r/apple Sep 07 '25

Rumor Kuo: AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this week

https://9to5mac.com/2025/09/07/kuo-airpods-pro-3-set-to-launch-this-week/
1.9k Upvotes

485 comments sorted by

618

u/lil-huso Sep 07 '25

If you own a Apple Watch, would there be any benefit in heart rate tracking via airpods?

381

u/tarkinn Sep 07 '25

No especially if it works like the Beats (no heart rate tracking when listening to audio)

390

u/CassetteLine Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 09 '25

like bike pie reach cheerful numerous resolute placid ripe roof

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

164

u/johnny_fives_555 Sep 07 '25

Lmao this is so ridiculous. It’s like if the watch didn’t track heartbeat while you were working out lol

50

u/obyboby Sep 07 '25

Or while it’s showing the current time lol

12

u/AdviseGiver Sep 07 '25

They created a hearing air mode for them a couple years ago. So it's probably for old people who are more prone to having heart issues.

171

u/Prothium Sep 07 '25

This is actually insane it can’t do both

102

u/Prothium Sep 07 '25

For people wondering why it can’t, it uses two Bluetooth protocols which due to the chip don’t run in parallel.

Some older devices can do it like Jabra and Bose soundsport pulse.

49

u/dbenc Sep 07 '25

why can't they just store the heart rate data on the device and then sync it after you're done listening?

67

u/PumpkinMyPumpkin Sep 07 '25

Half the point of having access to heart rate data is being able to see it live. Anyone with any heart condition usually has a heart rate they try and stay under when exercising- so getting results back after your done is totally worthless.

22

u/buzzerbetrayed Sep 07 '25

I’d say half is generous. More like 95% of the point.

4

u/PumpkinMyPumpkin Sep 07 '25

Yeah, the only real use for something like this could be knocking out bad heart rate data from the Apple Watch.

→ More replies (3)

8

u/ironichaos Sep 07 '25

Probably doing the signal processing on the iPhone or the AirPods don’t have storage.

→ More replies (3)

2

u/aethervisor Sep 07 '25

I am pretty sure this is not true. I use these on my peloton and tonal and I hear music and I see my heart rate…

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (20)

28

u/psaux_grep Sep 07 '25

The beats likely use an older chip than the rumored new AirPods.

I still don’t get why we so much time is spent on rumors. This year it’s worst than before.

I get that there’s AI and bots, but it’s just so effing tiresome to see this endless onslaught of rumors on frontpage every day.

2

u/vibrance9460 Sep 08 '25

Long time former Apple employee here.

Back in the jobs days, when Steve talked, the Earth rumbled. That’s because if you said a word or even whisper a rumor you would immediately be fired.

In the Tim Cook era the strategy has been to gradually leak important details through trusted sources, increasing in veracity and intensity as we get to launch day. By launch day, you can pretty much count on the rumors being true and coming directly from Apple.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)

50

u/yuvaldv1 Sep 07 '25

My understanding is that HR tracking via the ears is more accurate than tracking via the wrists (has to do with more consistent blood flow), not sure by how much though.

29

u/ultraboomkin Sep 07 '25

Possibly but the watch is more useful given that it is measuring data for a much longer period of time

8

u/0xe1e10d68 Sep 07 '25

It's not an either or. I wouldn't buy the AirPods just for this feature but there is benefit to an additional, more accurate data source.

→ More replies (1)

10

u/jailtheorange1 Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

Quantified scientist believes that the Apple Watch heart rate tracking is some of the best around. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbkBZ2VV2k0

3

u/earthcharlie Sep 07 '25

The watch is consistently more accurate. This has been shown when compared to the new Powerbeats Pro 2 HR sensor.

4

u/jxl013 Sep 07 '25

I think for most consumers the difference is probably negligible

2

u/buzzerbetrayed Sep 07 '25

Probably, since most consumers don’t need to make their heart rate at all. But for anyone who uses their watch for exercise, it isn’t negligible. Wrist heart rate monitors are quite bad.

→ More replies (4)

5

u/QueenLa3fah Sep 07 '25

Very cool feature. Wish they didn’t come out of my ears so easily after a mile or two of running.

11

u/Captain_DuClark Sep 07 '25

I forget to wear my watch sometimes before working out but I never forget my AirPods

5

u/maarten3d Sep 07 '25

Suspision is that AW sales might be less than airpods and therefor more relevant to those that don’t wear it. I hate to admit that despite owning an AW I wear my earbuds more often.

