Hello everyone, Adam here with another tech review for you all! Apple released the AirPods Pro 2019, which feels like a very long time ago, but they did update the charging case last year to support MagSafe charging which was a nice little extra. Last year Apple released the AirPods 3 at their ‘unleashed’ event, which completely threw me off since Apple doesn't typically announce AirPods at their events usually.
The pros
In october of 2019 Apple released the AirPods Pro, which in my opinion (at the time), were the best wireless earbuds that money could buy, by a long shot. Samsung’s equivalent at that point in time were the Samsung galaxy buds, which in my experience, were hot garbage, and didn't stand a chance against the AirPods Pro, for many reasons such as poor battery life, no noise isolation and a horrible transparency mode. So in 2019, the competition was weak, but 3 years later in 2022 things have changed A LOT with strong competition from Sony, Samsung and even Beats (even though Beats is owned by Apple). I would say that the AirPods Pro still hold up really well, even against much newer earbuds, but they are no longer the kings but this may change with the potential release of a new model this year. Overall, I would say that the AirPods Pro were what made AirPods great again, they were the best in 2016 when Apple launched the first generation of AirPods
and they changed the industry, and I believe that AirPods Pro did the same thing, as there was nothing on the market that could really match them at the time, but even now they still hold up great, I use mine very regularly and still enjoy them to this day, the only complaint I have is the battery life (and yes mine are a newer model with the MagSafe case as my old Pros battery was draining quickly).
The 3’s
Wow! These are the latest wireless earbuds from Apple, and as of right now, they are my favourite. With 6 hours of listening time within the buds and 30 hours with the case included they have the best battery life in AirPods ever. They also have this really cool feature called adaptive EQ, which tunes the music specifically for your ear, so I've found the sound quality to be really good on these AirPods so far. Also something that I really wanted is, they now have added, is a skin detection sensor which means they won't play if you put them down somewhere or put them in your pocket, which is something I've definitely enjoyed having. But the main feature that these AirPods now support is spatial audio and dolby atmos, which is a great feature that Apple released for the AirPods Pro and Max last year, and I would say it’s awesome to have but not everyone will actually use this feature. Finally, they now also support the nearby tracking find my feature, which is handy, but in all honesty I haven't used it that much. Overall, I have had a great experience with them, most of the new features have all been very useful in my day to day usage, for example I've charged them via MagSafe and I listen to my music with spatial audio fairly often, though not all of the time.
Comparison
So here is the juicy part. Which one is a better buy in 2022? It's not as plain and simple as you may think. The AirPods Pro cost £239 and the AirPods 3 cost £169 but you can find both of these for cheaper prices elsewhere such as Amazon, the Pros can be found as low as £189 and the 3’s can be found for as low as £159 which does tighten the price gap between the two. As for comfort and fit, this really depends on your ear type, and I'd recommend trying both if that's possible before you buy either, but for me, the AirPods 3 are the most comfortable and tend to sit in my ears for longer without causing discomfort and falling out of my ears. Something else I've noticed is that the battery life is noticeably better on the Airpods 3 as a pose to the Pros, which is something to bare in mind if you plan on using them for long periods of time without a charge. And finally, yes the main difference which you probably already know, is that the Pros feature soft interchangeable earbuds which allow for active noise cancellation and transparency mode which I must admit, they are two very helpful features that are not present on the airpods 3. In terms of physical design, they are both very similar but the case on the AirPods 3 is slightly smaller.
Which should you get
So that's all the differences, but which pair is the better value? For sure it's the AirPods Pro. For £190, you're getting amazing sound quality, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, swappable earbuds and decent battery life (although not as good a battery as the 3’s). But with that said, if you absolutely hate the fit of the AirPods Pro or if you just don't like the thought of putting something right inside of your ear then the AirPods 3 are an excellent choice with better battery than the AirPods Pro and a few extra features but at the end of the day it all comes down to your fit and if you find one earbud more comfortable than another. If you have never tried either and have no access to them, then my personal recommendation would be to go with the 3’s as they are very comfortable for most people who use them and they are a great overall set of earbuds.
Thank you for reading my comparison, I hope you all learnt something new! Do you use AirPods? If so, which set did you choose? Let me know over on Instagram!
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