 on September 9 at Apple's Glowtime event, that didn't end up being the case. Instead we saw the Apple AirPods 4, a few new colors for the AirPods Max and three new features for the AirPods Pro 2.
This latter might be the biggest clue as to the AirPods Pro 3 that we've seen, because the features will almost definitely come to the newer model. These AirPods Pro 2 features are themed around hearing health, offering ways to protect, monitor and enhance your hearing, and you can read more about them in our round-up.
Despite what the most feverish Apple fans were saying, there were hints that we wouldn't be seeing the AirPods Pro 3 at Glowtime. That's the bad news, but the good news is that the same rumor pointed to when we would see them, which you can read about in the 'release date' section below.
While there's undoubtedly a lot to like in our best AirPods roundup, a shiny new set of AirPods Pro 3 would almost certainly make their debut as the best of the bunch.
We've corralled all the Apple AirPods Pro 3 rumors and leaks so far, including possible pricing and release dates, though many of the ones we've heard actually ended up being about other products. So if you're weighing up one of the best AirPods Pro deals right now, you might want to hang on.
We've also gone into detail when it comes to some of the upgrades we think Apple should be considering this time around, just in case anyone from the AirPods engineering department is reading...
Apple AirPods Pro 3: possible release date and pricing
With the AirPods Pro 3 sitting out of the September 9 Apple event, it's looking likely that they'll be unveiled early next year. Why? Because a recent missive from Mark Gurman told us that the new Pro buds are "due as early as next year" (as in, 2025).
Looking back (over your shoulder!) for a second, the AirPods Pro 2 arrived on September 23, 2022, and then were updated in September 2023 to a version with USB-C connectivity, but other than that, they were otherwise basically the same.
So should we expect another yearly upgrade this September, 2024? Alas, it seems unlikely if you look further back at Apple's Pro history.
The inaugural AirPods Pro arrived on October 30, 2019, so there was a three year gap between first-gen and second-gen iterations. The 2023 version was an anomaly, adding USB-C basically to pair with the newly USB-C-fied iPhone 15.
With that in mind, 2025 might be a better bet for the AirPods Pro 3, being three years on from the original launch of AirPods Pro 2. That's a date which has been backed up by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, though 2024 is still on the table – in August 2024, a somewhat reliable leaker said that AirPods Pro 3 would come 'soon'.
As for pricing, both the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro 2 were priced at $249 / £249 / AU$399 when they first appeared, so the AirPods Pro 3 cost should be similar – though some inflation is probably inevitable. Lots of the best wireless earbuds have risen in price in the last few years, but Apple made a point of hanging on at the same price as the original AirPods Pro from 2019. If it does the same again, the new buds will actually come at the lower end of the premium earbuds range.
Apple AirPods Pro 3: Rumors and leaks
First off, the biggie: although they didn't launch on September 9, some snooping into iOS 18 code after the event did reveal some clues as to what the unannounced AirPods Pro 3 might be able to do – namely, the tracking of your heart-rate during workouts to send to Apple Health. The investigation into the iOS 18 code (thank you, 9to5Mac) revealed a reference to wireless earbuds with a heart rate sensor: "wear both earbuds during workouts to track and send your heart rate to Apple Health". Interesting…
It's as sure an indication yet that health sensors are likely on the way, likely for both the AirPods Pro 3 and the next-gen PowerBeats Pro earbuds. It won't be the first time it's been done – TechRadar's audio editor Becky Scarrott tried the world's first 'stress testing' earbuds, the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 back in October 2022, but the idea that this might sit within Apple's Health ecosystem has certainly got our attention.
Analyst and leaker Mark Gurman has of course made some claims about the AirPods Pro 3 in his Bloomberg newsletter. Gurman claims that the AirPods Pro 3 will have a new design (as will their case) along with better audio quality.
They will also apparently have a new chipset, and some new health features, with "the ability to get hearing data of some sort" being added. At the iPhone 16 launch, we learned that these features will be available on the AirPods Pro 2, but they'll probably also come to the Pro 3 when they roll out.
Meanwhile, leaker Kosutami claimed that the new model will offer "much better" active noise cancellation than AirPods Pro 2, and will arrive "soon" – though obviously those are two pretty vague claims.
Beyond that, you'll know that the AirPods Pro 2 have been updated with a USB-C case, as previously predicted. This is of course because of the European Union setting an autumn 2024 deadline for the adoption of USB-C charging technology.
While Apple has expressed it isn't happy, claiming such a move can stifle innovation, it seems highly likely the company will comply with the AirPods Pro 3, as it has with the AirPods Pro 2 and the latest iPhone.
