Apple AirPods (third-gen) overview: new design, identical attraction

For the primary time since their introduction in 2016, Apple’s AirPods have a totally new design. The third-generation AirPods, priced at $179, bear a a lot nearer resemblance to the AirPods Pro than the long-stemmed authentic and second-gen pairs. Apple has upgraded their sound, added new options like spatial audio head monitoring, made them extra sturdy with IPX4 water resistance, and lengthened their battery life.

What stays unchanged concerning the AirPods is their ease of use and deep integration with Apple’s ecosystem of units together with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. If you’re residing in Apple’s world, you continue to get unique options just like the intuitive, just-hold-them-near-your-iPhone setup, audio sharing, automated machine switching, and different software program tips which have helped the AirPods keep atop the true wi-fi earbuds market by a large margin. The third-generation AirPods additionally achieve extra in depth Find My help that can assist you find them in the event that they go lacking.

The AirPods Pro and AirPods Max didn’t even exist the final time Apple refreshed its normal AirPods. So the third-gen earbuds additionally set up extra characteristic parity throughout the complete lineup. There are undoubtedly nonetheless causes to select these merchandise as an alternative — energetic noise cancellation, particularly — however anybody who’s able to improve their authentic AirPods will discover so much to love with the brand new ones.

These AirPods principally appear like the AirPods Pro with their ear suggestions chopped off. They share related contours, particularly now that Apple has shortened the stems by 33 p.c. There are additionally grilled black audio system, mics, and vents round every earbud. These {hardware} components have change into so outstanding that I’m stunned Apple isn’t providing the brand new AirPods in black to assist camouflage them. But nope: they nonetheless solely are available in white. Since their design is now so related, Apple carried over the “force sensor” controls from the AirPods Pro, with an indent on every stem that designates the place to press. The faucet gestures from the previous AirPods are gone. Apple’s non-remappable controls deal with media playback, and you may summon Siri with a protracted press. But you’ve additionally received hands-free “Hey Siri” voice instructions at your disposal for adjusting quantity or altering up the playlist.

Unlike the Pros, there aren’t any silicone ear suggestions for a customizable match: as with its earlier normal AirPods, Apple sticks with a one-size-fits-most arduous plastic design. They’re open-style earbuds that relaxation in your ears as an alternative of extending deep into the ear canal. Lots of people love the hardly there consolation of the AirPods. The important aspect impact of their open design is that they let in a ton of outdoor noise. For me, that’s at all times been a major turnoff. But once more, others worth having the added consciousness — be it for private security causes or in any other case — and consider this as an upside.

Unfortunately, match is the place the previous AirPods have at all times let me down. They simply weren’t a great match for my large-ish ears and would come free and fall out manner too simply. All ears are totally different, and I do know a ton of people that had no such points. But I used to be anticipating one other spherical of disappointment after I put the third-gen AirPods into my ears for the primary time.

Fortunately, the brand new form suits my ears significantly better.

Apple says it performed a ton of person analysis when designing the third-generation AirPods, involving 1000’s of ear scans, warmth maps, and so forth. And no less than in my case, one thing concerning the new form undoubtedly works higher. They’re staying put so nicely that I not really feel the identical nervousness about them tumbling onto the bottom and down a sewer grate. That fear was at all times current with the older AirPods. The wholesome dose of ambient sound stays, and I’m simply somebody who prefers earbuds that supply some quiet from the skin world. But I can lastly say that Apple’s common AirPods match me, and that was by no means true beforehand. If you had points with the unique design, it’s price giving these a strive.

The charging case now opens in panorama — similar to the case for the AirPods Pro — nevertheless it’s noticeably smaller than that one. It’s nearer in general measurement to the unique AirPods case, although a smidge thicker. The case nonetheless has a Lightning port for wired charging, and it additionally helps Qi-compatible wi-fi chargers. Apple says the brand new AirPods case is designed to work with the corporate’s MagSafe chargers. And certain sufficient, it grabs onto the round MagSafe charging pad with the identical good alignment as an iPhone 12 or 13.