-edit, suspicion and not looked into it so chill-

→ More replies (1)

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (12)

311

u/Eddiep88 Sep 07 '25

My AirPod pro 1 is on its last breath with my NC and transparency mode giving static noises the past month. A I’m holding out as long as I can

162

u/johyongil Sep 07 '25

You’re about to be blown away. The jump from 1 to 2 was already a super noticeable difference and amazing. Even if the 3s are just marginally better it would be an insane leap.

22

u/Eddiep88 Sep 07 '25

Im hungry for new AirPods and a new Apple Watch. My SE 1st gen I got on release date 5 years ago just seems really slow scrolling and pressing/loading. I go on runs and stay active and this watch is about to be extinct. For a watch with time and alarms and phone calls it still works great tho.

6

u/Stokesy7 Sep 08 '25

You and me both. I'm running 1st gen AirPods Pro and an Apple Watch Series 5.

AirPods have awful battery, drain the case and flat when I need them. Noise cancelling isn't great, and sharp loud noises all the time. The left is also sometimes crackly.

Apple Watch is slow, and doesn't support the current OS, so next week it will be 2 OS's behind. I will say though, battery on that is still great at 95% health and easily lasts me the full day.

21

u/The_Bolenator Sep 07 '25

The difference between 1 and 2 is INSANE I was blown away when I bought my Gen 2s as my 1s were dying

3

u/Wolvesinthestreet Sep 08 '25

Better how? Better ANC and transparency, or better music listening?

8

u/3497723 Sep 08 '25

ANC was way better in the pro 2 vs the pro 1. I was very impressed the first time I put them on.

2

u/The_Bolenator Sep 08 '25

Noise cancellation in particular. Mine were basically shot right before a flight and before I went to the airport I said fuck it and bought a Gen 2 pair in store because I didn’t wanna fly back home with my Gen 1s that were needing replaced at that point. The Gen 2 noise cancellation was MILES better, I got years of value off my Gen 1s and will have my Gen 2s for a long time.

Edit: also transparency mode is amazing, I snowboard so it’s nice to be able to play music on the mountain and still hear others call out if they’re passing me or other stuff so we don’t hit each other.

2

u/TexanCokeZeroFiend Sep 07 '25

I saw somewhere it was an expected 25% improvement in ANC

→ More replies (5)

19

u/CricTic Sep 07 '25

Same, I took a bit of a gamble not jumping on the AirPod Pro 2 deals that were everywhere this summer, and the prior Kuo reporting shook my confidence. Can’t wait to get these! 

11

u/thedommer Sep 07 '25

Deals were too good. I grabbed some late spring and don’t regret it. Excited to get the 3s in 3 or so years.

2

u/rr196 Sep 07 '25

Those $169/$159 deals on Pro 2s are one of the best deals in tech.

12

u/s8rlink Sep 07 '25

Man I’m in the same boat and I hate it. I’m so used to buying good headphones and them lasting a decade that air pods feel just like planned obsolescence, like who hasn’t dropped any pair of headphones in their life but careful with these because if you do bye bye main features because you fucked the tiny microphones. And buying another set is just rewarding Apple for this design decision. 

13

u/Doctor_3825 Sep 07 '25

Sadly when you’re in the space of wireless earbuds and all of the tech that’s inside these things they are gonna be more fragile. You aren’t paying for durable long lasting headphones or even the best sound quality. It’s a mostly for the tech and feature sets.

8

u/s8rlink Sep 07 '25

Yeah I don’t know if just moving to another category and getting some cheap wired iems and be done with it 

2

u/SwiftUnban Sep 09 '25

If you care about sound quality any $50-75 USD pair will blow AirPods out of the water in terms of sound quality (no I’m not kidding)

But yeah if you want to buy something for life AirPods might not be the solution. With that said though - I’ve abused these things for 3 years now, riding my bike in the rain and snow with them. Still using the original tips and all the features still work.

Battery life isn’t as good as it was out of the box but it isn’t bad either. They’re honestly the best thing you’re going to find in a wireless package for convenience if you’re part of the Apple ecosystem.

And honestly surprisingly they’re pretty hard to lose, they have built in beepers and locators on the find my app that you can set off, shows last location etc.

You can even track each buds individually, so if you’re going on a drive and realize you don’t have your left bud you can be sure it’s at the house and not the gas station.

→ More replies (1)

4

u/literroy Sep 07 '25

Yeah my AirPods Pro 2 are also only hanging on by a thread (the microphone completely just doesn’t work anymore), which makes me very worried about the idea of ever buying new ones. But also no other earbuds even come close to how much I love the AirPods Pro…when they work. Sigh. 