I think this is likely the USB-C version of the AirPods Pro 2, with mass shipments expected in 2Q23-3Q23. By the way, Apple currently appears to have no plans for USB-C versions of the AirPods 2 & 3.我覺得這應該是AirPods Pro… https://t.co/aWKJvGh1lWMarch 24, 2023
As you can see from the tweet above, evidence for some new AirPods and a new AirPods case in iOS 16.4 were predicted to be the updated USB-C versions by highly respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
That leaves us still waiting for the Apple AirPods Pro 3 to appear. It's perhaps telling that a leaked Apple hardware roadmap suggested that third-gen Apple AirPods Pro earbuds were still in "early development". There's a pretty fair chance we'll see the AirPods 4 before the AirPods Pro 3.
With that in mind, we might expect some more leaks and rumors to start emerging if we're about to see them in the last quarter of 2024. We'll be reporting on all of them here, so be sure to check back regularly.
AirPods Pro 3: features and what we want to see
In case you didn't know, Apple had originally planned to sell its AirPods in a variety of color options beyond the shiny arctic white that’s been standard for the company’s wireless earbuds since the first AirPods version shipped back in 2016 (thank you @KostuamiSan on Twitter, via AppleInsider). The story goes that ProductRED, Purple, Black, and Blonde AirPods were planned, to correspond with options for the iPhone 7, but all were ultimately cancelled.
We have seen various finishes available for the AirPods Max, (Space Gray, Silver, Sky Blue, Green, and Pink) so surely different AirPods Pro finishes isn't too big an ask?
Apple used to release color version of 1st gen AirPods, they planned to make Pink, ProductRED, Purple, Black, Blonde.Reason of that: they wanted to match the color with iPhone 7. (Purple version of iPhone 7 cancelled at last)And it’s been cancelled. #appleinternal #Apple pic.twitter.com/AaQqrJZbSrMay 30, 2023
But let's get serious. In case you missed it, Apple's WWDC 2024 shindig happened from June 5 to June 9. And while it was a scorcher for software (we had sweeping iOS updates, changes to macOS, plus a look at Apple's artificial intelligence machinations in the form of Apple Intelligence and a new smarter Siri) we didn't get any new AirPods.
Where Apple's unannounced AirPods Pro 3 are concerned, we need to go back. little bit, to discuss the fact that in 2023, the Cupertino giant added Adaptive Audio to AirPods – a headline upgrade within six new features coming to AirPods Pro 2 thanks to iOS 17.
Not all AirPods got the update, only the current models toting active noise cancellation, aka the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Max. Essentially, where once there were only three modes available – ANC, transparency mode, and off – you got a fourth: Adaptive Audio. Apple's take is that this offers the middle ground that we've all been looking for.
I disagree. The new feature blends transparency mode with ANC to match the conditions of your natural surroundings. Using machine learning, Adaptive Audio then creates a more customized and dynamic listening experience so that you don’t have to play around with audio settings on your iPhone while you’re on the move.
I'd argue that users may want to play with the levels of noise nixing. What if listeners want Adaptive Audio that's tweakable further than simply on/off? As TechRadar's Managing Editor of Entertainment wrote at the time: "Give me different levels of noise cancellation – or even better, let me create my own, using a slider or two to set my preferred level, and then saving them as presets I can easily access from Control Center (or maybe they can be triggered by location)."
To summarize, Apple could adopt a few of these ideas for the AirPods Pro 3 and come off looking very good indeed.
Elsewhere, the flagship Technics EAH-AZ80 earbuds offer multipoint connectivity to three devices whether Android or iOS, and in this 'Pro' space it would be great if Apple could follow suit with device-agnostic multipoint pairing. Current AirPods cannot connect to two different devices simultaneously – unless they're both Apple products. Provided someone links their AirPods to their Apple ID, AirPods will instantly switch to whatever device the wearer is using.
For stamina, AirPods Pro 2 are more than acceptable at up to 6 hours of listening time with a single charge (up to 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio and Head Tracking enabled) or up to 30 hours of listening time. This is a little longer than Sony and Technics' flagship 2023 buds can manage; it's seven hours and up to 25 with the charging case from the Technics EAH-AZ80; eight hours or 24 in total with the case from Sony's WF-1000XM5.
But the main bone of contention where any new AirPods are concerned is support for Apple Music's own high-resolution audio offering, specifically 24-bit/96 kHz, aka the maximum resolution of Apple Music's Lossless tier, and 24-bit/192kHz – where Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless offering maxes out.
Currently, to have Hi-Res Lossless files (which Apple gave to its Apple Music subscribers at no extra cost almost two years ago) on your iPhone, you need a fairly involved wired system commencing with the Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter (which is limited to 24-bit/48kHz) then a third-party portable DAC to get you up to resolution, then a set of good wired headphones.
And the slightly lowlier Lossless tier? You still need wired headphones – although your iPhone's onboard DAC is good enough to give you the goods provided you're attaching a cable; something like Apple's still-great EarPods.
If AirPods Pro 3 could grant loyal Apple devotees access to Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless tier, it'd be a home run.
