- The main and most important is the Noise Cancellation. In this regard, if you are a user who is considering the purchase of some of the two devices, you have to be very clear if you are really going to need headphones in your day-to-day life that isolate you from the noise that may be around you.
- The comfort It is another fundamental point when using headphones, and in this case, although both are really comfortable, the fact that the AirPods Pro have the famous rubber band means that many users cannot use them.
- The hours of autonomy you will also have to take them into account. It is true that both offer a really fantastic battery life, but as you have seen the AirPods 3 have a greater autonomy, something that you will have to seriously assess.
Headphone design
The first thing we have to talk about is the first feeling users have when seeing them, that is to say, of the design of both headphones. In this section, two points must be taken into account, on the one hand the aesthetics of the headset itself and, on the other hand, the type of headset it is and which is also implicit in the design itself.
Aesthetics matter
Aesthetics is an aspect that, although for many people it is indifferent, it really it is the first thing that the device itself is capable of transmitting, and for this reason it is vitally important that the first user feels that they have a nice and good quality device in their hands. In this regard, both products are capable of convey that neat and quality appearance that can never be missing in an Apple brand product.
The differences that you can find between the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro in terms of design they are really scarce, since what Apple has done with the third generation AirPods is to continue with the design line that already began with the AirPods Pro. The main difference is caused by the presence of ear pads on AirPods Pro These being in-ear headphones, something that is obviously not present in the third generation of AirPods. In the rest of the aesthetic aspects we can only highlight the presence, in black, of a microphone on top of the AirPods 3, something that the AirPods Pro do not have.
They are comfortable?
The AirPods caused a huge impact as soon as they were presented and as soon as users began to use them in their day-to-day lives. One of the reasons was enormously comfortable what are these headphones, however, this comfort was called into question with the arrival of the AirPods Pro, since many users were not or are not comfortable with headphones that are in-ear, that is, those that have a rubber band to be fixed inside the ear.
The AirPods 3 in that sense, being an evolution of the second generation AirPods, continue with the line that the first generation already marked, that is, headphones that As they are not in-ear, they are able to satisfy the comfort expectations of practically all users. Really, the feeling you get when you put these headphones on is practically not noticing that they are in your ears.
Therefore, if personally I had to opt for one of the two at a comfort level, despite the fact that for me the AirPods Pro are really comfortable, in this section third-generation AirPods are practically unmatched, Since as we have commented previously, the moment may come when you forget that you are wearing them.
Sound quality
When it comes to talking about headphones, a point that is essential as it could not be otherwise is the sound quality they offer. The move that Apple has made with the third generation AirPods is to bring the sound experience that AirPods Pro users had to those users who, being these in-ear headphones, could not enjoy them due to comfort issues.
Thus the third generation AirPods have inherited all the benefits in terms of sound that the AirPods Pro already had how can he be spatial audio, which offers a tremendous immersive experience. Another function that inherits from the AirPods Pro is the adaptive equalization, making the headset capable of modifying the sound it emits based on the anatomy of your ear. Therefore, we can say that the sound experience is really the same with AirPods Pro than with third-generation AirPods.
Do you want noise cancellation?
We come to the point of comparison where you will find more differences between the two headphones, in fact, it is surely the point that makes some users opt for the AirPods 3 and others for the AirPods Pro. It is noise cancellation. In this sense, it is not necessary to give much thought to the comparison, since on the one hand the AirPods Pro feature active noise cancellation and on the other, AirPods 3 do not.
The presence of the ear pads and, therefore, of being in-ear headphones by the AirPods Pro makes Apple able to offer really fantastic noise cancellation, something that is not present in the third generation AirPods and that is undoubtedly completely differential. Today there are many users who cannot live without noise canceling headphones because they are usually used outside the house. On the other hand, many others only use headphones at home and therefore, noise cancellation is not such a differential point. Therefore, depending on your needs, AirPods Pro or AirPods 3 will suit you better.
Personally, the AirPods Pro for me are essential for this very reason. The active noise cancellation they offer makes it possible to use them to carry out practically any task and being able to choose between using noise cancellation on some occasions and ambient mode in those moments when I do not need that isolation.
Other important aspects
Among all the features that both the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro have, the design, sound and noise cancellation are perhaps the most important, but you also have to take other aspects into account when purchasing one of these two headphones. . For this reason, below we are going to talk about how they integrate with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, how you are going to have to charge them and, of course, how the microphone performs.
Integration into the Apple ecosystem
One of the aspects that must always be highlighted of all Apple devices is the perfect synchronization and integration that have each. Obviously the AirPods, both the third generation and the Pro were not going to be an exception in this regard and the comfort when using them with any Apple device is really a joy.
In fact, another point that many users highlight is how comfortable it is to be able to change devices when using the AirPods with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, iPod or Apple TV. Therefore, at this point you will not find differences that make you opt for some headphones or others.
Autonomy and charging of AirPods
Being wireless headphones you will have to be aware of the battery that both devices offer you and, of course, charge them. We start with autonomy. In this case the Third-generation AirPods if they outperform AirPods Pro, offering up 6 hours of playback audio on a single charge for 4.5 hours offered by the AirPods Pro. If you add to this what you can have with the charging case the hours of playback they arrive until 30 for AirPods 3 already 24 on the AirPods Pro.
As you have seen, there are differences in terms of the autonomy of the headphones, something that does not happen with the way of charging them. Both the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro can be charged in three different ways, through the Lightning port, with wireless charging or through a MagSafe charger.
How is the microphone working?
In many cases, headphones are not only used to listen to music or watch some type of audiovisual content through the iPhone, iPad or any Apple device, but they are also used to talk on the phone or send some type of audio message, therefore, the microphone is also very important.
In this regard, both AirPods models have two microphones with beamforming technology and a inward facing microphone to try and provide the best possible experience. However, it must be said that of course this is not the point by which these fantastic headphones stand out, really having a lot of room for improvement in subsequent generations or versions.
Use gestures to use AirPods
Something that must be taken into account when taking advantage of and making the most of the AirPods, both the third generation and the Pro are the gestures that you can perform to control the playback of content on them without having to touch the device to which you have the headphones connected. Once again we could say that there is practically a technical tie between the two headphones. Here are the gestures you can perform and what you can use them for.
- Press once to play audio, pause it, or answer a call.
- Press twice to go to the next song.
- Press three times to go back to the previous song.
- Hold down to switch between active noise cancellation and ambient sound mode on AirPods Pro and to activate Siri on AirPods 3.
- Say “Hey Siri” to listen to a song, make a call, get directions, and more.
Headphone price
In a comparison of two technological products, a point that cannot be missed is the price, since this will make many people opt for one or the other. In this aspect, Apple has wanted to differentiate two types of headphones very well, on the one hand, the one that does not offer noise cancellation and that, therefore, will have a lower price than the one that does have this characteristic function.
Therefore, 3rd generation AirPods are available on the Apple website for a price of 199 euros, while the AirPods Pro they amount to 279 euros. However, these prices can be modified if you look for these devices in other stores such as Amazon that usually have quite interesting offers and that here at La Manzana Bordida we tell you practically daily.
This is our recommendation
To finish this comparison, we want to tell you what is the recommendation that, from the editorial team of La Manzana Mordida, we want to make. From our point of view the most complete headphones are undoubtedly the AirPods Pro, since they offer everything that the AirPods 3 have, adding a really differential function, noise cancellation. Therefore, for all users who want to have noise cancellation and do not mind paying that price difference, without a doubt the Pro are the headphones that they have to buy.
Now, if you are a person who always uses headphones at home and you don’t need to have noise cancellation or simply, you do not want to reach the price at which the AirPods Pro are, without a doubt lAirPods 3 are a great alternative both for the quality of sound they offer and for the comfort when using them.