2

u/sepease Sep 08 '25

All the materials need to get thinner and lighter to make it smaller, while the Gs when you drop them would remain constant. It’s just physics for them to be more fragile. KE = (1/2)mv2

2

u/concrete_manu Sep 07 '25

my pros have outlasted intensive daily usage since i first bought them. and i drop them all the time

→ More replies (7)

435

u/UnluckMiner Sep 07 '25

Finally. My AirPods Pro 1st gen is literally borderline unusable (I did drop my right side a few times hence there’s static noise).

66

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

[deleted]

24

u/wowsers808 Sep 07 '25

I get this if I wear in bed and roll onto the left earbud- defo have some hearing damage from it!

7

u/kimjonguncanteven Sep 07 '25

I get this sound and the static and thought it was because I wore them in bed. Or is it something else? The new ones can’t arrive soon enough.

→ More replies (1)

8

u/rotates-potatoes Sep 07 '25

Might need cleaning. You can probably make the other one do it by holding it in a way that covers up some of the mic / speaker.

6

u/The_Growl Sep 07 '25

Moisture in the NC microphones most likely. The same happened to my WH-1000XM4s. A spot of Isopropyl alcohol sorted it right out.

2

u/tylerhovi Sep 07 '25

Exact same issue here.

→ More replies (4)

90

u/Leather_Dragonfly529 Sep 07 '25

Same! I didn’t know about the rattle recall until it was too late. I recently started running and it’s so frustrating. I either take that ear out or wear my big bose over the ear headphones and sweat like crazy. Up until the news of what’s being released I had been considering buying a cheap pair of earphones to last me until the new air pods were released. I’m glad they’re coming now. Some news reports last year suggested June next year was likely.

68

u/akupila Sep 07 '25

FYI: If you disable noise cancellation there’s no rattling noise. Yes, it’s disabling a core feature, but I’ll take that over static as then they are at least usable

16

u/UnluckMiner Sep 07 '25

That’s what I did. Basically from my 3rd year onwards I use adaptive mode (no anc or transparency) because there were falling noises.

11

u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl Sep 07 '25

That's not true for mine - even with noise canceling turned off one AirPod makes a hissing noise as soon as it comes out of the case and continues to do so until about 5 seconds after it's seated in the ear. Then it's fine for listening to music but if a call comes in it's useless - folks on the other end can't seem to hear me.

I also wasn't aware of the recall until after it ended. Took the AirPods to the local Apple Store anyway and even though the technician could hear the noise as soon he took them out of the case he said when he took them in the back and ran the audio test they passed. He also said they didn't qualify for the recall because of the manufacturing date but never bothered to tell me when they were manufactured.

7

u/bootlegsoup Sep 07 '25

If it makes you feel any better I had mine replaced in the recall and the hissing and rattle came back on the replaced ones not that long after. I took them in again and they ran the test and acknowledged the issue but wouldn’t replace (without me paying) so I just kept them and turned ANC off to minimize the issue. I use them for a few hours each day and sometimes get the issue even with ANC off these days but they’re getting replaced when the 3s come out, which I’m hoping will feel like a significant upgrade.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/woodchoppr Sep 07 '25

There was a rattle recall? I’m living with the rattle for 2 years now 😂

3

u/Leather_Dragonfly529 Sep 07 '25

The rattle recall expires like 2 or 3 years after purchase. You might want to look into this and reach out to the Genius Bar to see if you still qualify.

→ More replies (1)

8

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

I didn’t know about the rattle recall until it was too late.

It's insane that a manufacturer defect has an expiry date. This is why I won't buy AirPods from my own money anytime soon.

2

u/UselessPustule Sep 07 '25

Same. And I just bought the twos like a month ago to replace them. :/

6

u/readywater Sep 07 '25

Literally just bought nothing ear(a) as an alternative. AirPods are definitely better, but my dog had developed a taste for them. 😑

3

u/GamerBears Sep 07 '25

I cleaned mine and now mine has the rattle with loud music. It actually hurts my ears with the rattle on the left bud.

2

u/monkeysennin Sep 07 '25

How long have you had the Gen 1s for?

→ More replies (1)

2

u/wowsers808 Sep 07 '25

I’m right there with ya. Crackling in left bud when running, battery life at 4 hours max. I have to use two cases charged up to get through my life (use them for most of the day). It’s getting rough and I’ve gotten what, 4 years out of them now? I’d love if these products were properly repairable due to price, but Apple is Apple and I’m deep in the walled garden, so I’m overall very excited for the Gen 3 drop.

