I have now owned the Apple AirPods Pro 3 for a few weeks now, so what do I think ?£219 for a pair of in-ears is a lot of money for a pair of earphones when you see others for £20-£100, so this seems a lot, right ?Firstly, to justify this purchase, I sold my old favourites: my Sony Wf 1000 xm5 buds and my Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones . (Bought second-hand on thinkassemble.co.uk though, practically new, still in box but had the price of new.)What justifies the price? Well , unlike £20 buds, these are full of technology that works.I absolutely prefer in-ears. I have flirted with over-the-ear /on-ear headphones over the years, trying many Bose and Sony models, but I find the issues such as bulk, sweaty ears, and the inability to wear sunglasses as hindrances .In-ears are just so small, put them in your pocket, don’t make you sweaty, and I can look as cool as Blade does in my Oakleys. I love mountain biking and can wear buds over ears, just wouldn’t sit right with a helmet on .The other major important things for me are:Sound quality (I love all sorts of music and I want it to sound amazing)Noise cancellation (I commute a lot, I want to drown out the noise of the train and the underground and the buses )Spotify Wrapped informs me I listen to around 4-5k hours of music a yearThat’s thousands of hours of music a year, and I have in previous years been in the top 1% oflisteners to Above and Beyond and Linkin Park . (Yes, my range is diverse. )I commute to work via train, which sometimes can take a very long time. I have to travel almost the entire length of England for holidays. I listen to music at night to help me sleep.Regarding sound quality:I’ve avoided Apple for years as the sound quality back in the day has been an afterthought; it’s been awful.However, having had the chance to listen to my partner’s Apple AirPods Gen 4 and borrow a pair of Pro 2s, I realised the sound was so much improved, to the point when considering my next pair of buds, I seriously thought of Apple.My other choices would have been…Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)Reviews say no real difference from first gen :)Sony wf 1000 xm6 (not being realised till next spring :)So went for AppleA feature I thought I would miss, however, would be EQ.There is no EQ, so you can’t adjust sound to your preference, but then the Bose only had a basic 3-slider EQ (bass, mid, and treble) anyways.BUT there is a fun feature though:Hearing test: you sit in a quiet place, listen for the beeps, tap when you hear them, try not to fall asleep; it’s very relaxing. Then a sound profile is generated to match your hearing; clever stuff, also reassuring to learn that even after years of blasting my ears with thousands of hours of music, my hearing is okay.ANCSo my previous earbuds were the fantastic Bose QuietComfort Ultra in-ears; the Bose were amazing in terms of music quality and ANC, which made everything go so quiet. Loved them for commuting. I never had an issue with the so-called Bose vacuum effect (the experience of sound being sucked out of your ears); it’s a thing, Google it!!!So how do the Apples compare? Well, I’m pleased to say they are phenomenal.You control by squeezing the stem, and you get a little confirmation ping to say it’s worked.You switch between Aware, Adaptive, and ANC.Aware is sublime if you have no music; you hear the outside world as clearly as if you had no buds in your ears.Adaptive works very well, actually so well I barely notice the shift. It lets through noise when you need it, and when it gets noisy, it blocks that out.Full ANC, well, that’s as you’d expect; I do not recommend walking or cycling with ANC on as it blocks out the outside world, and you need to be aware of your surroundings.Battery lifeDid 3 weekdays of commuting with my normal routine, using ANC and the higher quality music settings; by the end of the 3rd day, the case was 17%, the buds 100%, so I gave them a charge. So happy with that.ComfortI really like the new hybrid foam buds you get with them. I have accidentally knocked one out when pulling off my hoodie (never happened with the Sonys or Bose’s, so be careful). Personally, when I take them out each time, I give them a wipe so there’s not a build-up of oils to make them slippery.They are very light and comfortable to wear. I wore them for about 4.5 hours at home when there were train delays, so no issues there.The case is nice and compact too, though. As usual, I bought a silicone case cover.So, as a serious music lover who normally listens on high-end products, do I recommend these? Absolutely yes.

