Apple AirPods Pro 3 Rumored Release Date: These Are the Improvements I Want to See
Apple usually updates one of its AirPods models in some way every year. Last year, we received a brand new one Airpods 4 and AirPods 4 has positive noise cancellation and a minor update to AirPods Max, Added USB-C charging. Rumor has it the AirPods Pro is next in line for an upgrade, with the third-generation AirPods Pro 3 set to be unveiled sometimes in 2025. Whether that will actually happen is anybody’s guess — after all, we didn’t get a real next-gen AirPods Max last year when a lot of people thought we would — but here’s a look at the latest AirPods Pro 3 rumors and what improvements I’d like to see.
Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds of 2025
When will the new AirPods Pro 3 be released?
Macos Rumors recently found an article on X From a prompter called Kosutami Who said Apple is planning to launch the Airpods Pro 3 and Airtag 2 in May or June this year. Given that Apple previously launched the next-generation Airpods with the new iPhone in the fall, this seems unlikely. One exception is the Airpods Max, which was announced on December 8, 2020, or approximately six weeks after the iPhone 12 was released.
While nothing is possible, the AirPods Pro 3 seems more likely to arrive at the same time as the September iPhone 17. Mark Gurman of BloombergOften a more reliable Apple whisperer, he said the Airpods Pro 3 will feature new designs and heart rate monitoring, such as Apple’s new designs Beat PowerBeats Pro 2 – But they’re a few months away from being pushed out.
Rumors about the new Airpods Pro 3 features
With the PowerBeats Pro 2 getting the aforementioned heart rate sensor, it seems more likely now to make the AirPods Pro 3 get them too. I’m not sure how useful the feature is, especially if you already have an Apple Watch. However, Apple may have a more ambitious plan for heart rate monitoring of its buds and can still use the PowerBeats Pro 2 as a guinea pig.
Several technical channels The possibility of temperature sensors and other physiological measurements was mentioned in another Gurman report. He and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo It is also reported that Apple is researching Add infrared cameras to future Airpods. Kuo’s report suggests that IR cameras can be used for all events, including aerial gesture detection, enhanced spatial audio or detection of environmental changes in software Apple Smart. Don’t expect to see any camera technology in the AirPods Pro 3, but maybe the AirPods Pro 4 will get it.
Each PowerBeats Pro 2 Bud has a heart rate sensor as well as an ear detection sensor.
The most rumored feature I found was the interactive touch display in the charging case of the AirPods Pro 3, which acts as a remote. Apple filed for patent in 2022. Rumors have been kicking for a whileIn recent months, Amazon has seen some Airpods imitations with touch screens. Additionally, last year JBL released three new live 3 earbuds, including Live Beam 3, as a follow-up to 2023 Tour Pro 2 Earplugs, in their case, have a color touch screen. All new Live 3 models feature a 1.5-inch LED touch display, so the feature appears in competitive earbuds.
I don’t know the AirPods Pro 3 will come with a touch screen charging case, but what might be some changes to the charging case, and some say the case may shrink. If nothing else, the physical Bluetooth pairing and reset buttons should be swapped for a hidden touch “button”, just like a button in the case of AirPods 4.
Given that Apple made two versions of AirPods 4, I can see it made two versions of AirPods Pro 3 – a more advanced model with some extra features like the touch screen in the charging case and a stomp version that cuts it off.
JBL Live Beam 3.
Rumored performance upgrade
The AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 and PowerBeats Pro 2 are all powered by Apple’s H2 chip. Rumors are that the AirPods Pro 3 can get a new H3 chip, assuming the Apple Stick has the current earbuds/earphone chip naming. Adding more powerful and more efficient chips to the acoustic architecture and microphone designs, as well as tuning, may lead to multiple performance improvements, including enhanced sound quality, upgraded active noise reduction and better voice valence performance. We can also see that the battery life is slightly better.
I wouldn’t expect performance to increase, but the AirPods Pro 3 sounds a little clearer than their predecessors and has a better bass definition. Their noise reduction may be more proficient and can eliminate a wider range of frequencies. Also, when it comes to voice calls, buds may do better when picking up your voice while reducing background noise.
AirPods Pro 2 and PowerBeats Pro 2 are super latency and can even be used with Apple’s expensive vision professional headphones. As far as I know, the reason the AirPods Pro 2 and PowerBeats Pro 2 are able to use Vision Professional headphones for true lossless audio is that the buds and headphones are only a few inches apart, so they can reliably deliver wireless connections to lossless audio. Some say Apple has come up with a solution to bring lossless audio to the next generation of Airpods when paired with an iPhone. I want the AirPods Pro 3 to have lossless audio options when connected to the latest iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but I don’t expect it.
What I want to see Airpods Pro 3 improvements
I’m not too concerned with some of these rumored extra features such as heart rate monitoring and temperature sensing. I’m even more excited about any enhancements to the Buds’ design and performance upgrades.
I’ve written before about how to see all new AirPods get a situation where turning into a Bluetooth transmitter to wirelessly play audio from on-board entertainment to buds. Some real wireless earbuds, including Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 and Elite 10th Generation 2,,,,, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 S2 and Poly Voyager free 60 Plus, the charging case acts as a Bluetooth transmitter. With the included cable, you just connect the box to the 3.5mm port of the seat console or armrests and you’re good to go. I don’t want the AirPods Pro 3 to get this feature, but I definitely hope they will.
The charging situation of the Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen 2 becomes a Bluetooth transmitter.
I also want to see Apple adding a huge set of eyes and ears. I barely got a tight seal with the current large tip of the AirPods Pro 2 and it does work with an XL tip for my left ear, which is slightly different from my right (I’ve tested various third-party foam tips). When Apple released the AirPods Pro 2, it added a fourth small ear to those with smaller ears. The challenge of adding the fifth XL tip is that the charging case must be able to accommodate slightly larger ear tips. Since getting a tight seal is essential for optimizing sound quality and noise reduction performance, Apple should offer a fifth XL tip for those who need bigger ear writing for this reason.
Read more: I hope Apple will add to all new Airpods
