The Morning After: The verdict on AirPods Pro 3

Apple’s third-gen pro earbuds make a very strong case for upgrading. Alongside all those iPhones and Watches, Apple revealed the AirPods Pro 3, packing in major new features, like live translation and heart-rate sensing, all while tangibly boosting active noise cancellation (ANC).

Those ANC upgrades? Ultra-low-noise microphones combine with advanced computational audio to silence even more noise, while new foam-infused ear tips play a major role here too, since they offer increased passive noise isolation. Apple says these buds cancel twice as much noise as the AirPods Pro 2 and four times more than the original AirPods Pro.

Then there’s the heart-rate sensors. While the tech debuted on the Powerbeats Pro 2, it’s got a more mainstream home in the AirPods Pro 3. Heart-rate data from the AirPods can be accessed by Apple’s own Fitness app and other workout apps, like ...