If you own AirPods Pro 2 – probably not worth the change, minimal upgrades.For everyone else – these are amazing. The new earbud options help get a great seal and are comfortable for long periods of time – noise cancellation is the best I have experience in earbuds (and as good as some over ears). The new case style means charging is fast and the little beeps for finding the case and when charging are reassuring. The controls on the stems are easy to use and sound quality is excellent (again not as good as high end over ears but for bud format, amazing).For travel these are unbeatable – take up hardly any room in a bag or pocket and last long flights comfortably. The anc drowns out airplane buzz nicely and drowns out screaming children sounds pretty well too.The new live translation feature is a bit hit and miss – I tried speaking to Italians and although it works the delay is a bit off putting – but may not be avoided as some languages you have to wait for a sentence to finish before you get context. Adaptive sound modes are OK but I didn’t find it that useful so turned it off – I prefer to still turn on transparency when talking to someone and sometimes it turns down the volume when there’s loud noises which isn’t helpful.I think price wise they are great for what you get and if you have an iPhone the seamless integration is pretty unbeatable – opening the case connects super fast and gone are the days of Bluetooth menu searching and pairing buttons.

AirPods Pro 3: miglioramenti mirati che fanno la differenza
Apple ha svolto un ottimo lavoro sul fronte del potenziamento. Avendo utilizzato sia le AirPods 4 con ANC sia le AirPods Pro 2, posso confermare che le differenze sono percepibili, soprattutto rispetto alle AirPods 4 con cancellazione attiva del rumore. In particolare, i bassi risultano più profondi e gli alti più definiti. Anche la modalità Trasparenza e l’isolamento acustico sono nettamente più efficaci rispetto alle AirPods 4 con ANC.Nel confronto diretto con le AirPods Pro 2, i miglioramenti sono più contenuti: non si tratta di un cambiamento radicale, ma di ottimizzazioni mirate che rendono l’esperienza complessiva più raffinata. Da segnalare anche il case, leggermente più grande rispetto a quello delle Pro 2 e naturalmente più voluminoso rispetto a quello delle AirPods 4 con ANC.Parlando nello specifico della modalità Trasparenza, le Pro 3 eliminano quasi del tutto il leggero effetto ovattato che si percepiva nei modelli precedenti, restituendo un suono molto più naturale e realistico dell’ambiente circostante. Anche il comfort è migliorato: i gommini risultano realmente più comodi rispetto a quelli delle AirPods Pro 2, rendendo l’utilizzo prolungato più piacevole.L’isolamento acustico è stato ulteriormente intensificato e risulta efficace anche a volumi non troppo alti, anzi quasi bassi. Questo permette di godere di un’ottima esperienza di ascolto senza la necessità di alzare eccessivamente il volume, con benefici evidenti anche in termini di comfort e affaticamento uditivo.Interessante anche l’introduzione del rilevamento della frequenza cardiaca direttamente dalle cuffie. Durante l’attività fisica la misurazione risulta comoda e immediata, soprattutto per chi non utilizza sempre Apple Watch. Non sostituisce un dispositivo dedicato, ma è una funzione aggiuntiva ben integrata nell’ecosistema Apple e utile per avere un monitoraggio di base durante allenamenti o camminate.Nel complesso, le consiglio in ogni caso, soprattutto a chi desidera rimanere aggiornato e avere un prodotto più maturo sotto ogni aspetto, perché rappresentano comunque un passo avanti.L’unica nota negativa riguarda l’autonomia del case: a una prima valutazione, non sembra garantire realmente le 16 ore aggiuntive di ascolto dichiarate. L’autonomia delle cuffie, invece, è in linea con quanto promesso, attestandosi su circa 8 ore effettive.

Los mejores sin duda, si eres de Apple.
Calidad de sonido de 10, cosa que no ocurría con los AirPods Pro de la primera generación, los de la segunda no los he probado. Agudos brillantes, nítidos, limpios y en su justa medida, graves profundos que no molestan, también muy equilibrados, y medios que dan claridad y definición.Si eres de Apple y usas Apple Music, ya no tiene comparación con ningún otro sistema. El sonido te envuelve, no lo oyes en el oido, sino alrededor tuyo, y con el dolby atmos el efecto tridimensional es sencillamente espectacular.Son muy cómodos, los menos invasivos en tu oido, ósea, que entran lo justo para que no te molesten y hacer un acople bastante hermético, de manera que te olvidas que los llevas puestos.En cuanto a la cancelación de ruido, como dicen, son los mejores in-ear.Si eres de apple se conecta automáticamente a todos tus dispositivos, puedes ir pasando del iPad al Mac o al iPhone casi sin hacer nada.En fin, repito, si eres de Apple, son lo mas, pero no creo que den tan buenos resultados con Android o para otro tipo de dispositivos, seguro que para otros sistemas de audio puede haber otros mas adecuados.

I have now owned the Apple AirPods Pro 3 for a few weeks now, so what do I think ?£219 for a pair of in-ears is a lot of money for a pair of earphones when you see others for £20-£100, so this seems a lot, right ?Firstly, to justify this purchase, I sold my old favourites: my Sony Wf 1000 xm5 buds and my Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones . (Bought second-hand on thinkassemble.co.uk though, practically new, still in box but had the price of new.)What justifies the price? Well , unlike £20 buds, these are full of technology that works.I absolutely prefer in-ears. I have flirted with over-the-ear /on-ear headphones over the years, trying many Bose and Sony models, but I find the issues such as bulk, sweaty ears, and the inability to wear sunglasses as hindrances .In-ears are just so small, put them in your pocket, don’t make you sweaty, and I can look as cool as Blade does in my Oakleys. I love mountain biking and can wear buds over ears, just wouldn’t sit right with a helmet on .The other major important things for me are:Sound quality (I love all sorts of music and I want it to sound amazing)Noise cancellation (I commute a lot, I want to drown out the noise of the train and the underground and the buses )Spotify Wrapped informs me I listen to around 4-5k hours of music a yearThat’s thousands of hours of music a year, and I have in previous years been in the top 1% oflisteners to Above and Beyond and Linkin Park . (Yes, my range is diverse. )I commute to work via train, which sometimes can take a very long time. I have to travel almost the entire length of England for holidays. I listen to music at night to help me sleep.Regarding sound quality:I’ve avoided Apple for years as the sound quality back in the day has been an afterthought; it’s been awful.However, having had the chance to listen to my partner’s Apple AirPods Gen 4 and borrow a pair of Pro 2s, I realised the sound was so much improved, to the point when considering my next pair of buds, I seriously thought of Apple.My other choices would have been…Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen)Reviews say no real difference from first gen :)Sony wf 1000 xm6 (not being realised till next spring :)So went for AppleA feature I thought I would miss, however, would be EQ.There is no EQ, so you can’t adjust sound to your preference, but then the Bose only had a basic 3-slider EQ (bass, mid, and treble) anyways.BUT there is a fun feature though:Hearing test: you sit in a quiet place, listen for the beeps, tap when you hear them, try not to fall asleep; it’s very relaxing. Then a sound profile is generated to match your hearing; clever stuff, also reassuring to learn that even after years of blasting my ears with thousands of hours of music, my hearing is okay.ANCSo my previous earbuds were the fantastic Bose QuietComfort Ultra in-ears; the Bose were amazing in terms of music quality and ANC, which made everything go so quiet. Loved them for commuting. I never had an issue with the so-called Bose vacuum effect (the experience of sound being sucked out of your ears); it’s a thing, Google it!!!So how do the Apples compare? Well, I’m pleased to say they are phenomenal.You control by squeezing the stem, and you get a little confirmation ping to say it’s worked.You switch between Aware, Adaptive, and ANC.Aware is sublime if you have no music; you hear the outside world as clearly as if you had no buds in your ears.Adaptive works very well, actually so well I barely notice the shift. It lets through noise when you need it, and when it gets noisy, it blocks that out.Full ANC, well, that’s as you’d expect; I do not recommend walking or cycling with ANC on as it blocks out the outside world, and you need to be aware of your surroundings.Battery lifeDid 3 weekdays of commuting with my normal routine, using ANC and the higher quality music settings; by the end of the 3rd day, the case was 17%, the buds 100%, so I gave them a charge. So happy with that.ComfortI really like the new hybrid foam buds you get with them. I have accidentally knocked one out when pulling off my hoodie (never happened with the Sonys or Bose’s, so be careful). Personally, when I take them out each time, I give them a wipe so there’s not a build-up of oils to make them slippery.They are very light and comfortable to wear. I wore them for about 4.5 hours at home when there were train delays, so no issues there.The case is nice and compact too, though. As usual, I bought a silicone case cover.So, as a serious music lover who normally listens on high-end products, do I recommend these? Absolutely yes.

