Apple Unveils AirPods Pro 3: A Leap Forward in Wearable Tech

The AirPods Pro 3 Will Read Your Heart Rate and Motivate You During Workouts--No Smart Watch Needed

Apple launched the new AirPods Pro 3 during it's "awe-dropping" event today. The Pro's latest iteration has improved noise cancellation, the ability to translate other languages in real-time and it's now water resistant, so it can handle your sweatiest workouts. But the AirPods Pro's newest standout feature is its ability to read your heart rate while using a small heart rate sensor implanted in the Pros. That means during your daily walks or workouts, your AirPods will be able to capture your heart rate using a unique infrared light sensor and a new on-device AI model that tracks heart rate and calories burned. All this data will be reflected on Apple's fitness app. Apple members will be able to explore up to 50 different workout types while tracking their heart rate, calories burned, close their Move rings and earn awards in the Fitness app. Additionally, the new AirPods will also give you access to Workout Buddy, a fitness feature that uses Apple Intelligence to collect your workout data, fitness history and more to personalize your workout experience. So if you're going for a walk or run, these AirPods will function like a coach, motivating you during your workout. If you're already an Apple Fitness Plus member, you'll be able to use these AirPods to view your real-time performance metrics like heart rate, calories burned, Burn Bar and close the Move ring on screen. The AirPods Pro 3 addition with the heart rate sensor took me by surprise since these types of sensors are commonly used with wearables around the wrist, like the Apple Watch, or as a smart ring. However, it does make me wonder how accurate or in sync the data will be if someone owns both the Apple AirPods Pro 3 and an Apple Watch. Now that both can record your workouts, it will be interesting to see how it plays out as members use them. The Apple AirPods Pro 3 are now available for pre-order and will be available starting September 19. Apple AirPods Pro 3 pricing will start at $249.

Apple announces AirPods Pro 3 with 'world's best ANC' and heart rate sensing

The sensor works with the AirPods Pro accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model on an iPhone to track heart rate, calories burned, and activity. There's a new workout experience, Workout Buddy, in the iPhone fitness app that uses Apple Intelligence to track workout data and fitness history. Apple is also bringing a new live translation feature to the AirPods Pro 3. ANC will lower volume of the speaker and play it to you back in your own language. "When enabled, Live Translation helps users understand another language and communicate with others by speaking naturally with AirPods," explains Apple. "To interact with someone who doesn't have this hands-free capability, there's an option to use iPhone as a horizontal display, showing the live transcription of what the user is saying in the other person's preferred language."

Apple Delivers AirPods Pro 3 With Heart Rate Monitor, AI Live Translations, More

Apple debuted its next-generation AirPods Pro 3 today at its annual fall hardware event, and our first impressions here at PCMag are pretty positive. Apple maintains the Pro 2 earbuds' $249 price tag, while adding better sound quality, noise cancellation, and live AI translation. Plus, they've got new workout features that turn the earbuds into a miniature Apple Watch of sorts. Better Sound, Battery, and Noise Cancellation A new "multiport acoustic architecture" boosts sound quality, which "transforms the bass response, widens the sound stage so you hear every instrument, and brings vocals into stunning focus across music, shows, and calls," Kate Bergeron, VP of hardware engineering at Apple, said at the event. Apple says the active noise cancellation (ANC) is also getting a big boost, with twice as much ANC as the AirPods Pro 2 and up to four times more than the original AirPods Pro. Battery life has also been increased to eight hours, or 10 hours for hearing aid users in Transparency mode. The fact that AirPods Pro 2 have a lower battery life than a traditional hearing aid is a main reason some hard-of-hearing users tell us they only use their Pro 2s around the house. Better ANC will also help hearing aid users get more accurate hearing test results, Apple says. The company says it's bringing Hearing Protection to the EU and UK, "following certification for those regions." Live Translation With Apple Intelligence As for net-new features, Apple is bringing its Live Translation tech to your ears, powered by Apple Intelligence. If you're wearing the AirPods Pro 3 and talking to someone else who speaks a different language, you can hear what they are saying in your native language. If two people are wearing them, they can hear each other, which would seriously break down language barriers, albeit presumably with a small delay. AirPods Pro 3 wearers can enable Live Translation by touching the earbuds. This automatically engages active noise cancellation to lower the speaker's volume, and the wearer begins hearing the translation of what they're saying. To talk back, just show them your iPhone, which displays what you said in their language. The phone can also read it aloud if needed. If you're both wearing the AirPod Pro 3, live translations will be heard in both sets of earbuds. Apple makes a point of saying it's "available in beta," and it only works in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. It will be available in four more languages by the end of the year: Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified). Still, that's pretty powerful. Fresh New Fit, Especially for Workouts Apple says it redesigned the fit of the AirPods Pro after analyzing thousands of ears. It made them smaller, with a more ergonomic shape that mimics the ear canal. The company also added more customized tips to choose from, now up to five. Apple says the new fit is specifically designed to stay in your ear during sweaty workouts. The AirPods Pro 3 can act as a fitness companion, almost like a miniature Apple Watch. Thanks to a tiny, custom-built sensor, they now have heart rate monitoring. That's a big upgrade, especially given the lack of a price increase. The AirPods Pro 3 can track your heart rate, up to 50 workout types, and calories burned, all of which you can view on your iPhone. The pods also have Workout Buddy, an Apple Intelligence feature introduced at WWDC for the Apple Watch. It's an AI-powered voice that motivates you and talks you through a workout (you can be the judge if that's annoying or not!). AirPods 3 Release Date The AirPods Pro 3 are available for preorder today and officially come out Sept. 19.