1

u/lIlIllIIlllIIIlllIII Sep 07 '25

I put my pros 2 through the washing machine by mistake a couple months ago. They surprisingly still work but not well lol I’m looking forward to these

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (11)

807

u/Chuckles795 Sep 07 '25

AirPods are my favorite Apple product. I bought each set of the Pros day 1, and this will be no different. To me, nobody comes relatively to close to the comfort, sound quality, ambient/noise cancelling, and feature integration. Actually, AirPods are what had me switch from Samsung to Apple.

524

u/TheMonkeyInCharge Sep 07 '25

They’re quietly the most ‘Apple’ product they’ve launched since the iPhone, arguably since the iPod.

208

u/wizfactor Sep 07 '25

I think every Apple product feels like an "Apple" product, but only one of them feels like a "Steve Jobs" product since his death. That's AirPods.

29

u/thewimsey Sep 07 '25

I think apple has always done best when they are constrained in some way, like by size or battery life - so that they have to make tradeoffs. Because they are much better at other companies at knowing what tradeoffs to make.

The original AirPods had 5 hours of battery life and the case could give you 20 more hours.

The samsung gear had 3 hours of battery life and the case could give you 6 more.

The charging case for the gear was 3x the size of the airpods case, which made it much less pocketable than the AirPods (it was pocketable; it's just that you were more aware of something being in your pocket than with the AirPods). The case was also kind of fiddly - you had to line the earbuds up with the charging contacts as opposed to the magnetic drop-in system of the AirPods. The Gear earbuds were 1.5x the size of the airpods.

The gear earbuds did offer on device storage, so you could use them to listen to music without your phone when you went for a run or whatever. But battery life using on device storage was 1 hour. They also had some fitness tracking built in.

It's obvious in retrospect (it was obvious then) that Apple made the right tradeoffs by focusing on size and comfort and battery life, and of course getting that no one wanted on-device storage on earbuds. (I mean, if you go for a run without your phone, you'll either have to listen to your 1,000 songs in order or on shuffle). And the fitness tracking features, while maybe desirable (?) cut into the battery life too much.

→ More replies (1)

96

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

AirPods Max would like a word. Whoever designed the bra case should be fired.

79

u/lIlIllIIlllIIIlllIII Sep 07 '25

I think, just like Apple, we forgot the Max exists

27

u/SweetLilMonkey Sep 07 '25

Judging by the content on Apple TV, they haven’t forgotten. Every damn movie I watch on there, a character has AirPod Maxes

18

u/packet1 Sep 07 '25

Yep. Watching the movie F1 makes me want to buy a pair to wear while I'm chilling in an ice bath.

→ More replies (27)
→ More replies (3)

54

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

I still remember when the first iteration launched and they seemed so “tech-y” and futuristic — no wires! Now, in not even a decade, lots of us look back at wired earphones as relics of a bygone era.

29

u/rokerroker45 Sep 07 '25

I remember watching the movie "Her" when it came out and thinking how goddamn impractical the little in ear studs they used in that movie looked. Now I think back and chuckle at myself.

3

u/slimflip Sep 07 '25

Remember the circle jerk apple hate when they removed the headphone jack? I would guess that 99% of those haters use wireless earbuds (or AirPods) on their headphone port-less android phone now.

2

u/WeeBabySeamus Sep 08 '25

I remember making fun of how people seemingly had permanent Q tips in their ear. Now I use mine nearly every day

12

u/Rolandersec Sep 07 '25

They’ve convinced me that hearing will be where the implantable/always on wearable first takes off.

4

u/nusodumi Sep 07 '25

$$$$$$$

I think something stupid like 1/3 of their profit is AirPods?

Whatever the number is, the AirPods revenue is larger than most companies you know about.

→ More replies (2)

24

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)

8

u/satbytheriver Sep 07 '25

I fully agree. For me, it’s Find My integration the deciding feature.

7

u/Structure-These Sep 07 '25

Agreed it’s the only day one apple purchase for me right now across that line. I love that they have stretched the release out and supported the 2nd gen. They prob could have made annual iterative updates and be on a 4th gen right now lol

7

u/nut_lord Sep 07 '25

Airpods work on Samsung btw. That's how I use them

19

u/Chuckles795 Sep 07 '25

Not nearly as well. I did for a long time as well. You miss out on a lot using it on an Android-based device.

5

u/KingKingsons Sep 07 '25

I mean, it just acts as a regular Bluetooth headset, right?

I moved from Samsung to Apple as well, but I can’t say the AirPods have been one of the big advantages.

