I had my Apple AirPods Pro 2 since they came out, and I really liked them. They were nice in quality, but lately they haven’t been working as well. The connection will drop, and not just occasionally, but relatively regularly. With that said, there was a need to get new earphones. Noise cancelling earphones is essential for my needs as it helps with the agoraphobia, and the pain. This is not something I could compromise on. With that said, and the fact that my primary phone is an iPhone 14 Pro Max, it makes sense to stay within the Apple ecosystem. I have chosen the Apple AirPods Pro 3 for $280 (with taxes).
Good
They just work. I place them in the ear, and I can press and hold the stem to turn noise cancelling on or off. They are quality, and well made. They just work, and work well with an Apple device. If you are not in the Apple ecosystem, then they won’t work as well as some of the features might be disabled. If that is the case, then you would be better with something else. However, when paired with an Apple device, they just work.
The new ear tips uses memory foam to help conform to the ear canal a little better. It is slowly working for me. Keep in mind that I do not wear them every day, so they will take longer for me, but I am feeling a more reliable tight fit. And as with the upgrade on the Pro 2, I can nod or shake my head to affirm or deny. For example, if there was an incoming call, I can nod my head up and down to answer a call. And yes, this feature works the way it should be. I had both of my hands full with carrying groceries when I received a call. I was able to answer it without any issue without skipping a beat.
Bad
The tips are a little bigger than previous models. I couldn’t confidently change the ear tip, and while I did said it conformed to my ear canal, the first several times, I was worried that the left earphone would have fall out. They work better now, but I still would have benefitted from changing the ear tips. However, I wasn’t confident with the application of force that I would need to use. I don’t want to rip the tip, and have half of it still in the earphone.
There is a conversation mode that is on automatically. When I start speaking, the noise cancellation turns off, and the music lowers to allow for conversation. I would have rather that the music paused instead of decrease in volume. Everything eventually gets back to normal when it detects that I am not carrying a conversation. However, this feature seems to randomly turn on for no reason.
Ugly
Just 1 color – white. I wouldn’t have mind a black earphone set. The black will match my clothes, and I constantly feel that the white earphones stick out like a sore thumb with my all black wardrobe. I am sure this is a cost saving measure with only dealing with one color, but seriously – Apple is wealthy enough to offer black as well!
Conclusion
With it being an Apple product, you are paying the Apple Tax. However, the earphones are worth the price even though they are more expensive than they should be. I would wish for the conversation mode to be more accurate and with fewer false positives, and a black color would be nice too, but these are likely things that would never change. When I have the money, I will want a second pair to completely phase out my AirPods Pro 2 which is a “backup” pair.