AirPods Pro 3 Blur the Line Between Health Wearable and Wireless Earbuds

Apple's next-gen AirPods Pro are finally here, and they signify a whole new direction. It's been two years since we've gotten a new pair of AirPods Pro, but it feels like a lot longer. The last iteration, the AirPods Pro 2, was a refresh in 2023, but it was just a refresh. The highlights? A new H2 chip that enabled features like adaptive audio and conversation awareness, and the inclusion of a USB-C port instead of the previous Lightning port. Not exactly groundbreaking. This year, however, things are different. At its annual iPhone event, Apple finally took the wraps off the AirPods Pro 3, its newest pair of wireless earbuds, with a few updates that could change the game. The biggest shift is the inclusion of new sensors that position Apple's AirPods Pro as part wireless earbuds and part health wearable. With the AirPods Pro 3, you can now monitor your heart rate passively. According to Apple, its heart rate feature uses a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that uses infrared light to measure light absorption in blood flow. That, combined with the AirPods Pro 3's accelerometers, gyroscope, and GPSâ€"also a new on-device AI model on iPhoneâ€"will allow users to use the feature with 50 different workout types, tracking heart rate as well as calories burned. It's not just health-sensing either; the AirPods Pro 3 also have a new live translation feature that borrows a little juice from Apple Intelligence. The feature provides real-time translation, allowing you to hear another language (one you don't speak) in real timeâ€"right in your earbuds. One nice touch is that AirPods Pro 3 will actually use ANC to lower the volume of the person speaking, so you can hear the translated speech instead of a garbled mix of a person's voice and translated audio. To translate your voice, you can use your iPhone, which doubles as a horizontal display that shows the live transcription. Apple says it works best when both parties are wearing AirPods Pro 3, though. If that wasn't enough to justify a new generation, Apple says that it's also 2x the ANC as AirPods Pro 2 and "over-the-ear headphones performance." Apple claims that the AirPods Pro have the best ANC of any in-ear wireless earbuds, but we'll be the judge of that once we get our hands on them. Assisting in that lofty claim will be new ear tips that are stuffed with foam and should provide a better seal in your ears. Those tips will also now come in five sizes and are more water-resistant than previous versions, which makes them ideal for workouts. Oh, and battery life will get a boost, going from 6 hours with ANC on to 8 hours with ANC on outside the case. You can get 10 hours outside the case with transparency activated. For me, the biggest upgrade to AirPods Pro 3 is the inclusion of a heart rate sensor, which paints the earbuds in a new light. Just like the Apple Watch reinvented itself with a host of health sensors, leaning into its identity as a fitness wearable, the AirPods Pro 3 could pave a new path and give Apple's iconic earbuds an edge against competitors. That doesn't mean that Apple can take its foot off the gas when it comes to wireless audio, but it might mean that AirPods offer a whole suite of things that other earbuds don't. Centering on health has worked in the past, most famously with the Apple Watch, which was arguably a device without a real identity until it became a health machine for monitoring your heart, sleep, fitness goals, and more. The AirPods already have an identity, to be clear, but with how good other earbuds have gotten, they don't quite have the must-have appeal they once didâ€"a slide that health sensors could help turn around. How well Apple's new health features work remains to be seen, but I'd be shocked if this was the last we see of them. Apple's AirPods are available for preorder now and will cost $250, the same as the AirPods Pro 2. A full release is slated for Sept. 19.