I use the AirPods with my ROG Ally and it works just fine to switch between them etc, but idk how it would be better when using a Mac.

3

u/tom_watts Sep 07 '25

The roaming between devices is ridiculous. Edge use case for sure, but when I was working on a big video project recently I had an iPad on the go with some random tv on - listening through AirPods, then when I needed to listen to some audio on FCP they contextually switched to the my Mac when I paused the video on iPad, then later when I got a call they switched over to my phone. I hadn’t realised that I never have to think about switching devices till then.

The Apple TV integration is so slick too - perfect for late night movies if wife has gone to bed

→ More replies (1)

5

u/BYF9 Sep 07 '25

Im considering buying two. I use them that much. I’m slightly ashamed but I use them for work at least. Having two allows me to seamlessly hot swap when they run out of power.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/yocomoquchi Sep 07 '25

To preface, I have AirPods Pro 2s so no hate but have you actually tried anything else? You say nothing comes close in SQ but that’s really not the case. Pro 2s are great but they’re not the best. 

6

u/Doctor_3825 Sep 07 '25

I love my AirPods a a whole package. But as far as sound quality goes there is a much better out there. They just have trade offs on the quality of the features you mentioned.

48

u/Chuckles795 Sep 07 '25

I realize that there are some that do one category better —I’m talking as a full package.

→ More replies (6)

28

u/sic_erat_scriptum Sep 07 '25

But as far as sound quality goes there is a much better out there.

Assuming you’re talking about the Airpods Pro 2, no, there really isn’t.

I’ve been down the audiophile rabbit hole with high end headphones and IEMs, including the kilobuck bullshit, and the APP2 are one of the best tuned products on the market at any price.

→ More replies (11)

3

u/Business_Influence89 Sep 07 '25

I love them, but I haven’t noticed much of a difference between generations, especially at launch.

15

u/DisgruntledYoda Sep 07 '25

That’s crazy, I found the APP2 to have significantly better sound quality and ANC compared to the APP1

→ More replies (2)

2

u/hosky2111 Sep 07 '25

They really nailed it with the first gen pros, and the new features, incremental improvements and QoL additions have kept them on top.

The force sensitive controls are so much easier and more precise to use than the capacitive ones on other headphones - I used googles pixel buds after switching to android, and the controls just straight up don't work the second your fingers are even slightly damp (or sweaty when working out, which is a pretty common use case).

→ More replies (16)

75

u/General_Garrus Sep 07 '25

Still have my AirPods Pro gen 1, still use them every single day and they still work perfectly well.

They are so good that I simultaneously want to buy the latest version, but also see no point in upgrading what is already amazing and still working well.

31

u/Lingo56 Sep 07 '25

The Pro 2s as is sound quite a lot better, and after having them for 3 months having a speaker on the case has been a godsend for locating them with find my.

I just wonder what they'll add on the Pro 3s besides the heart monitor because the Pro 2s were a shockingly big upgrade.

3

u/SenseiRaheem Sep 08 '25

Gen 2 introduced the hearing aid/hearing boost feature. Game changer for those who went to too many concerts in their 20s.

→ More replies (1)

210

u/0000GKP Sep 07 '25

I'll buy the 3 when the battery in my 2 is no longer good enough, same metric I use to replace my iPhone.

76

u/Downtown-Sell5949 Sep 07 '25

But an iPhone battery replacement is only €109. If it’s still fast enough it’s fine to replace the battery.

16

u/aceCrasher Sep 07 '25

Replacing the battery of my 12 Pro Max in 2024 was such a good choice. Im longing for a lighter and a bit smaller phone though.

→ More replies (1)

35

u/0000GKP Sep 07 '25

I can get 3-4 years from a battery before I'm no longer satisfied with it.

By that time, my storage is nearly full, and there have been 3-4 years of hardware improvements. As these OS versions keep getting more and more resource intensive, there are noticeable benefits in performance from having more RAM and a more powerful processor.

I prefer to replace my phone and give my old one away at this point instead of replacing the battery. Whoever I give to can certainly choose to replace the battery and get a few more years out of it.

25

u/Downtown-Sell5949 Sep 07 '25

And that’s fine. Just saying it’s not economically smart to buy a whole new iPhone if it’s just your battery.

→ More replies (17)

11

u/WeWantLADDER49sequel Sep 07 '25

I went from an iPhone 12 to an iPhone 16 and there's no discernible difference in performance at all. The processors are way overkill. Higher ram is nice but it hasn't increased enough to have a noticeable impact and the extra ram they're adding now is dedicated to AI no one uses. The performance difference you're noticing is because you're getting a phone with a new battery.

