I bought these with my own money. Every product here did weeks of my workdays before I scored it. If you buy through a link on this page, I may earn a commission. How I test
How I used it
I bought AirPods Pro 3 in November 2025, on a work trip to Quebec, and paid Apple's full retail price. I've used them for about 10 months since. They replaced my first-generation AirPods Pro, and I swapped the default ear tips for the larger size right away.
They're in my ears for most of the workday and at the gym. My days run long and are mostly calls, and most of those happen on a 14-inch MacBook Pro. I also own AirPods Max, and I rotate between the two. The Pro 3 get the video calls, because the Max look bulky on camera. The Max get cold calling and anything that isn't a video call.
Some nights I put one in to listen to a podcast before sleep. I sleep on my side, so it's one AirPod only.
In those 10 months I've gone through three pairs. More on that below, because it's the most important part of this review.
What it gets right
Live Translation is the best thing about them, and it sold me on the trip where I bought them. I speak some French, but in Quebec I sometimes didn’t understand what people were saying. I turned Live Translation on and it worked. I had nothing to complain about. If you travel for work and switch languages, this is the feature to buy them for. It runs through your iPhone and needs a model that supports Apple Intelligence.
Most of my calls go through the MacBook, and the comments I get about how I sound have been good. They’re also the reason I reach for these over the Max on video. Small earbuds look normal on camera. Big over-ear headphones on a video call don’t.
The noise cancelling works everywhere I’ve used them, from my desk to the gym to that trip to Canada. When a pair is working right, I don’t think about outside noise at all.
With the larger tips they stay in for most of the workday and through a gym session. They’re small enough to wear in bed, which the Max aren’t. Compared with the first-gen AirPods Pro they replaced, they’re a lot better overall.
What could be better
- The seashell hiss is the big one. Imagine holding a seashell to your ear while nothing is playing, and that’s the sound. My first pair started doing it in March, about four months in. Apple gave me a new pair and the sound went away. In September it came back on the second pair, and Apple gave me a third. When it happens, the AirPods are impossible to use. Both times I went back to my old first-gen AirPods Pro or my AirPods Max until the replacement came. This isn’t just my luck. MacRumors reported owner complaints about this back in October 2025, with people describing the same seashell sound, and some said their replacement pair did it too.
- The battery doesn’t cover a full workday. I top them up in the case at midday. I don’t track the hours, I just put them back in the case when I check and they’re low.
- Heart rate sensing is redundant if you wear an Apple Watch. I have an Apple Watch Ultra, so I’ve never used it.
- Side sleeping means one earbud, which is fine for a podcast and no good for a full night.
How it compares
Against the first-gen AirPods Pro I had before, they’re a lot better overall. The old pair is now my backup for when the Pro 3 are out for repair, and it’s been needed twice.
Against my AirPods Max, they do different jobs for me. The Pro 3 win on video calls, because of how they look on camera, and in bed. The Max take over for cold calling and non-video work. If I could keep only one for a workday of video calls, it’d be the Pro 3.
Against cheaper AirPods, if translation is the main reason you’re shopping, know that Live Translation also works on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation, as long as your iPhone supports Apple Intelligence. Apple also launched AirPods 5 in September 2026 at $129 and $149, with noise cancelling on both. I haven’t used any of those, so I can’t tell you how they sound or how well they block noise.
Specs
- Released
- September 19, 2025
- Launch price
- $249 (US)
- Chip
- Apple H2
- Noise cancelling
- Up to 2x more than AirPods Pro 2 (Apple's claim)
- Battery (rated)
- Up to 8 hours of listening with noise cancelling on
- Water resistance
- IP57 dust, sweat and water
- Ear tips
- 5 sizes, XXS to L
- Sensors
- Heart rate sensing during workouts
- Other features
- Live Translation, Hearing Aid feature
Final verdict
AirPods Pro 3 are the best earbuds I've owned for a workday built around video calls. Live Translation made a work trip to Quebec easier, the noise cancelling does its job everywhere I take them, and they're small enough to wear on camera and in bed. I recommend them to people who are into tech, travel across languages, and want high-quality earbuds.
The thing that decides it is the hiss. I'm on my third pair in 10 months. I add AppleCare to every Apple device I own, and with these I'm thankful I do. Buy them with AppleCare (AppleCare+ for AirPods Pro 3 costs $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year in the US, per Apple's AppleCare page at time of writing), and if you ever hear the ocean in a quiet room, take them straight to Apple.
Apple didn't announce a new AirPods Pro at its September 2026 event, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in August 2026 that the next one, with cameras, has slipped to 2027. So the Pro 3 are the model to buy today, and you're not about to be leapfrogged.