If you own AirPods Pro 2 – probably not worth the change, minimal upgrades.For everyone else – these are amazing. The new earbud options help get a great seal and are comfortable for long periods of time – noise cancellation is the best I have experience in earbuds (and as good as some over ears). The new case style means charging is fast and the little beeps for finding the case and when charging are reassuring. The controls on the stems are easy to use and sound quality is excellent (again not as good as high end over ears but for bud format, amazing).For travel these are unbeatable – take up hardly any room in a bag or pocket and last long flights comfortably. The anc drowns out airplane buzz nicely and drowns out screaming children sounds pretty well too.The new live translation feature is a bit hit and miss – I tried speaking to Italians and although it works the delay is a bit off putting – but may not be avoided as some languages you have to wait for a sentence to finish before you get context. Adaptive sound modes are OK but I didn’t find it that useful so turned it off – I prefer to still turn on transparency when talking to someone and sometimes it turns down the volume when there’s loud noises which isn’t helpful.I think price wise they are great for what you get and if you have an iPhone the seamless integration is pretty unbeatable – opening the case connects super fast and gone are the days of Bluetooth menu searching and pairing buttons.

AirPods Pro 3: miglioramenti mirati che fanno la differenza
Apple ha svolto un ottimo lavoro sul fronte del potenziamento. Avendo utilizzato sia le AirPods 4 con ANC sia le AirPods Pro 2, posso confermare che le differenze sono percepibili, soprattutto rispetto alle AirPods 4 con cancellazione attiva del rumore. In particolare, i bassi risultano più profondi e gli alti più definiti. Anche la modalità Trasparenza e l’isolamento acustico sono nettamente più efficaci rispetto alle AirPods 4 con ANC.Nel confronto diretto con le AirPods Pro 2, i miglioramenti sono più contenuti: non si tratta di un cambiamento radicale, ma di ottimizzazioni mirate che rendono l’esperienza complessiva più raffinata. Da segnalare anche il case, leggermente più grande rispetto a quello delle Pro 2 e naturalmente più voluminoso rispetto a quello delle AirPods 4 con ANC.Parlando nello specifico della modalità Trasparenza, le Pro 3 eliminano quasi del tutto il leggero effetto ovattato che si percepiva nei modelli precedenti, restituendo un suono molto più naturale e realistico dell’ambiente circostante. Anche il comfort è migliorato: i gommini risultano realmente più comodi rispetto a quelli delle AirPods Pro 2, rendendo l’utilizzo prolungato più piacevole.L’isolamento acustico è stato ulteriormente intensificato e risulta efficace anche a volumi non troppo alti, anzi quasi bassi. Questo permette di godere di un’ottima esperienza di ascolto senza la necessità di alzare eccessivamente il volume, con benefici evidenti anche in termini di comfort e affaticamento uditivo.Interessante anche l’introduzione del rilevamento della frequenza cardiaca direttamente dalle cuffie. Durante l’attività fisica la misurazione risulta comoda e immediata, soprattutto per chi non utilizza sempre Apple Watch. Non sostituisce un dispositivo dedicato, ma è una funzione aggiuntiva ben integrata nell’ecosistema Apple e utile per avere un monitoraggio di base durante allenamenti o camminate.Nel complesso, le consiglio in ogni caso, soprattutto a chi desidera rimanere aggiornato e avere un prodotto più maturo sotto ogni aspetto, perché rappresentano comunque un passo avanti.L’unica nota negativa riguarda l’autonomia del case: a una prima valutazione, non sembra garantire realmente le 16 ore aggiuntive di ascolto dichiarate. L’autonomia delle cuffie, invece, è in linea con quanto promesso, attestandosi su circa 8 ore effettive.

Los mejores sin duda, si eres de Apple.
Calidad de sonido de 10, cosa que no ocurría con los AirPods Pro de la primera generación, los de la segunda no los he probado. Agudos brillantes, nítidos, limpios y en su justa medida, graves profundos que no molestan, también muy equilibrados, y medios que dan claridad y definición.Si eres de Apple y usas Apple Music, ya no tiene comparación con ningún otro sistema. El sonido te envuelve, no lo oyes en el oido, sino alrededor tuyo, y con el dolby atmos el efecto tridimensional es sencillamente espectacular.Son muy cómodos, los menos invasivos en tu oido, ósea, que entran lo justo para que no te molesten y hacer un acople bastante hermético, de manera que te olvidas que los llevas puestos.En cuanto a la cancelación de ruido, como dicen, son los mejores in-ear.Si eres de apple se conecta automáticamente a todos tus dispositivos, puedes ir pasando del iPad al Mac o al iPhone casi sin hacer nada.En fin, repito, si eres de Apple, son lo mas, pero no creo que den tan buenos resultados con Android o para otro tipo de dispositivos, seguro que para otros sistemas de audio puede haber otros mas adecuados.