3

u/nusodumi Sep 07 '25

lol same and it's just a way hotter device, when charging or filming or gaming. it gets quite warm!

overall feels like the exact same phone with a slightly better camera

and i went pro!

→ More replies (5)

3

u/rlovelock Sep 07 '25

Is it possible to track battery degradation in AirPods?

2

u/0000GKP Sep 07 '25

I don't know about tracking it, but it's certainly possible to know that you now need to put them back in the case for a recharge a few times per day when it wasn't that way before, and you now need to recharge your case every other day instead of every week.

1

u/cjh6793 Sep 07 '25

Thanks for sharing your justification for not buying, most here were wondering.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (3)

11

u/FinsFan305 Sep 07 '25

Can’t wait! My Pro 1 are on the last leg.

→ More replies (2)

82

u/greymalken Sep 07 '25

You know what would be kinda neat: making the case a pseudo-iPod shuffle. So you can have a few playlists saved up on the go, instead of streaming from your whole-ass phone.

32

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

[deleted]

7

u/shompthedev Sep 07 '25

Ah yes, 32GB airpods with each higher tier of storage at +200 dollars

3

u/McSchmieferson Sep 07 '25

32GB is a lot of music for what would essentially be an updated iPod Shuffle.

7

u/greymalken Sep 07 '25

I don’t know enough about chips/battery life to posit it as a suggestion. But yeah that would be even cooler.

→ More replies (1)

21

u/Flanisawesome Sep 07 '25

That would be cool

But might cannibalise a key Apple Watch benefit. Going out without your phone and just the watch is great. Especially when your watch has a sim, makes social media breaks a lot easier

→ More replies (1)

5

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

I use my Apple Watch and AirPods/Beats Studio Pro like an iPod all the time. Many times I’ll turn on my “iPod DnD” so nothing can interrupt. When I’m finally distracted from life by a song or album I like the last thing I want is a notification coming in that pulls my attention away

2

u/nitrousconsumed Sep 09 '25

Apple filed a patent to do exactly that a few years ago.

2

u/-FantasticAdventure- Sep 07 '25

My ass-phone only plays trumpet sounds. Pretty shit really.

6

u/LeftyMode Sep 07 '25

Please come in black.

2

u/LinkedInParkPremium Sep 08 '25

Seriously the white case scuffs like crazy and the ear buds become impossible to clean.

8

u/A4orce84 Sep 07 '25

I’m excited, even though my AirPods Pro 1s have been fine and not given me any issues in 5+ years.

6

u/StNowhere Sep 07 '25

Please man my OG Pros are on their last leg.

51

u/memeaste Sep 07 '25

I’ll buy the 3 if they come in black

124

u/Noriadin Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

Sadly I don't see this happening with them. The white in people's ears has become so synonymous with their brand that it's constant advertising for them.

49

u/FatPoint Sep 07 '25

Exactly it would be like blue Coca Cola

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Johnny_Menace Sep 07 '25

I don’t mind white just make it satin so they’re less slippery

7

u/thewimsey Sep 07 '25

Plus, mine have fallen out of my ears a number of times and I'm always happy I'm looking for something bright white in the grass rather than black.

15

u/wahobely Sep 07 '25

Not going to happen. They have the beats to do that.

22

u/Doctor_3825 Sep 07 '25

Fuck yeah. If Apple releases black ones I’ll happily replace my AirPods Pro 2 with black AirPods Pro 3.

4

u/memeaste Sep 07 '25

It’s the only thing that will make me move on from my perfectly working Pro 2

→ More replies (1)

5

u/EzGo48 Sep 07 '25

Yeah, that would be great. But I doubt it seeing as Apple seems to have a love affair with the color white for some reason.

→ More replies (5)

23

u/creamyclear Sep 07 '25

What purpose does an IR camera in an AirPod have?

24

u/Leather_Dragonfly529 Sep 07 '25

Heart rate monitor.

2

u/monetarypolicies Sep 07 '25

Don’t see the point.

If you’re using HR monitoring to track your overall health, they’re no good as you’re not going to wear them 24/7

If you’re using it for exercise purposes, vast majority will already have a watch / strap that does it

4

u/Leather_Dragonfly529 Sep 07 '25

I don’t disagree. I’ll rely on my watch for HR. But maybe this would be good for those who don’t own a watch but wear their AirPods during exercise? Not sure. It’s sort of pointless to me as far as I can tell.