But don’t count on to cost your earbuds by inserting them on the again of Apple’s MagSafe-ready iPhones: there’s no reverse wi-fi charging. And to drive that time dwelling, Apple advised me it deliberately designed the AirPods case in order that it doesn’t magnetically latch onto the again of these telephones. You’ll really feel some pull when sliding the case across the again of the cellphone, nevertheless it’s nowhere close to sufficient pressure to maintain the 2 connected. As for the precise battery life, Apple says the third-gen AirPods can hit six hours of steady playback and a complete of 30 hours counting case recharges. That’s a modest enchancment over the 5 hours and “over 24 hours” estimates from the earlier mannequin.

Both the AirPods and their case at the moment are rated IPX4 for water and sweat resistance. Plenty of individuals used the older generations for exercises, however the official certification offers added peace of thoughts in case you’ll continuously be utilizing these AirPods as a fitness center companion. There’s additionally a brand new “skin detection sensor” on every earbud that replaces the previous IR sensor. It nonetheless tells the AirPods to pause when eliminated out of your ears (or resume when positioned again in), however Apple says this sensor can inform the distinction between your ears or tight areas like a pants pocket that may’ve fooled the earlier AirPods into resuming playback in case you put them in there with out the case. It’s not troublesome to check future evolutions of this sensor tying into Apple’s well being and health efforts. But for now it’s simply there to make auto-pause extra dependable.

Apple has fully redesigned the acoustic driver and amplifier within the third-gen AirPods. The firm advised me it aimed to present them a sound profile much like the AirPods Pro. There’s solely a lot you are able to do with open-style earbuds to enhance bass efficiency; these won’t ever pack the identical low-end punch as many upscale in-ear buds. But the brand new AirPods do sound a bit fuller than their predecessors — and sure, similar to the Pros. It’s not a placing distinction or what I’d take into account evening and day: they nonetheless sound like AirPods, and so they’re tuned to work equally nicely for music, watching movies, podcasts, video games, and so forth. But Apple says music continues to be far and away the main factor individuals use their AirPods for, so it’s attempting to ship the most effective audio high quality doable on this type issue. The AirPods are nonetheless handily outperformed by top-tier earbuds like Sony’s WF-1000XM4 or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, however amongst different buds with an open design, they’re up there with the most effective.

To additional improve their sound, the brand new AirPods use the identical adaptive EQ characteristic because the Pros and Max. There’s an inward-facing mic on every earbud that analyzes what you’re listening to and, so Apple claims, adjusts the output in actual time to what’s greatest on your distinctive ear form. But the factor about adaptive EQ is that it’s unimaginable to ever actually know when it’s doing one thing — or what that one thing is. It’s invisible to the listener always, so there’s not a lot to say about it. There’s no telling whether or not the improved sound is because of the redesigned drivers, the inclusion of adaptive EQ, or a mixture of each. The third-gen AirPods do a greater job of steering audio into your ears, which additionally helps obtain that barely fuller sound.

But that brings us to the large trick Apple is promoting with the brand new AirPods: spatial audio with head monitoring. Like the AirPods Pro and Max, the third-gen pair can dynamically modify the sound in every earbud as you flip your head backward and forward, preserving the sound supply anchored to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV you’re watching. When you’re watching films in Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, or different in style apps, this head monitoring will be an immersive, enjoyable expertise and mimics encompass sound higher than a daily stereo combine would. It actually does add to the satisfaction of watching films on my iPad Pro. And for these occasions when somebody’s asleep at dwelling and you may’t make the most of your soundbar or encompass system on the Apple TV, you’ll be able to pay attention in personal with AirPods and spatial audio head monitoring. Apple has additionally considered different use circumstances: on group FaceTime calls, spatial audio creates a sound discipline that locations the voices the place they’re positioned in your machine’s display.

