At Tuesday’s iPhone 17 launch event, the iPhone Air stole the spotlight, but Apple launched new smartwatches and headphones, too. In the more-or-less expected category, we got the AirPods Pro 3, the latest upgrade to its line of high-end bluetooth earbuds. Not counting a small nudge to add USB-C charging in 2023, it’s been almost three years since the AirPods Pro 2 were released, so an upgrade was about due.
Just because we expected this, though, doesn’t mean it’s unwelcome. Billy Steele, audio expert at our sister publication Engadget, got to try out the AirPods Pro 3 at the launch event, and again afterward. He wrote that its improved active noise cancellation (ANC) managed to cut out environmental sound in a marble-lined room with no dampening whatsoever. He also said the new foam ear tips are a lot comfier than the earlier rubberized tips, and they do an even better job of blocking ambient noise, too.
