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Airpods Pro 3 unveiled

EU nanny state gunna nanny state.
Who is saying is due to the rules or Apple being spiteful and willing to cut features to push their customers against regulations they refuse to comply with (turns out Apple Intelligence features mysteriously overcame regulatory concerns once the support for languages outside English started to land in earnest)? The latter is far more believable give the pattern of malicious compliance they have taken part in.
 
-Live translation - "you can listen to people speaking in different languages and hear translations through your AirPods Pro 3. To respond, just speak naturally, and your words will appear in the other person's language on your iPhone screen. To make the experience even more magical, if you both have AirPods Pro 3, you can each speak in your own language and hear translations through your AirPods"
I wish it could translate womanish to manish and vice versa.

For example:
"When I come home and try to talk to you about something at work that left me upset, stressed, or even just emotional, I feel like you're distant and not really present with me. It hurts because I'm not just sharing the details of the problem—I'm trying to share how it made me feel. When you don't engage or seem detached, it makes me feel like my emotions don't matter to you, and I really need you to be there for me, not just physically, but emotionally too."
Could become:
I just need to vent about work and for you to listen, not try to solve it."

And when a woman asks her bf to tell her everything about his feelings after his grandfather has suddenly died:
Manish:
"It's okay, let's just watch a movie."
Womanish:
"I do feel heartbroken about my grandfather passing, and it's not easy to put into words. Right now though, I don't feel like talking it all out—I'd rather just have you here with me. Having you by my side gives me comfort, and I think the best way for me to process this is quietly, in my own time. So instead of diving into all of it, I'd love if we could just sit together and watch a movie, and let me handle the emotions as they come."

It might save many relationships and marriages.

Edit: Yes, I got help from ChatGPT lol
 
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Who is saying is due to the rules or Apple being spiteful and willing to cut features to push their customers against regulations they refuse to comply with (turns out Apple Intelligence features mysteriously overcame regulatory concerns once the support for languages outside English started to land in earnest)? The latter is far more believable give the pattern of malicious compliance they have taken part in.
I don't work at Apple, but I do work at another trillion dollar tech company that runs into the EU regulations a lot and personally work on addressing them. The requirements are usually vague and the timelines for compliance are usually waaay to short. There's basically a (large) opportunity cost when you need to divert your R&D dollars towards these type of regulations which always have ridiculously large fines, that incentivize the governments to nitpick your solutions and fine you regardless of what you do. I'm hardly an Apple fanboy, but I suspect had I worked there I'd agree with their reasoning to delay the launch.
 
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Looks like iOS 26 updated AirPod Pro 2s to have sleep detection as well. I enabled it last night, and it seemed to work once. I woke up in the middle of the night, and it seemed to pause the podcast around where I dozed off. But then for the rest of the night, it stopped working.

I'm curious if it'll be better with the Pro 3s, since there's a heart rate monitor in those.
 
I don't work at Apple, but I do work at another trillion dollar tech company that runs into the EU regulations a lot and personally work on addressing them. The requirements are usually vague and the timelines for compliance are usually waaay to short. There's basically a (large) opportunity cost when you need to divert your R&D dollars towards these type of regulations which always have ridiculously large fines, that incentivize the governments to nitpick your solutions and fine you regardless of what you do. I'm hardly an Apple fanboy, but I suspect had I worked there I'd agree with their reasoning to delay the launch.
I also work in a heavily regulated industry (and as an Italian I know about complex regulations too) and while I agree with you that regulations are no joke even for big tech they can be handled as you develop the feature.
These regulations were there before, they are not referring to the DMA and it is something you take into account during development when you do business in these markets. They will end up launching there, but quite likely it is yes a non too trivial cost for them to launch there in the appropriate status and not a barebone MVP.

Suddenly, after the DMA started putting their moat tight grip into question they started delaying some features here and there blaming the EU regulations. It is patently obvious that they are taking advantage of the situation not to overload their launch R&D process to deliver the same feature globally while they try to get consumers rally against the EU regulators as much as they can to.