But with regards to music, all of it feels way more gimmicky. I’ve written about Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio earlier than, and the whole lot there applies right here. The characteristic works with all headphones, however solely the third-gen AirPods, Pros, and Max add head monitoring to the equation. That doesn’t actually change the place I stand on it. Spatial audio mixes can typically sound objectively worse than their stereo counterparts. It takes loads of work from engineers and producers to get essentially the most from Atmos, and it stays apparent that loads of albums obtainable in spatial audio on Apple Music haven’t gotten that stage of consideration. Instruments and results can sound misplaced, vocals can get drowned out within the combine, and so forth.

The scenario is bettering as newer data are blended for Atmos from the get-go. (And Atmos mixes do usually sound so much higher on precise Atmos dwelling theater programs.) The current Giles Martin remix of Let It Be by The Beatles takes benefit of spatial audio nicely with out attempting to do an excessive amount of. It has that feeling of being within the room with the band. But different examples, like Kacey Musgraves’ Star-Crossed, don’t do something for me that I don’t already get from the stereo model.

In quick, spatial audio can wow with regards to video, however we’re nonetheless within the very early levels of the music aspect — and it’s not a cause to purchase these earbuds but. Apple makes it straightforward to modify forwards and backwards between spatial audio and common sound in Control Center. And iOS 15 truly enables you to “spatialize” sound from apps like Spotify that don’t in any other case provide the characteristic. I suppose that’s good to have in case you actually end up loving this new manner of listening.

The AirPods have lengthy been the champion of voice calls, and with the third-gen set, Apple is attempting to enhance the constancy of FaceTime calls through the use of a brand new AAC-ELD codec for clearer voice replica. There’s additionally acoustic mesh on the outward-facing aspect of every AirPod that’s meant to cut back wind noise. Despite the shorter stems, general microphone efficiency stays wonderful and the brand new AirPods stay straightforward to suggest if you would like earbuds that assure you’ll come by clearly on calls. Stay tuned for our video overview for the total mic check — with Becca, in fact.

Apple has additionally given the brand new AirPods a deeper stage of integration with its Find My app. You might at all times play a sound to discover a lacking (close by) earbud or see the situation the place they have been final related to your cellphone. But now the third-gen AirPods get the identical “find nearby” characteristic because the AirPods Pro and Max. This is an AirTags-like interface for pinpointing the place the AirPods are in case you’re in shut proximity to them. It’s not as correct as an AirTag, however the UI will inform you when the AirPods are “nearby” after which present “here” while you’re proper close to them. If they’re actually nowhere to be discovered, you may as well now allow misplaced mode and be alerted in case your lacking AirPods come inside vary of tens of millions of different iOS units. My favourite of the brand new Find My options are the separation alerts that mechanically pop up in case you go away your AirPods behind someplace. That alone ought to stop loads of heartbreak and misplaced earbuds.

The new AirPods are the primary huge redesign of Apple’s massively in style true wi-fi earbuds. From a match and luxury standpoint, I believe Apple succeeded: these are nonetheless splendidly light-weight earbuds, and so they truly keep in my ears now. The sound high quality has seen some refinement, and the third-gen AirPods are a greater fitness center buddy than their predecessors. Plus you’ve received longer battery life and nice-to-have options like spatial audio head monitoring — even when Apple is overselling it a bit. I’ll personally be sticking with the AirPods Pro and different earbuds that supply noise cancellation or no less than some isolation. But in case you want the open-style AirPods and have an older pair that may’t maintain a cost anymore, these are a worthwhile improve.

But earlier than you go getting locked deeper into Apple’s ecosystem, it’s price exploring your choices. The sport has modified so much because the second-gen AirPods have been launched, and it’s doable to search out higher sound high quality amongst rivals like Samsung, OnePlus, Anker, Amazon, and others. If you are able to do with out the frills, you’ll be able to spend a lot much less and nonetheless be comfortable. Still, in case you’ve received an iPhone, none of these can ship the identical seamless expertise because the AirPods. They’re nonetheless designed to completely complement Apple’s smartphone, and in that regard they don’t disappoint. Perhaps greater than every other Apple product right this moment, AirPods nonetheless simply work.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge