What’s the difference Apple Air Pods 3 vs Air Pods Pro

Similar design but some slightly different features and sticker tags.

Once upon a time, the gap between the AirPods vs AirPods Pro was massive. The latter had noise cancellation, water resistance, custom ear tips, adaptive EQ, wider soundstage, and support for spatial audio, while the former did not. 

The arrival of the AirPods 3, however, fixes nearly all of those problems and puts the two models at a more even parity. 

That said, instead of nearly a dozen differences between the two, we’re only down to just four - which means that the decision can ultimately be made a lot faster than before, especially if price and active noise cancellation are still your main concern. 

The choice will still be different for everyone. But, to help you understand which model is right for you, we’ve broken down the key differences below.

Difference 1: Only AirPods Pro has active noise cancellation

The main reason you’d opt for the AirPods Pro over the AirPods 3 is that the Pro has built-in active noise cancellation. That allows you to take them out into the world and not be disturbed by outside noise. They’re our preferred travel companions for that reason, and work wonders on your commute when you just need to zone out for a while. 

Now, even if you don’t opt for the powerful active noise cancellation option, the basic AirPods will give you some level of what we call passive noise isolation that comes from the buds blocking some part of the ear canal. This isn’t nearly as powerful as proper ANC, but you should know that you’ll at least get some form of noise reduction from both buds.

Difference #2: AirPods Pro has silicone ear tips for a better fit... 

While there’s not a massive difference in terms of design between the two earbuds, there’s one substantial difference that’s worth pointing out: the AirPods Pro comes with interchangeable ear tips that help facilitate a tighter and more comfortable fit. 

A tighter fit may sound more uncomfortable at first, but tighter fitting earbuds actually provide the best bass response as no sound is wasted by escaping the ear. Because the tips are made of squishy silicone, it doesn’t hurt that they’re in the ear canal. In fact, we actually find regular AirPods to be more uncomfortable because the tips are made of inflexible plastic that doesn’t always quite fit comfortably on the outer part of the ear canal

Difference #3:  ...but AirPods 3 have a longer battery life 

There is one very clear area in which AirPods 3 are better than the AirPods Pro, and that’s in battery life. The AirPods 3 aren’t exactly class leaders with their six-hour listening time, but that is a substantial improvement on the Pro’s 4.5-hour battery life. Thankfully both pairs of earbuds have an additional 24 hours of charge in the case, so it’s a draw there.

So why do the supposedly superior earbuds have such a short battery life? It all comes down to that active noise cancellation that drains the battery life. It turns out that not having that ability is what helps the AirPods 3 conserve battery and last longer.