5 things you need to know about Apple's all-new AirPods Pro 3 - including the price

They're here! The arrival of AirPods Pro 3 at Apple's interesting 'Awe Inspiring' event just now is big news. Why? Because Apple claims its AirPods Pro 2 are the most popular headphones ever - and I cannot disagree. Following a steady stream of leaks over the past few weeks, including a design teaser, heart-rate monitors and temperature sensors being the rumored inclusions, that big hint in iOS 26, and despite Ming Chi-Kuo claiming the Pro 3 won't be a big deal and that the "more significant update" will be in 2026 - namely the AirPods Pro 4 (a sentiment recently echoed by Mark Gurman), the AirPods Pro 3 finally official. So what do you need to know? It's all here - simply read on! A September 2 leak suggested two new sensors were coming to the AirPods Pro 3, namely heart-rate monitoring and a temperature sensor. And lo, one of those has come to pass! Apple says that thanks to a redesigned mesh and new custom driver architecture, there's increased airflow to ear for wider soundstage and bigger bass, plus new "foam infused" ear tips (of which there are now five - even an XXS size!). All of this also has led Apple to claim you'll get twice the ANC power of the outgoing model - quite a boast. But the biggie can be seen in our main image: heart-rate monitoring. See that extra black little bar on the inside neck of the bud? Apple's using it, plus the built-in movement sensors of AirPods, to promise a new workout experience that can track 50 workout types with just AirPods Pro 3 - ie. no Apple Watch needed. And you'll even get motivational feedback to workouts, and info tracking in Apple Fitness+, with new APIs for fitness app makers to track your workouts. Apple says "AirPods Pro 3 introduce a custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow." Elsewhere, the buds themselves are now smaller (with a tweaked new shape to better match the ear canal) and with the smallest heart-rate monitor Apple's managed to create. They're also IP57 rated, so technically waterproof. Another biggie that wasn't expected to come is here: live translation. Apple says you'll be able to pinch both stems to begin live translation, and ANC kicks in to reduce their voice a little when you're getting the translation. You'll thin simply be able to talk back, and your iPhone will display your words, and optionally read them out. Also, if two people wear AirPods Pro 3, you can just talk over the translation system - and it even claims to use some tech on-ear (ie. on AirPods) as well as on your iPhone. Apple says: "Live Translation on AirPods is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, and will be coming to four more languages by the end of the year: Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified)." Any asterisks to that? One or two; Apple also states: "Live Translation may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, visit support.apple.com/en-us/121115." Given that that's a link to Apple Intelligence's availability in different countries, it'll depend on the availability of Apple's AI where you are. Want to talk stamina? Of course. The best that can be said of AirPods Pro 2 is that the battery life was 'acceptable', at up to 6 hours of listening time with a single charge (up to 5.5 hours with Spatial Audio and Head Tracking enabled) or up to 30 hours of listening time including the case. And AirPods Pro 3 have improved upon this, with a juice pack capable of 10 hours in Hearing Aid mode with Transparency on, or 8 hours of standard use with ANC deployed. Both the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro 2 were priced at $249 / £249 / AU$399 when they first appeared, so the fact that AirPods Pro 3 are going to set you back $249 when they hit shelves should come as no surprise. That said, plenty of the best wireless earbuds have risen in price in the last few years in line with inflation, but Apple made a point of hanging on at the same price as the original AirPods Pro from 2019. Because the new AirPods Pro 3 have been launched at this price, the buds will actually come at the lower end of the premium earbuds range. I know! Who'd have thought? They're be available for pre-order now (September 9) and will begin hitting shelves (or your door mat) on September 19. It was widely speculated that one (or possibly two) much-vaunted features wouldn't make the update - and that too has come to pass. Honestly, this may seem disappointing to some, but the arrival of Live Translation may well atone for those. First off, there was no mention of the H3 chip, which would've been huge since that's supposed to be quite the chipset. Also, temperature sensing wasn't announced, which seems odd given the graphic Apple went with for its 'Awe dropping' event. IR cameras built into AirPods Pro 3 also didn't materialise. This is hardly a shock: back in December 2024, Mark Gurman's Bloomberg report suggested that the tech for cameras in your AirPods just isn't there yet, and pointed to a 2027 release date for any AirPods with this feature. This year, another report claimed that AirPods with tiny AI cameras are tipped to come in 2027, and although I personally think they'll be a huge safety win when they do arrive (and that actually, it could happen in 2026 rather than 2027, with the AirPods Pro 4) it was always a pipe dream to expect it today. It's not hard to see Apple's big push towards health-tracking for its Pro-level AirPods, and with heart-rate monitoring now available in the Apple subsidiary brand Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds - and probably coming to the much-teased Beats Powerbeats Fit - ticker-taking in AirPods Pro 3 was all but a dead cert (...sorry for the phrasing). But the omission of a couple of novel features (particularly temperature sensing), for such a big launch may be a slight let down. Arguably the main bone of contention where any new AirPods are concerned is support for Apple Music's own high-resolution audio offering, specifically 24-bit/96 kHz, aka the maximum resolution of Apple Music's Lossless tier, and 24-bit/192kHz - where Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless offering maxes out. Currently, to have Hi-Res Lossless files (which Apple gave to its Apple Music subscribers at no extra cost way back in June 2021) on your iPhone, you need a fairly involved wired system commencing with the Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter (which is limited to 24-bit/48kHz) then a third-party portable DAC to get you up to resolution, then a set of good wired headphones. And the slightly lowlier Lossless tier? You still need wired headphones - although your iPhone's onboard DAC is good enough to give you the goods provided you're attaching a cable; something like Apple's still-great EarPods or, since April 1, 2025, AirPods Max with added Lossless USB-C audio passthrough. If AirPods Pro 3 could grant loyal Apple devotees access to Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless tier, it'd be a home run - which is why it's truly surprising that the Cupertino giant still hasn't. Apple has announced new driver architecture, improved ANC, and improvements to its Hearing Aid Feature (HAF) though, adding: "To help Hearing Aid users in louder environments like restaurants, Conversation Boost is now automatic, adding powerful amplification with background noise reduction."

Live Translation on AirPods Pro 3 Is the Breakthrough Apple Intelligence Has Been Waiting For

Apple has said many times that AirPods Pro are the world's "bestselling wireless headphones." If you use them on a regular basis, it's not hard to understand why. Not only do they sound very good, but if you're an iPhone user, the experience of using AirPods Pro is about as good as it gets. The newest version, AirPods Pro 3, which Apple announced on Tuesday, continues that on both fronts. Apple says they sound even better than before, with better bass and noise cancellation. But, the best new feature has less to do with how things sound, and everything to do with the experience of what you're listening to. That's because Apple just turned AirPods Pro into a tool that helps you connect and communicate with people with two-way Live Translation. The best part is that it's the breakthrough feature Apple Intelligence has been waiting for. Here's what I mean: Imagine you're standing in a market on a trip. You only speak english, but the storekeeper only speaks Spanish. With a simple gesture, AirPods Pro 3 begin translating in your language as you carry on a conversation. On your end, the AirPods Pro Active Noise Cancellation lowers the volume of the other person's voice so the translation cuts through. When it's your turn, you just talk. As you do, your iPhone displays the words in their language and can even read them out loud. If both people wear AirPods, the whole exchange is seamless. That isn't a party trick. It's the most practical way yet that Apple Intelligence can improve people's lives. Apple framed it as "bringing the magic of AirPods to the way you communicate across languages." That's obviously marketing, but the mechanics matter. Translation models by themselves aren't new. What's new is the simple way "it just works." That's Apple at its very best, and Live Translation might be the best example yet. Think about everything that has to happen for this to work. The AirPods have to detect speech, lower the volume of the live voice, and then surface the translation fast enough to keep a real conversation flowing. Too much latency would lead to awkwardly standing there waiting to find out what the person is saying to you. Apple's advantage is its control over hardware, software, and audio pipeline. That's why this feels like a breakthrough for Apple's AI effort. Unlike things like Genmoji, or even writing tools, this is a real feature that takes something complicated and makes it practical for real people. In that sense, Live Translation plays to many Apple's strengths. On-device models protect privacy and keep translation quick. Computational audio makes sure that what you hear is intelligible, while not separating you from your environment. Maybe most importantly, the interface is invisible. There's no app to hunt down or awkward "hold the phone between us" moment. Just a gesture, and a conversation that feels human. It's also the kind of lock-in Apple prefers. The best version happens when two people wear AirPods. If you own an iPhone, the upgrade to AirPods Pro 3 makes more sense. If you own AirPods, the case for staying with iPhone gets stronger. To be fair, it's still a demo until it ships. There are plenty of things that could go wrong. It could get hung up on language or accents. I'll reserve final judgement until I have a chance to test the feature, but Apple built the right technology that makes it all possible: microphones designed for low noise, Active Noise Cancellation tuned to prioritize speech, and a compute path that keeps most work on device. Live translation in your ears isn't about showing off AI, it's about removing a barrier between two people. That's the standard Apple should keep chasing -- AI exactly where it makes life better. The rest of the spec sheet -- two more hours of battery life, a smaller size, fitness tracking -- is great. They're still $249, and you can get them starting September 19. For most people, those are good reasons to upgrade. But the reason this release matters is one use case that finally makes Apple Intelligence feel essential. Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you'll never miss a post. The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com. The final deadline for the 2025 Inc. Best in Business Awards is this Friday, September 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