They did it with Apple Intelligence too, blamed the EU and blamed the DMA while it was just them not having support for Apple Intelligence outside of their core market (American English and then UK English, etc…). As support for more languages arrived so did the features in EU, like magic.
 
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I wish it could translate womanish to manish and vice versa.

For example:
"When I come home and try to talk to you about something at work that left me upset, stressed, or even just emotional, I feel like you're distant and not really present with me. It hurts because I'm not just sharing the details of the problem—I'm trying to share how it made me feel. When you don't engage or seem detached, it makes me feel like my emotions don't matter to you, and I really need you to be there for me, not just physically, but emotionally too."
Could become:
I just need to vent about work and for you to listen, not try to solve it."

And when a woman asks her bf to tell her everything about his feelings after his grandfather has suddenly died:
Manish:
"It's okay, let's just watch a movie."
Womanish:
"I do feel heartbroken about my grandfather passing, and it's not easy to put into words. Right now though, I don't feel like talking it all out—I'd rather just have you here with me. Having you by my side gives me comfort, and I think the best way for me to process this is quietly, in my own time. So instead of diving into all of it, I'd love if we could just sit together and watch a movie, and let me handle the emotions as they come."

It might save many relationships and marriages.

Edit: Yes, I got help from ChatGPT lol
....seriously fantastic use of AI.
 
I don't work at Apple, but I do work at another trillion dollar tech company that runs into the EU regulations a lot and personally work on addressing them. The requirements are usually vague and the timelines for compliance are usually waaay to short. There's basically a (large) opportunity cost when you need to divert your R&D dollars towards these type of regulations which always have ridiculously large fines, that incentivize the governments to nitpick your solutions and fine you regardless of what you do. I'm hardly an Apple fanboy, but I suspect had I worked there I'd agree with their reasoning to delay the launch.
As a self publishing software company I agree with this.

The EU "hoops" are actual nightmare fuel that are set up to collect revenue not serve their citizens.
 
Tempting to upgrade to the 3's. I love my Pro 2's but I don't use them that much other than for audible at work. I can't stand the noise cancelling but really love the transparency mode.
 
Got my 3s today, and they're great so far. The fit is a bit different from the 2s, but it seems okay. Noise cancellation is noticeably better, but the real test will be the next time I'm on a plane.

Haven't gotten to try the realtime translations yet, but looking forward to that.

Otherwise, they're very similar to the 2s, which is to say that they're great.
 
r7TzBsdAFAQkoI2U.jpeg


One thing to note is how different the angle of entry is for the 3s. (The 2 is on the left, the 3 is on the right.) Compared to the airpod itself, it's a lot more perpendicular. This causes the airpod to stick out of your ear a bit more than the 2s. It's not at all a problem wearing them normally, but it's worth mentioning.

Like, if I wear the 2s and lay on my side with a pillow, it's uncomfortable but not horrible. But the 3s protrude out further, so it's way more uncomfortable. (I don't know who is side-sleeping on their airpods anyway, but I figured I'd mention it didn't I didn't see this anywhere else.)
 
The sound quality of AirPods Pro 3 is absolutely unbelievable.

The soundstage. The bass. The layering. The separation. The clarity. All absolutely stunning.

This comes from someone who has a $35,000 DCS system hooked up to $3,000 Hifimans.

The weak points now are

- Bluetooth jitter. With everything else so clear, the chokes become obvious.
- Detail. The micro detail reproduction is not great.

My test songs

Hey Now by London Grammar
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Luka by Suzanne Vega
Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka
Save Your Tears by Weeknd (Dolby Atmos)
Be the One by Dua Lipa (Dolby Atmos)

Overall, I'd say they are a fantastic buy for £219. Best sounding music you'll hear anywhere near that price. It's just wild to think that people around me in the tube will be listening to music at this quality.

Also, loving the lock screen album art, have missed that since iPhone OS.

085MukWJx9iEZhhw.jpeg
 
The sound quality of AirPods Pro 3 is absolutely unbelievable.

The soundstage. The bass. The layering. The separation. The clarity. All absolutely stunning.

This comes from someone who has a $35,000 DCS system hooked up to $3,000 Hifimans.

The weak points now are

- Bluetooth jitter. With everything else so clear, the chokes become obvious.
- Detail. The micro detail reproduction is not great.

My test songs

Hey Now by London Grammar
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Luka by Suzanne Vega
Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka
Save Your Tears by Weeknd (Dolby Atmos)
Be the One by Dua Lipa (Dolby Atmos)

Overall, I'd say they are a fantastic buy for £219. Best sounding music you'll hear anywhere near that price. It's just wild to think that people around me in the tube will be listening to music at this quality.

Also, loving the lock screen album art, have missed that since iPhone OS.

085MukWJx9iEZhhw.jpeg
Nice. I'm in.
 
Been playing around with mine this morning. The medium tips are in by default which I've found most comfortable in previous versions but they've changed the speaker shape, I found small the most comfortable.

The noise cancellation is noticeably better too. I have a fan on full speed next to me and can barely hear it.
 
They are next-level. Having noise cancellation of this caliber, and sound quality, with this battery life, for a few grams in your pocket is amazing.

Almost good enough to get bionic implants of them.
 
r7TzBsdAFAQkoI2U.jpeg


One thing to note is how different the angle of entry is for the 3s. (The 2 is on the left, the 3 is on the right.) Compared to the airpod itself, it's a lot more perpendicular. This causes the airpod to stick out of your ear a bit more than the 2s. It's not at all a problem wearing them normally, but it's worth mentioning.

Like, if I wear the 2s and lay on my side with a pillow, it's uncomfortable but not horrible. But the 3s protrude out further, so it's way more uncomfortable. (I don't know who is side-sleeping on their airpods anyway, but I figured I'd mention it didn't I didn't see this anywhere else.)

Damn thanks for reporting this since I side sleep with my APP2's all the time 😭
 
They are next-level. Having noise cancellation of this caliber, and sound quality, with this battery life, for a few grams in your pocket is amazing.

Almost good enough to get bionic implants of them.
How well does it cancel other people's voices? I know why they let voices pass through a bit more, but I wish the non transparency settings blocked human speech a lot more :(
 
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Can't knock AirPods. They sound awesome, just a shame they don't have AptX Adaptive for gaming. My main cans do, but sometimes I like a nice lightweight pair of buds.
 
How well does it cancel other people's voices? I know why they let voices pass through a bit more, but I wish the non transparency settings blocked human speech a lot more :(
Significantly more so than Pro 2. You can bring a very loud, crowded area like a concert venue down to cafe levels.

If you want absolute room deadening to focus on work it's still useful to have something like the Sony XM6 handy.
 
Significantly more so than Pro 2. You can bring a very loud, crowded area like a concert venue down to cafe levels.

If you want absolute room deadening to focus on work it's still useful to have something like the Sony XM6 handy.
I am relieved to hear this. Sometimes working on the train and not hearing any noise aside from two people that starts loudly talking…. Grrrr 😖
 
After having these for a week I can definitely say they're a significant improvement overall. The noise cancellation is wildly good for being an earbud. I still slightly prefer how the Pro 2s feel in the ear, but it's hardly an issue.

It's crazy how good properly mixed albums sound on these. I usually keep their Spatial Audio stuff disabled, but if you find an album that has an actual proper atmos mix, holy shit, it's fantastic.

The sleep detection is a bit weird. I haven't been able to confirm this, but I think it's based entirely on the accelerometer. I've had moments where I was just laying still on the couch, and it turned my media off because I hadn't moved in 10 minutes or so. I would have thought they'd use the heart rate monitor to better detect falling asleep. That being said, it does work. It just produces false positives sometimes.
 
noise cancellation seems better but the fact i hear that annoying keyboard clacking from the person sitting next to me makes me angry
 
The sound quality of AirPods Pro 3 is absolutely unbelievable.

The soundstage. The bass. The layering. The separation. The clarity. All absolutely stunning.

This comes from someone who has a $35,000 DCS system hooked up to $3,000 Hifimans.

The weak points now are

- Bluetooth jitter. With everything else so clear, the chokes become obvious.
- Detail. The micro detail reproduction is not great.

My test songs

Hey Now by London Grammar
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Luka by Suzanne Vega
Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka
Save Your Tears by Weeknd (Dolby Atmos)
Be the One by Dua Lipa (Dolby Atmos)

Overall, I'd say they are a fantastic buy for £219. Best sounding music you'll hear anywhere near that price. It's just wild to think that people around me in the tube will be listening to music at this quality.

Also, loving the lock screen album art, have missed that since iPhone OS.

085MukWJx9iEZhhw.jpeg
I noticed the cover art the other day. I recently cancelled all my subscriptions and bought a NAS, so I have a 12,000 song collection hooked up to a network folder in Apple Music. A lot of lossless stuff in there. I miss the little animations you get for some songs though, think you need streaming to get those.

The Air has 256GB of storage, so I can fit my entire music collection on my phone.

Now if only they brought cover flow back!
 
Sadly, I can't wear anything that goes in-ear.

But being an Android user, it was pointless anyway.
 
They are next-level. Having noise cancellation of this caliber, and sound quality, with this battery life, for a few grams in your pocket is amazing.

Almost good enough to get bionic implants of them.
Have you tried the live translation yet?
 
Any tip for an android user that would like something like the AP3?
If you want them that badly, just buy them. You can still control transparency mode/noise cancellation using gestures.

I bought Airpods Pros when I had a Pixel phone and they were great. It was the first step of Apple luring me back after a decade away.
 
Got mine yesterday. Not tried live translation.

Noise cancelling does seem a step up from pro model 2's - my travelling on public transport might now become a little more bearable.
 
I've had my APP since 2021 and they still won't die. I also have gen 2s that are still mint.

Is sound really good? I'm hearing mixed opinions on the sound profile. All the audiophiles I know seem to think they over tuned them towards a consumer sound like the AirPod max.
 
More power to you guys, I personally cant stand the rubber-tipped buds,

But airpods are definitely one of those brands where once you get them, you cant go back. When I have enough I plan on upgrading from my (standard) 3's to the newer ANC 4's
 
Never cared about lossless audio before but now with these AirPods I can't go back. I've been redownloading my entire library in lossless. What a new experience.
 
I've had my APP since 2021 and they still won't die. I also have gen 2s that are still mint.

Is sound really good? I'm hearing mixed opinions on the sound profile. All the audiophiles I know seem to think they over tuned them towards a consumer sound like the AirPod max.
MUCH richer sound, IMO. Very clean. I have used Pro 2s since the inception and these blow them away. They need a good input to play though.
 
Not sure if it is just an all Apple ecosystem thing but you listen to Appetite for Destruction lossless with Spatial Audio enabled on the Pro 3s and it's incredible. You can hear all sorts of new things.

The buds are good with all inputs but when you get the right album they are incredible.
 
Mine finally showed up. Massive improvement over the 2 pro, was worried it'd be incremental, but I use them nearly every day at work even if it were it felt worth it for me. But I'd recommend them even for the occasional listener.
 
So my Nothing Ear 1s are pretty close to falling apart and I'm still wondering if the Pro 3s would be worth considering even if I'm an android user? The loss of the live translation stuff doesn't bother me and I'm looking for something that just sounds as good as possible. Are there any genuine deal breakers if I buy them?
 
So my Nothing Ear 1s are pretty close to falling apart and I'm still wondering if the Pro 3s would be worth considering even if I'm an android user? The loss of the live translation stuff doesn't bother me and I'm looking for something that just sounds as good as possible. Are there any genuine deal breakers if I buy them?
My buddy who uses Android still swears by AirPods.

All the extra features and stuff are neat I guess, but I use my headphones for one purpose 99% of the time, and that's listening to audio/music with noise cancellation. And that'll still function perfectly on Android.

I use my AirPods with my Switch a lot, too, which has been great.
 
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