AirPods Pro 3 Improve Noise Cancellation, Add Workout Tracking and Live Translation

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Originally published at: AirPods Pro 3 Improve Noise Cancellation, Add Workout Tracking and Live Translation - TidBITS

Along with the expected releases of the iPhone 17 lineup and new Apple Watch models, Apple used its “Awe Dropping” event to introduce the new AirPods Pro 3. They offer enhanced noise cancellation, heart rate monitoring for workouts, and a new Live Translation feature. The wireless earbuds are available for pre-order now at the familiar $249 price point, with availability starting on 19 September 2025.

The advancement that’s likely to have the most impact comes in noise cancellation, which Apple says is twice as effective as the AirPods Pro 2 and four times better than the original AirPods Pro. Apple also redesigned the ear tips with foam-infused cushions available in five sizes (XXS, XS, S, M, L) for a more secure fit and enhanced passive noise cancellation. Other physical changes, though not immediately apparent, include a smaller body, redesigned ear tip geometry for better stability, and IP57 sweat and water resistance.

AirPods Pro 3 eartips

For those who wear AirPods during exercise, the AirPods Pro 3 add heart rate monitoring and can start up to 50 different workout types through the iPhone’s Fitness app. I’m having some difficulty imagining how all this will work in real life; for instance, what if you don’t work out with your iPhone, and how will the accuracy of the heart rate monitoring compare to that of the Apple Watch?

The most impressive new feature Apple showed off is Live Translation (currently in beta), which enables real-time translation of face-to-face conversations in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish to start, with Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese coming later this year. That’s right, Apple has essentially created the Babelfish from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The AirPods automatically lower background audio with noise cancellation so you can focus on the translation. If the other person isn’t wearing supported AirPods, you can use your iPhone as a horizontal display to show your speech in their language. Live Translation is powered by computational audio on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone running iOS 26. It also works on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with Noise Cancellation. Unfortunately, Apple says that Live Translation with AirPods is not available if you are in the EU and your Apple Account country or region is also in the EU. I’m curious to hear how well it functions in real-world situations.

Apple’s Hearing Protection technology, including the Hearing Test, is now available to users in the EU and UK after receiving certification in those regions. However, it is also supported on the AirPods Pro 2, so there’s no need to upgrade to access Hearing Protection.

Finally, Apple improved battery life to 8 hours with noise cancellation turned on (up from 6 hours) and up to 10 hours in Transparency mode. Although it’s fast and easy to charge the AirPods in their case—5 minutes in the case provides about 1 hour of listening—any boost in battery life is appreciated.

AirPods Pro 3 spec card

Overall, the AirPods Pro 3 feature set sounds compelling, especially for owners of the original AirPods Pro. I can easily see how the improved noise cancellation, potentially more comfortable fit, better battery life, and Live Translation could encourage an upgrade. Even those who are happy with the AirPods Pro 2 might be enticed by the noise cancellation and battery life alone.

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I’ve ordered these - my first ever Airpods. I’d been using a third party brand but the batteries gave out and I thought I’d give Airpods a go. As long as the noise cancelling is OK I’ll be happy.

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Bizarre. What led to that? Most likely needed location for use. Looks like the French maitre d’ won’t be able to use it with the visiting US tourist…
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The live translation will be available to AirPods Pro 2 as well.

I’d consider upgrading for better fit and the ANC but the live translation would have made it an instant purchase. I have the 2s so will ponder more.

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I’m in the same boat. My APPro2 works just fine, so if the Live Translation works well on them, I probably won’t upgrade until they stop working. But they’ll definitely be on the “Buy List” when the time comes.

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Yes, they said the same thing about hearing health and the hearing aid features last year. I think even Apple Intelligence at first, too. Apple almost always rolls out these features more broadly over time. Perhaps it’s simply a way to reduce support calls for a newly-released feature?

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As I understand it, as an American, live translation will still work for me in France. The two conditions for elimination are separated by an ‘and’, meaning both have to apply. So I’ll be able to understand the maître d’ and just nod my head in reply.

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Quite possibly caught up in the EU’s ridiculous “gatekeeper” laws for technology.

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My guess is that it’s tied up in Apple restricting certain Apple Intelligence features due to the Digital Markets Act. I don’t understand how that all connects, but a lot of it feels like posturing and jockeying for position on both sides.

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You’re probably right. Given the sheer scale of AI within the US economy and rate of growth, a slower moving EU can’t hope to respond other than using blocks.