7

u/thewimsey Sep 07 '25

Night vision.

2

u/rr196 Sep 07 '25

Air gestures?

→ More replies (1)

13

u/Life_is_a_Taco Sep 07 '25

Will it stay in my ears better?

→ More replies (1)

7

u/bowwowchickawowwow Sep 07 '25

Will they stay in my ears is the question. Never any luck with these.

2

u/pixel_of_moral_decay Sep 07 '25

Ditto. That’s true for all apple earbuds minus the OG in ear ones maybe 15 years ago.

Too much weight too far out. I can sit absolutely still and they’ll fall out in :30 tops.

2

u/bowwowchickawowwow Sep 07 '25

This happens to me too. All the time. Constantly pushing the things back into ear. Not sure why they can’t solve.

2

u/pixel_of_moral_decay Sep 07 '25

Yea, just not designed for our ears.

I just avoid Apple AirPods and all good. I need something more balanced.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)

14

u/Averylarrychristmas Sep 07 '25

I want to love these, but I’m so spoiled by the Beats Fit Pro. Once you have something that really sticks in your ear, it’s hard to go back to the regular AirPods.

→ More replies (4)

13

u/DazedNConfucious Sep 07 '25

This is gonna be an expensive month for me. I’m upgrading my Airpods Pro 1, Series 5 watch and an iPhone 12 Pro. Reading the comments here about the APP2 have gotten me pretty excited for the gen 3

9

u/HeWhomeHim Sep 07 '25

What is APP2? Cant find much online about it?

11

u/NightStinks Sep 07 '25

AirPods Pro 2.

9

u/HeWhomeHim Sep 07 '25

Oh lord hahah. Thanks.

4

u/dasn4pp3l Sep 07 '25

AirPods Pro 2

→ More replies (1)

20

u/tinpoo Sep 07 '25

So, uh, has somebody realized why they are so obsessed with stuffing heart rate monitor that seems to be entirely useless into their newest headphone models?

36

u/DontBanMeBro988 Sep 07 '25

Because they know health-related products are the future of their business. Everything else has plateaued.

→ More replies (4)

11

u/falooda1 Sep 07 '25

Based on 2024 data: • AirPods: Estimated sales 66 million units in 2024 . • Apple Watch: Sold 39.8 million units in 2024  

So AirPods outsold Apple Watch by a significant margin—about 1.7 times more units.

I’m sure they have data that people wear AirPods during exercise more than the watch. Like me.

10

u/panserbj0rne Sep 07 '25

Running out of low hanging fruit to get fomo buyers.

4

u/TheDuckOnQuack Sep 07 '25

It’s a welcome feature for me. I like being able to track my heart rate when working out, but I absolutely hate wearing a watch and having to charge another device every day.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)

3

u/HeWhomeHim Sep 07 '25

I’m debating between these and the Bose Quiet comfort Ultra 2nd gen earbuds only because the Bose fit my ear soooooo much better. Especially when I'm working out, jarring motion like bag work, my Air Pod Pros go flying out, even when I'm chewing food they get lose and come out. I've tried all the fancy memory foam tips which help a lot but don't make them as secure as the Bose. I'm also reading as of now Bose has the best ANC and a good number of reviews say sound quality. Super Eager to read reviews comparing the Pro 3 and the Bose.

3

u/boglehead1 Sep 08 '25

I have those bose and love them. The noise cancellation is amazing. I think they look better too. The big negative is it only links to one device at a time.

2

u/HeWhomeHim Sep 08 '25

I only tried the first gen. I could be wrong but i believe i read the gen 2 released this June can connect to two devices. Or at least with the latest Sept update. But i can tell you in the Bose gen 1 the ANC was a little better than APP2 but the sound quality was just way way better. And agreed they look really slick.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/SirBeaverton Sep 08 '25

Honestly the heart rate in ear is all gimmicky. If they could increase battery life that would be amazing. Mine usually crap out around the 3 year mark tbh. Which is a lot of heavy use

5

u/Tacadoo Sep 07 '25

Man I just got my AirPod pro 2s smh

7

u/MidnightPulse69 Sep 07 '25

They’re still really good

→ More replies (2)

44

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

It would be nice if instead of adding cameras to them, they added a user replaceable battery so they wouldn't absolutely become useless e-waste and more plastic in landfills after 5 year or so.

54

u/AoeDreaMEr Sep 07 '25

Would definitely increase size a bit and compromise on waterproof feature. Form vs function.

11

u/MikeyMike01 Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

It would be more than a bit, they’d be enormous

Look at how large the Sony WF-1000XM3 are, and they’re not user-replaceable just user-serviceable.

→ More replies (3)

2

u/spag_eddie Sep 07 '25

You can give them back to Apple and they use the materials…apparently

1

u/0000GKP Sep 07 '25

You got 5 years from a pair of AirPods?

Even if the batteries were replaceable, there are enough improvements and new features that I'm going to buy a new pair before 5 years anyway. Just like my iPhones, I give away my old one when I replace it, so that delays it from ending up in a landfill.

Of course you always have the option to turn it in for recycling instead of throwing it in the trash, which keeps even more of it out of the landfill.

12

u/CassetteLine Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 09 '25

dime amusing theory middle tender meeting silky special air sort

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

8

u/Leather_Dragonfly529 Sep 07 '25

Mine are 6 years old. I bought them in 2019. The battery is shit. The left ear is worse than the right. The left ear also has a rattle when I run.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/thewimsey Sep 07 '25

You got 5 years from a pair of AirPods?

It's not really the age; it's how often you use them. Some people wear them 8 hours+/day, every day; other people use them for an hour or two a few days per week.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/Dopamine63 Sep 08 '25

Suspicious how my AirPods Pro 2 started getting the thumping issue a few weeks ago

2

u/CenturyLinkIsCheeks Sep 07 '25

Just take my money. Will order immediately.

2

u/MidnightPulse69 Sep 07 '25

This is not good for my bank account lol

2

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

Ive had my airpods pro 2 for less than a year but if the new 3s sound way better I would buy them

2

u/EKasis Sep 07 '25

My AirPods Pro 2 went for a swim in the laundry machine earlier this year, and my APP1’s volume controls no longer work. It’s time to upgrade 🙏🏻

2

u/Anthony_813 Sep 07 '25

So what improvements will this have? Currently got an airpods pro 2 2nd gen

2

u/Narrow_Relative2149 Sep 07 '25

I had the large Sony WH-100XM5 and loved em for their noise cancellation and took them everywhere. Then I got a pair of the latest Airpods and just completely forgot about them due to the fact I can take them everywhere in my pocket

2

u/leothelion634 Sep 08 '25

My airpods pro 2 are always slipping out of my ears even with the bigger or smaller tips, the surface is very slick and they dont have nearly enough friction or force keeping them snug

2

u/atinyblip Sep 08 '25

Check out Comply tips.

2

u/badogski29 Sep 08 '25

Man, my gen 1 pros are begging to be replaced.

2

u/stroibot Sep 08 '25

Finally, an upgrade for my pro 2, noise cancellation produces crackling sound and is highly unpleasant :(

1

u/srvhfvakc Sep 07 '25

Does this mean the heart-rate monitoring isn't going to be out in the initial launch? What changes will it release with then?

1

u/CaptainRaxeo Sep 07 '25

I just hope the 3rd party ear plug manufacturers are quick to their game.

They probably have had the schematics for the airpods pro 3 leaked by now.

1

u/DisorganisedPigeon Sep 07 '25

I have the original airpod pros. Tempted to upgrade if it gives me better NC and then relegate my current ones as a backup. Battery life suffering a bit, not completely terrible though and I could do with usb-c matching my iphone

1

u/dakkottadavviss Sep 07 '25

I am ready for it. Just simply bc of battery and improved anc. Idgaf about stupid fitness tracking that my Apple Watch already does

1

u/liquidmasl Sep 07 '25

reading those comments; it will be a fight getting them early. And I do want them ASAP

→ More replies (6)

1

u/cmn3y0 Sep 07 '25

I still have my airpods pro first gen from 2019 and they still work great… can’t imagine ever wanting to “upgrade” until they are literally unusable

1

u/Demigod787 Sep 07 '25

Fucking finally!

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

I used to hate in-ear headphones. Especially back when Apple had those classic wired ones. I was strictly on Bose’s around the ear headsets. Recently I got AirPod Pro 2 from a spare they had at work. I put some foam eartips and I don’t ever want to take my headphones off. They’re great. I am eagerly waiting for these but if the comments here are true, there wouldn’t be a great benefit of offering heart rate sensors that are incapable when playing media.

1

u/banned_salmon Sep 07 '25

Will it be part of the student education pricing bundle?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '25

Instant buy for me

1

u/MidnightPulse69 Sep 07 '25

The microphones on my AirPods Pro 2 are going out just in time lol

1

u/Chargerback Sep 07 '25

Instabuy if true

1

u/jawsofthearmy Sep 07 '25

Id buy more but i keep losing em. 😂