Apple AirPods Pro 3: Everything you need to know

If Apple’s most popular product is the iPhone, then its most iconic — the AirPods wireless headphones. These instantly recognizable white headphones have been instantly popular since their introduction almost 10 years ago. And among the entire lineup of headphones, the — AirPods Pro are the more interesting ones.

These headphones got a minor update in 2023, including the addition of MagSafe charging and USB-C compatibility, but there hasn’t been a global update since the second-generation in 2022.

The AirPods Pro is the first in the lineup to receive a minor update in 2023, including the addition of MagSafe charging and USB-C compatibility.

This leads many, including us, to believe that the third generation will be introduced soon. Here’s everything you need to know about what Apple could have in store for its next flagship wireless headphones.

All you need to know about what Apple has in store for its next flagship wireless headphones.

When will the AirPods Pro 3 be unveiled?”

Some speculate that Apple will announce the AirPods Pro 3 as early as June 2025, which would coincide with its annual WWDC event. If the company updates the AirPods Pro with a slew of new features that will be used by third-party app developers, that timing would make sense.

However, historically, Apple has strictly controlled all of the AirPods Pro’s functionality and only manages it through customizations in its own software. If that trend continues, an announcement in the fall of 2025 alongside the next iPhone seems more likely.

An announcement in the fall of 2025 along with the next iPhone seems more likely.

Main Rumors

Rumors from insiders including Mark Gurman and Ming Chi-Kuo centered around one key area of the AirPods Pro 3: the sensors.

The prevailing view is that Apple will embed a new set of sensors capable of tracking temperature and heart rate, at the very least. The company filed a patent for this in 2017, and given that the Beats-owned Powerbeats Pro 2 have heart-rate sensors, it seems like a credible option.

One of the wildest rumors, however, suggests that the AirPods Pro 3 could also get some sort of built-in camera. Not so much for taking photos and videos (though that would be curious), but for tracking hand gestures in real time, perhaps as an alternative to using the headphones’ built-in controls or an alternative to using Siri to control functions on the iPhone. This rumor seems less likely — at least for the third-generation AirPods Pro. Perhaps it will show up in the fourth generation.

Other rumors point to an Apple patent detailing the design of a charging case with a built-in touchscreen as a sign that AirPods Pro 3 will come in the future. Could the company do something like this? Absolutely. JBL has already added the feature to several wireless headphone models, including the Tour Pro 3. But the big question is, does the company need this feature? Not likely.

To talk about the charging case, the AirPods Pro 3 will ditch the physical Bluetooth pairing button in favor of the touch-sensitive version found in the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC.

At the same time, the AirPods Pro 3 will drop the physical Bluetooth pairing button in favor of the touch-sensitive version found in the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC.

Bloomberg speculates that voice translation will be available on the AirPods Pro 3 via an update to the Translate app in iOS 19. Not only is the feature a proprietary one for Apple, there are plenty of products that already offer something similar, including from the company’s biggest rival, Samsung, which added it to the Galaxy Buds Pro 3.

Finally, most insiders agree that we can expect better sound quality and further enhancements to Apple’s already excellent active noise-canceling and transparency technologies.

What we hope to see in AirPods Pro 3

The AirPods Pro 3’s extra sensors make sense. Apple has long been committed to health and fitness, so the new pumped-up earbuds in tandem with a watch that also tracks a host of metrics will make tracking your health and athletic performance more accurate and useful.

The new pumped-up earbuds, in tandem with a watch that also tracks a host of metrics, will make tracking your health and athletic performance more accurate and useful.

In addition, many users’ “wish list” starts with longer battery life. While the current six hours is adequate, there are plenty of headphones from other companies that last longer on a single charge.

And there are plenty of headphones from other companies that last longer on a single charge.

It would also be great if Apple introduced true multipoint Bluetooth. Right now, you can easily switch between the company’s products thanks to iCloud, but if you’re using a Windows laptop for work, there’s no way to keep the AirPods Pro connected to your iPhone and computer at the same time. It’s about time Apple devices joined the Multipoint world — right now, the AirPods family is one of the only product lines that doesn’t support this handy technology.

Apple promised that AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C could deliver lossless audio. That wasn’t a lie, but with a caveat: they only work with the Vision Pro AR headset. I wish Apple would push this feature so that (at the very least) it would work with the iPhone. If lossless-audio has sound quality advantages (as many music lovers will agree), they shouldn’t apply only to the Vision Pro.

To talk about USB-C, Apple could have provided the ability to plug the AirPods Pro 3 charging case into a 3.5mm analog audio source and use the charging case as a wireless transmitter. That wouldn’t be an innovation. Bowers & Wilkins, LG, JBL and Jabra have already equipped current and previous wireless headphones with a similar feature. The AirPods Pro 2 charging case already includes an ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless transmitter for Find My, and UWB would be a great option for wireless transmission on AirPods.

Sales Start and Cost

If we assume that Apple does indeed announce the AirPods Pro 3 in the fall alongside the next iPhone, we can expect them to become available for pre-order within hours of the announcement, with shipping and launch sales likely to begin 10-14 days after that.

Apple announced all three previous versions of the AirPods Pro at the regular price of $249. Of course, there are no guarantees in life — especially in the current economic situation, but we can assume that the company will maintain this price for the AirPods Pro 3.