AirPods Pro 2 vs. Pro 1 vs. AirPods 3: What's New? Should You Upgrade?

Overview AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro and AirPods 3

| #1  Apple - AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

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The AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) are the most recent, announced in September 2024, and they succeed the orignal AirPods Pro that arrived in 2019.They deliver an even more powerful, personal, and convenient listening experience, transformed by next-generation Apple silicon. With industry-leading acoustics and advanced computational audio, the new AirPods Pro offer upgraded audio quality, extended battery life,and up to two times more noise cancellation than the previous generation.

Adaptive Transparency keeps you aware of the world around you while reducing harsh environmental noise. Personalized Spatial Audio enables the most immersive surround sound, tuned just for you. With Touch control, you can directly adjust the volume with just a swipe. And the new MagSafe Charging Case features Precision Finding,3 a built-in speaker, and a lanyard loop.

| #2  Apple AirPods Pro with Wireless MagSafe Charging Case

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The AirPods Pro is a welcome upgrade of the Apple AirPods 2 Truly Wireless 2019 which features Active Noise Cancellation, the H1 chipset, changeable ear tips, longer battery life, and easier-to-use touch control.  It is also small, lightweight, and has an IPX4 rating for water resistance. The AirPods Pro also has upgraded drivers and support more immersive technologies, such as spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, so it sound noticeably better.

The AirPods Pro offers a more customizable fit with three sizes of flexible silicone tips to choose from. With an internal taper, they conform to the shape of your ear, securing your AirPods Pro in place and creating an exceptional seal for superior noise cancellation. A force sensor on the stem makes it easy to control music and calls and switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode. The Apple AirPods Pro also has fairly neutral sound profile, which makes them suitable for a variety of audio content. Moreover,  the H1 chip delivers incredibly low audio latency.

| #3  Apple AirPods with MagSafe Charging Case, 3rd Gen

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The AirPods (3rd Generation) arrived in October 2021.Originally offered only on the AirPods Pro & Max, the 3rd generation of Apple AirPods with MagSafe Wireless Charging Case now feature spatial audio technology with dynamic head tracking, and Dolby Atmos compatibility. Unlike your traditional left/right stereo playback, spatial audio envelops you in sound and can adjust positioning as you move your head, so you're always in the sweet spot. When watching Dolby Atmos movies, you're aurally immersed to feel like you're in the center of the action.

Adaptive EQ is another feature that works to intelligently improve your audio experience. Whether you're at work or on the train, it automatically adjusts playback in real-time, so that the AirPods can deliver music closer to what you're supposed to hear. In a word, the Apple AirPods (3rd generation) represent a big step up from their predecessors in terms of audio performance, connectivity, and design.

AirPods Pro 2 vs. AirPods Pro vs. AirPods 3: Full Comparison

Before diving into my in-depth discussion, look at the table below to get a key specs of them.

Design

The design of the AirPods 3 means that they simply hook into a user's ears, while the ‌AirPods Pro‌ feature in-ear silicone tips that need to be pushed into the ear canal. The silicone tips allow the ‌AirPods Pro‌ to create a firm seal in the ear canal to improve audio quality and enable Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), and Apple provides three different tip sizes in the box and offers a fit test in the Settings app. In addition, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ are also slightly larger and heavier than the AirPods 3. The charging cases of the two are identical for the most part, except that the AirPods 3's case is smaller.

The design of AirPods Pro 2 are nearly identical to AirPods Pro, only a few updates to the touch controls. Thanks to the new Touch Controls, the stems of  AirPods Pro 2 have a few new controls. While you'll still need to squeeze the tiny stems to play, pause, and skip forward or backward, you can now swipe up or down to adjust the volume. Another design change of  AirPods Pro 2 comes with the added silicone ear tip. It  will now come with an XS ear tip to allow for a better tip for more people. In addition, the AirPods Pro 2's charging case underwent a small change. There is a speaker on the base of the  AirPods Pro 2's MagSafe Charging Case, to aid with Find My helping you locate the case when it's lost. You're also getting a lanyard connector and a new extra small ear tip option to promote a more secure fit if you have extra-small ears.

Audio Quality

With H2 chip, AirPods Pro 2 delivers lower distortion during playback, along with deeper bass and crisper highs. That's thanks to the H2 working with a new custom-built driver and amplifier.

In addition, the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) update Apple’s spatial audio implementation with the introduction of Personalized Spatial Audio. This is basically an ear scanning feature like you’ll find when using Sony 360 Reality Audio. You take photos of your ears, and the earbuds create a personalized profile based on the data collected. But according to Apple, the AirPods (3rd generation) also now have this feature. So, it appears to be part of the updated spatial audio standard itself, not the buds per se.

All three have Adaptive EQ, an automatic equalizer that tailors the earbuds’ sound to your ears. ButAdaptive EQ is limited to the EQ found in Apple Music, and the earbuds won’t save any changes you make.

Active Noise-Cancelling

Same as with the AirPods Pro (2019), the AirPods Pro 2 has active noise cancellation (ANC) – a feature not found on the AirPods 3. ANC will effectively filter out annoyances like commuter train and bus or plane engine noise, nearby chatter, and bad music played over a gym’s house sound system.

But  thanks to the new H2 chip, AirPods Pro 2 delivers more advanced computational audio which allows for twice the level of noise cancellation over what’s found in the AirPods Pro (2019). A related benefit for AirPods Pro 2 is an Adaptive Transparency mode. It will automatically minimize the noise of harsh sounds coming in, like sirens or construction work. And it's meant to work seamlessly, reducing noise at 48,000 times per second.

Battery Life and Charging Case

When it comes to battery life, AirPods Pro 2 see a bump from 5 hours on a single charge to 6 and 30 hours of use with the case vs 24 hours with the original AirPods Pro. The Airpods 3 has the same battery life of AirPods Pro 2 with up to 6 hours of a single charge and up to 30 hours with charging case.

All the three models come with the same quick-charging technology, generating an hour of use after a 5-minute charge, as well as wireless charging.One more bonus with the new AirPods Pro 2 charging case is the ability to charge with an Apple Watch charging puck alongside MagSafe, Qi, or Lightning.

Bottom Line

AirPods Pro 2 vs. Pro 1 vs. AirPods 3: What's New? Should You Upgrade?

You should only buy the ‌AirPods Pro‌ if you specifically prefer the fit of in-ear silicone tips or you need Active Noise Cancellation.  If an in-ear fit isn’t your thing, AirPods 3 are the way to go.

AirPods Pro 2 come packed with lots of new and useful features. Headlining the fresh capabilities is 2x more active noise cancelation, a new adaptive transparency feature, improved audio quality, mics, and a brand new MagSafe charging case with Find My, speaker, and more. If you want the best Airpods Pro and have enough budget, the AirPods Pro 2 is the way to go. But if you already have the first-generation AirPods Pro and are happy with them, there might not be enough in the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) to tip you over, however.

If you're not too fussed about features like better ANC and longer battery life, you'll be able to save a few bucks by sticking with the first AirPods Pro for around $180. You’ll still get many of the same features of AirPods Pro 2, too.

The AirPods 3, while not as feature-packed, provides some of the same key functions as the Pro 2. If you don’t care much about active noise-cancelling, the AirPods 3 are still going to be a solid option, especially if you prefer the original AirPods fit over the AirPods Pro. Plus, AirPods 3 are cheaper, making them the value pick out of the three.

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