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That OTOH involved regulatory approval (medical devices), unlike Live Translation. Europe did just gain those now BTW. Like @ace, I suspect this has more to do with Apple Intelligence vs. DMA.

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Yes the Airpods Pro 2 do have an excellent noise cancellation and superb sound, but I am not so sure if I will upgrade to version 3. I had the same problem with version 1 and 2: one of the airpods died after the warranty expired, so I needed to buy a new airpod to keep using them, it happened with the original Airpods Pro and the recent version 2. Took them to Apple and they were dead, did not charge anymore. Not sure if it is a design problem that has not been fixed. But I was expecting a better lifespan from these, in comparison I still have a working set of wireless bluetooth earbuds from Bose that I bough in 2018, battery life is not the same as original, but they work.

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Better ANC sounds great, but I wonder if perhaps it’s just due to foam inserts. IIRC there are inexpensive 3rd party tips that folks can use on their previous APP2 for the same effect.

The really great news is that if you see little added value in the new APP3 over the APP2, Amazon will now sell you the APP2 at the discounted price of just $199.

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I was disappointed that with the new AirPods Pro and the new iPhones, why do they still not support lossless audio when working together? You can get lossless audio with certain AirPods paired to the Vision Pro, so clearly it is possible.

I’m not buying wireless headphones until lossless audio is supported.

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I would be very interested to hear others’ experience with or recommendations for third-party tips.

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@ace wrote an article comparing AirPods with the then-new AirPods Pro. I have never liked earbuds, but a confluence of life changes (including pandemic lockdown) were making them seem more-and-more attractive. Ignoring Adam’s complaints about having problems getting the Pros to stay in his ears, I opted for a pair of AirPods Pro.

They were worthless to me out of the box. If I took great care putting them in my ears, and didn’t move around too much or too quickly, I might get 5-10 minutes before one fell out. Wearing them was a nerve-wracking effort to make sure I always had a hand free to catch a cascading bud.

I ended up getting some Symbio replacement ear tips with memory foam:

https://symbiow.com/

They helped a lot, making the AirPods Pro almost useful. Almost. I continued to use them off-and-on for a couple of years – going through three sets of the rather fragile replacement ear tips – before deciding that I’m just not an ear buds guy.

In short, I thought the Symbio memory foam tips were a vast improvement (for my ears) over the stock silicone tips, but my ears never have held earbuds in place and I don’t really tolerate things in my ears so I’m probably not the best source of information.

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As I understand the battery in an AirPod is not replaceable, so once those run out you have to throw the whole thing away? Do any of the TidBits readers with real life experience want to share how long their AirPods lasted? I mean, how long can you expect to be able to use them before the battery becomes so bad they become useless and have to be replaced?

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According to iFixit, battery replacement is extremely difficult and requires specialized tools, but it is possible:

That having been said, Apple offers a battery replacement service. They charge $50. It is my understanding that this service involves them giving you a new/refurbished set, and keeping the old ones so they may be refurbished at a factory that has the skills to do the work.

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He would if they meet outside the EU or the maitre d’ (fun fact: in France nobody actually calls it that) doesn’t have an EU iCloud Apple account.

Apparently it won’t work as of right now if in the EU and for an EU-based iCloud Apple account (source: Apple). Suspicion is that it’s related to AI and privacy (GDRP) regulation that Apple wants to make sure it is compliant with first, per MR.

On the very bright side, Apple won’t make folks buy APP3 just for Live Translation. AP4 and APP2 will gain the ability through imminent software updates. :+1:

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I bought a pair of APP2 last year, but I don’t use them as much as the Beats Fit Pro earbuds that I bought in May 2022. They are my workout earbuds, plus what I’d use to listen to media when I was not working out until I got the AirPods. They have a similar battery life as AirPods Pro 1. The battery on these are still great; I use them probably on average 1.5 hours per day since the day that I bought them, mostly in transparency mode, sometimes in noise cancelling mode, almost never in “normal” mode.

As an aside, while I have done a few workouts in the AirPods Pro 2 (mostly when I grabbed them by mistake before a workout), they feel less secure in my ears when I am actively moving, so I still prefer the Beats Fit Pro. That said: adaptive mode on AirPods Pro 2 is amazing. It cuts out the loud car sound just enough while increasing the media volume just a bit so I never need to rewind on my podcasts while still being able to hear everything around me for safety. I’m sad to see that Apple is coming out with a replacement for the Beats Fit Pro soon - the Powerbeats Fit - but which still use the old H1 chip rather than the newer H2 which has better noise cancelling along with the adaptive mode. We’ll see if that’s the case when they are announced.