We’re fast approaching the next big Apple event on September 9th, and while a lot of eyes will be on iPhone 17 and Apple Watch Series 11, I’m looking firmly in the direction of the expected AirPods Pro 3 launch.
I use AirPods Pro 2 every day as the earbuds I take with me everywhere, and given how cheap you can often find them now, I think they’re still a good buy, even with the third version expected in the next few weeks.
So what would encourage me to pay for the upgrade even though I’m happy with my current buds? Here’s my wishlist – followed by a recap of the upgrades that have been leaked, and more of what I expect (rather than what I want).
What I want to see
1. Hi-Res Audio support
Support for higher-quality wireless codecs has never been broader than it is now, with even many of the best budget wireless earbuds often supporting the LDAC codec, or being futureproofed with the LC3 codec that’s part of Bluetooth LE Audio.
In a lot of these cases, you can’t actually hear much, if any, difference – the actual speaker drivers can’t always resolve any more detail, even if it’s contained within the file or stream.
But the recent addition of lossless USB-C audio to AirPods Max actually made a clear difference to its sound when we tested it, which suggests that Apple‘s audio designs have the headroom to push further when provided a higher-resolution source.
I’m obviously expecting AirPods Pro 3 to sound better than the previous model – I’ll talk a little about it later, but it’s essentially a given. I’m hoping that they will also use higher-quality wireless streaming to push to an even richer quality of sound.
2. Smarter noise cancellation options
Apple added more active noise cancellation options to the AirPods Pro 2 over time, adding more nuance than just ‘on’, ‘off’, and ‘Transparency’. But there’s still no easy fine-grained control for those who want it, and I hope that will change.
Bose, for example, offers a useful slider so you can create your own sound profiles to specific situations, such as a lower level of noise blocking for the office, so that chatter is reduced, but someone talking to you directly can still break through.
Sony has also had location- or activity-based switching for its noise cancellation for a while, which I’d like Apple to ‘borrow’. If you could create custom modes for AirPods, it would be ideal to then set them to automatically trigger when you arrive at the office – or to set a more transparent mode when you activate a running workout from your Apple Watch.
This wouldn’t actually require AirPods Pro 3 – it all seems like it should be possible for existing models, because it would mostly be triggered via iPhone – but perhaps a new chip with better connectivity would make it work to Apple’s satisfaction (or maybe it’ll just be a way to persuade us to upgrade).
3. Real multi-point connectivity
Since AirPods launched, their ability to instantly switch between all your Apple devices has been a big advantage. Other earbuds have since gained Bluetooth multi-point pairing as a device-neutral way to instantly switch between two devices (or between three in the case of Technics EAH-AZ100).
Apple has never offered Bluetooth multi-point pairing on AirPods, and I really wish it would – even as someone who has all Apple devices personally. There are so many people with an iPhone but a Windows laptop at home – or who would like to be able to switch easily between their iPhone and their work laptop. After all, even if you have a Mac work machine, you may not want or be allowed to log into your personal Apple Account on it.
I want this because it would be useful for me, but I think it would help make AirPods Pro 3 a more universally useful option among the best earbuds, too.
4. Better battery life
The battery life on AirPods Pro 2 within the earbuds is… fine. It’s average. It’s not commonly a problem for me, but every so often I do hear the sad sound indicating that the buds are about to give up, and it’s always when I’d really prefer to keep using them.
There are competitors that get a few hours longer, and I’d like to have a boost in AirPods Pro 3 so that I effectively never get caught out. And I have relatively high hopes for this, because Beats – also owned by Apple – has been doing some really impressive stuff with battery life.
The Beats Solo Buds, for example, get 18 hours(!) from a single charge of the buds. They don’t have active noise cancellation, but even so, we still generally expect 10 hours to 12 hours to be the maximum for earbuds with ANC off.
Hopefully, whatever chip or processing skills that enable this have been shared within Apple, and the H3 chip we expect to see in the new model can last a few extra hours.
What we’re expecting
1. Better sound and active noise cancellation
I don’t want to shock you, but Apple will surely improve the audio quality and noise-stopping power of its new earbuds. AirPods Pro 2 are still very impressive for ANC, but they’ve been comfortably beaten by the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen.
I’d expect the new buds to take a small but noticeable step up in detail and separation of elements in the mid-range and treble, based on what we saw from Apple updating its sound profile in the HomePod 2.
And when it comes to noise cancellation, AirPods Pro 2 are stronger with low-end frequencies than high-end ones (which is common), so I’d expect the most noticeable advancement to be in cutting out higher-pitched sounds.
2. A new chip and next-gen location tracking
No doubt there will be a new H3 chip powering everything here, which will surely contribute to improvements in sound quality and noise cancellation. It will probably be more powerful, so may include some interesting new features that haven’t been announced yet.
One of the new features is rumored to be a next-gen version of the precision ultra-wideband tracking that’s used in the AirPods Pro 2, which can literally point you towards your lost AirPods case on your phone’s screen, with a longer connection range for this tech.
3. Added health sensors
It’s long been claimed that AirPods Pro 3 will have heart-rate sensors, and this only looked more likely following the launch of Powerbeats Pro 2, which includes this tech.
But a newer rumor says Apple will include a temperature sensor in the new earbuds as well, which makes a lot of sense – if anything, it seems more useful than a heart-rate sensor to me, since it’s not something that most other wearables can do well.
4. Live Translation
This seems like a slam-dunk – the ability to hear someone speaking to you in another language translated straight into your own language, pumped into your ears. Other earbuds (including those from Samsung) offer this.
However, it’s claimed that this feature won’t arrive at launch, but may come in a software update later.
5. A higher price
There haven’t been any leaks about this – it’s entirely my expectation. As you have undoubtedly noticed, there’s been a lot of inflation over the last few years. When AirPods Pro 2 came out, Apple kept them at the same price as the original AirPods Pro, which was surprising – all of its competitors raised prices with their new models released around the same time.
It ended up meaning that AirPods Pro 2 had a surprisingly aggressive-looking price considering their features, and now that we’re in 2025 and AirPods Pro 2 often get big discounts, they’re kind of a bargain.
I would be very surprised if AirPods Pro 3 keep the same price again, given everything going on. I think the US price could rise as high as $299, which would still be right in line with today’s top high-end earbuds – though perhaps we’ll get lucky and they’ll only rise to $279.
Of course, I’ll be delighted if they stay at $249, I just think it’s very unlikely. And that’s one reason why I still think AirPods Pro 2 are maybe worth buying, especially if you see them fall to $159 / £169 or even lower.
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