AirPods Pro 3 unveiled. See price, new features and release date.

Apple CEO Tim Cook presented President Donald Trump a 24K gold gift as Apple pledges $600B in U.S. manufacturing. During its highly-anticipated annual event, Apple announced a variety of new products, including a range of new iPhones, three Apple Watch models and a new set of AirPods. The AirPods Pro 3 offer improved noise cancellation, longer battery life and new artificial intelligence features, like Live Translation, which allows wearers to translate other languages in real time. The AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 and are available for pre-order starting Tuesday, Sept. 9. The new earbuds will be released to the public on Friday, Sept. 19. Here's what we know about the new AirPods Pro 3. Live Translation AirPods Pro 3 offer Apple's new Live Translation. This feature, powered by Apple Intelligence, allows users wearing the earbuds to live translate language in the natural world around them, vice president of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron said during the event. For example, if a user is traveling and is around people who speak a different language, the new AirPods will listen to the dialogue around them and translate it in nearly real time. Live Translation also works in reverse. A user wearing AirPods Pro 3 may speak in their native language and then the earbuds will translate to the chosen language via speech or text on the attached iPhone, Bergeron said. Active Noise Cancellation The AirPods Pro 3 will feature improved Active Noise Cancellation - two times more effective than AirPods Pro 2 and four times more effective than the original AirPods Pro model, Bergeron said. New health features Additionally, the AirPods Pro 3 will feature new health features, which can be synced with the iPhone's Health mobile app. Julz Arney, Apple's senior director of fitness technologies, said the AirPods Pro 3 will offer heart rate sensing and calorie tracking, in addition to 50 workouts that can be started solely through the earbuds. Expanded battery life The AirPods Pro 3 will offer an 8-hour battery life, Bergeron said during the event. This is up from the 6-hour battery life of the previous AirPods model. The AirPods Pro 3's Hearing Aid will offer four more hours of battery life than the previous generation. The nitty gritty The AirPods Pro 3 feature ultra-low noise microphones and foam-infused ear tips, available in five sizes. How much are the AirPods Pro 3? The AirPods Pro 3 are $249. When are the new AirPods Pro 3 available for purchase? The AirPods Pro 3 will be available for pre-order on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and widely released on Friday, Sept. 19. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].

Apple's AirPods Pro 3 Now Doubles as a Heart Rate Monitor for Smarter Health Tracking

The AirPods Pro 3 also have 2 times better ANC and 8 hours of battery life with noise cancellation. Apple just announced the long-awaited AirPods Pro 3, which can now double as a heart rate tracker. It also features a calorie counter, an AI-powered Workout Buddy, along with other upgrades like 2x better ANC, longer battery life, and improved design. The new AirPods Pro 3 come with advanced built-in sensors that can measure your heart rate, and you can see it in the Fitness app. To do this, Apple is using a "custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow," according to Apple. This data is sent to on-device AI models on your iPhone to give an accurate reading of your heart rate. But it's not just the heart rate. The new AirPods Pro 3 can also track 50 different workouts using built-in "accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS" sensors. It also features a Workout Buddy, an Apple Intelligence-powered feature that will help motivate you through your fitness journey. Besides the new fitness additions, AirPods Pro 3 can also do live translations in five languages, including English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Apple is expected to add support for Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) by the end of the year. It also improves on sound quality and delivers 2x better noise cancellation than the AirPods Pro 2 and 4 times better than the original Pro model. They have a better fit and longer battery, lasting 8 hours with ANC and 10 hours in transparency mode. And if you are excited to pick them up, you will be glad to learn that the AirPods Pro 3 will retail at $249, which is the same as the previous model.