AirPods Pro 3: The 3 Audio Updates Apple Actually Made (And What They Might Mean)
Apple announced three primary audio improvements in their AirPods Pro 3 keynote. Here's what we might expect, and questions to consider when looking at a review.
Introduction
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 was just announced this past week after much anticipation. While Apple spent most of their keynote pitching a slew of lifestyle features such as heart rate monitors, live translation, and workout tracking, they also presented three audio improvements that those into audio should care about.
In this article, I’m going to focus specifically on those potential improvements and the major questions you might want to watch out for when reviews drop after the AirPods Pro 3 launches on Sept 19, 2025 to see if it’s worth upgrading from the venerable AirPods Pro 2.
For simplicity, I’ll refer to the AirPods Pro 2 and 3 as APP2 and APP3 respectively.
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
Improved ANC Performance
2x more Active Noise Cancellation.
That is Apple’s big claim for the APP3. Sounds impressive, right? The APP2 was already among the best when it came to ANC, so to double that must’ve been an extraordinary feat of engineering. After all, the APP2 (and now APP3) are the leading candidates for the greatest feat of engineering that exists for a mass consumer audio device. How they (supposedly) eked out even more ANC performance is nothing short of praiseworthy.
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
But before we get too excited about having 2x ANC, we need to understand what that actually means. Because Apple may be playing a sleight-of-hand here. Twice the ANC doesn’t actually mean a 2x reduction in background noise volume cancellation. This is because decibels (dB) is a logarithmic scale. Mathematically, a 3 dB reduction is 2x the reduction. For example, improving from -20dB to -23dB means you're reducing the background noise level by twice as much. Perceptually, it would take about a 10dB improvement to actually sound twice as quiet to your ears (e.g. going from -20dB to -30dB).
Until reviews come out, it’s not clear what Apple means by this. Regardless, it’s still impressive what Apple has done. Just not quite as groundbreaking as the headlines might want you to believe.
Oh and also, increased ANC doesn’t always mean better ANC. ANC can have an odd, uncomfortable “airplane pressure” effect depending on the person. I found the APP2’s effect to be manageable, but if there’s even more on the APP3, I’m apprehensive if it would still be comfortable - especially for those who are already sensitive to pressure sensations.
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
Re-engineered Acoustics
A new multiport acoustic architecture for deeper bass, a wider soundstage so you hear every note and stunningly vivid vocal clarity.
That is how Apple describes the re-engineered internals of the APP3. This raises some alarm bells for me. Part of the reason why I like the APP2’s sound quality is because I find it to be very tastefully tuned. It eschews the traditional consumer style of excessive bass and treble at the cost of midrange clarity. No, the APP2 has quite a tactful tonal profile that keeps music sounding balanced without losing the sense of enjoyability that comes with a bit of a bass bump and treble brilliance. It might not be to everyone’s preference, but I stand by my opinion that it’s an excellent attempt at a nice Goldilocks zone.
My worry is that Apple will stray from this foundation in pursuit of that more traditional consumer tuning. Assuming Apple isn’t just spewing marketing fluff, there’s a couple of things in their statement that hint towards a change in tuning philosophy.
First, let’s talk about that new multiport acoustic structure. They enlarged the vents on the shell to help with improved bass response, allowing the APP3’s drivers more room to “breathe” in a sense. As for the soundstage, the bigger vent sizes could add to the “openness” of how it feels, which contributes to a sense of soundstage. This will likely decrease the passive isolation the APP3 has, but that’s presumably made-up for with the improved ANC (that Apple makes it tricky to turn off).
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
It’s the mention of vivid vocal clarity which raises a flag to me that Apple may be going for a tuning change here. Deeper bass could easily be described as more (sub)bass, while more vocal clarity could mean pumping up the upper mids. A wider soundstage may be some trickery with the tuning, but might also be some form of crossfeed that Apple could introduce in the background (perhaps borrowing from their Spatial Audio work).
Digging through the press release, Apple references their “next-generation Adaptive EQ”. Adaptive EQ is Apple’s method of ensuring a consistent listening experience across different ears using the various mics and sensors in the APP2. It’s truly a fantastic bit of engineering and solves a major problem that headphones and IEMs have had for years. Note that this is different from personalized EQ, where the tuning is made to fit the preferences of an individual, either through manual software EQ changes or a guided automatic process similar to what Focal does with their Bathys wireless headphones.
Focal Bathys MG’s customizable EQ options.
With this “next-generation” Adaptive EQ, it could very well be a sophisticated combination of everything I just talked about - an actual change in the base tonal profile, improved sensors to better ensure audio consistency, and some elements of audio effects such as crossfeed.
All that to say, it’s with bated breath that I’m waiting for reviews of the APP3 to see what changes, if any, has Apple done with its tuning. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t complain about the complete lack of customizable EQ. Apple could easily implement it like all the other manufacturers, but they keep refusing. The marketing director in me says that this might be some sort of conscious brand identity play going on here. After all, Apple is infamous for their tight grip on their branding and the whole Adaptive EQ for consistency plays right into that.
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
Re-Designed Ergonomics and Ear Tips
The ear tips are now rotated inward for a more secure fit, and a new layer of foam-infused microspheres increases noise cancellation.
Apple has adjusted the positioning of the nozzle based on “over 10,000 ear scans with more than 100,000 hours of user research”. Fair enough. Without actually trying them in ear, I can’t comment on the improved fit and feel. But I expect it to be good.
Rather, it’s those “foam-infused microspheres” that strike my interest. Based on the keynote, these are the silicone tips with a small pinch of foam around the entrance to give more structure to the tip. There will be a bit of squishiness to it, but should allow the tips to better conform to your ear. This is important because a potential improvement in seal quality could have a major impact on bass response, isolation, and comfort beyond what ANC or new acoustic ports can achieve.
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
This isn’t the first time hybrid silicone + foam tips have been introduced to the market. The Symbio W eartips are the well-known aftermarket example of that. However, Apple’s design here is unique where it’s only a specific section that has the foam, not throughout. Despite my distaste for foam tips in general, I am quite optimistic about how these will work. Quick pro-tip: like other foam tips, you might want to compress these a bit when you insert them for the best fit.
One thing does bother me, however: foam tips have a tendency to disintegrate over time. You can’t clean them very easily with a bit of soap and water like you can with regular silicone. For a hybrid silicone + foam tip, this problem should be avoided if the silicone fully encloses it. But if there’s any part that’s exposed, I do worry about its longevity. I’m hoping Apple will have addressed this problem because otherwise it might be another case of the Apple tax.
On the upside, I’m sure we’ll see many, many 3rd party replacement clones of this style of eartip which may in turn push the traditional “audiophile” IEM eartip market forward. Hooray!
Credit to Apple’s Sept 9, 2025 Event
What’s Next?
This has obviously been a very speculatory article based on the information that we currently have. All of my questions will be answered once we get the AirPods Pro 3 in hand for testing, so stay tuned to The Headphone Show where the team will be doing a full analysis. And of course, The Headphone Show will also be doing frequency response measurements with the B&K 5128 system and comparing it to the AirPods Pro 2 for an objective look at its tonal profile.
Whether the APP3 will be a meaningful step forward in sound quality or be primarily a lifestyle device built on top of the APP2 will depend on how well Apple executes on their acoustic improvements. I have high hopes here. Apple has done miraculous things in the audio space. But hearing is believing.
See The Headphone Show’s reaction to the AirPods Pro 3’s announcement here.
