I’ve been happily wearing my new AirPods 3 for a week now and I’m still amazed at how great music sounds. I never expected that they could sound as good as my AirPods Pro’s because the way the 3s sit outside the ear puts them at a disadvantage. But these arguably sound even better than the AirPods Pro.
I had written a while back about my wish that Apple would take the best of each design and make a happy medium. That is exactly what they did.
I had written a while back about my wish that Apple would take the best of each design and make a happy medium. That is exactly what they did.
I’ve been using AirPods Pro for a couple of years and have always been impressed with the sound quality out of those. I bought the Pros mainly to use on business travel. The open ear design of the previous AirPods 2 made it difficult to hear video on an airplane. And don’t even think about using AirPod 2s while mowing the lawn or vacuuming out the car.
But even though the AirPods Pro were extremely useful in certain situations, I continued to use my AirPods 2s almost all the time. Why? Because they were so comfortable. The Pros always made me feel like I had stuffed some foam earplugs in my ears. But with the regular AirPods I could actually forget that I was even wearing them. They were that comfortable. But they weren’t perfect.
My wishlist for the regular AirPods was as follows:
I got 3 out of my 4 wishes. I can’t complain.
First, the sound quality is so good on the 3s that I’ve been seriously considering selling my AirPods Max headphones. The main reason I purchased the AirPods Max is because I hated wearing the Pros when I didn’t need the noise cancellation. But I couldn’t use my regular AirPods for music because I was always wanting more bass. Now with the 3s, I’m able to get great sounding music out of my daily use headphones and unlike the Max, they are portable.
I would never think about wearing my Max headphones on a quick run to Walmart. And wearing them on a quick walk around the block in the summertime means sweating like crazy because they are almost as warm as earmuffs.
The AirPod 3s compared to the AirPods Max is like comparing the HomePod Mini to the big HomePod. Sure, the AirPod 3s don’t sound as good as the Max headphones but they are close to “good enough”.
I know some people might think I’m crazy for actually liking the “double-tap” but hear me out. If you are out on a run and want to skip a song it’s not easy. For starters, you may be breathing so hard Siri will never understand you. And second, getting your hand around that tiny AirPod Pro stem while your head is bouncing up and down means you have to slow your stride so you can focus on getting your fingers on just the right spot. But the double-tap is easy, you just tap anywhere near the AirPod and your music does what you want. No need to slow your stride. I like the squeeze too, for any time other than running. I wish we could do both.
I’ve noticed my behavior changing since I got my new AirPod 3s. I’ve been listening to more music and less podcasts. It’s amazing what great sounding music can do for your mood. Sure, instead of putting up with music on my AirPod 2s I could have always bought some great sounding headphones from Sony or Bose. But that comes with trade offs that I was never willing to make. I like the auto device switching that only Apple’s headphones can do. And the auto-pause and auto-resume feature is awesome. And when you’re out running, Siri is an indispensable assistant to listening or replying to messages. There are no other headphones in the world that can rival the AirPods.
But don’t think that you can sell your AirPods Pro if you buy AirPods 3. I know I can’t. I accidentally took my 3s to a Six Flags amusement park this weekend and they didn’t work for me very well. I couldn’t hear my podcast over the intercom music, roller coasters, and crowd noise. The AirPod Pros would’ve worked perfectly.
But the fact that I would even consider selling my AirPods Max because of the arrival of the 3s is all you need to know. These new AirPod 3s are the most well rounded headphones that Apple sells. They are more comfortable than the Pros, they are more portable than the Max, and they are easier to insert/remove from your ear than stemless Beats. They may not be the best at everything, but they do everything well.
But even though the AirPods Pro were extremely useful in certain situations, I continued to use my AirPods 2s almost all the time. Why? Because they were so comfortable. The Pros always made me feel like I had stuffed some foam earplugs in my ears. But with the regular AirPods I could actually forget that I was even wearing them. They were that comfortable. But they weren’t perfect.
My wishlist for the regular AirPods was as follows:
- Improve the sound quality
- Keep them an open-ear design that doesn’t utilize intrusive silicone tips
- Shorten the stems to improve the look
- Keep the double-tap as an option in addition to the squeeze
I got 3 out of my 4 wishes. I can’t complain.
First, the sound quality is so good on the 3s that I’ve been seriously considering selling my AirPods Max headphones. The main reason I purchased the AirPods Max is because I hated wearing the Pros when I didn’t need the noise cancellation. But I couldn’t use my regular AirPods for music because I was always wanting more bass. Now with the 3s, I’m able to get great sounding music out of my daily use headphones and unlike the Max, they are portable.
I would never think about wearing my Max headphones on a quick run to Walmart. And wearing them on a quick walk around the block in the summertime means sweating like crazy because they are almost as warm as earmuffs.
The AirPod 3s compared to the AirPods Max is like comparing the HomePod Mini to the big HomePod. Sure, the AirPod 3s don’t sound as good as the Max headphones but they are close to “good enough”.
I know some people might think I’m crazy for actually liking the “double-tap” but hear me out. If you are out on a run and want to skip a song it’s not easy. For starters, you may be breathing so hard Siri will never understand you. And second, getting your hand around that tiny AirPod Pro stem while your head is bouncing up and down means you have to slow your stride so you can focus on getting your fingers on just the right spot. But the double-tap is easy, you just tap anywhere near the AirPod and your music does what you want. No need to slow your stride. I like the squeeze too, for any time other than running. I wish we could do both.
I’ve noticed my behavior changing since I got my new AirPod 3s. I’ve been listening to more music and less podcasts. It’s amazing what great sounding music can do for your mood. Sure, instead of putting up with music on my AirPod 2s I could have always bought some great sounding headphones from Sony or Bose. But that comes with trade offs that I was never willing to make. I like the auto device switching that only Apple’s headphones can do. And the auto-pause and auto-resume feature is awesome. And when you’re out running, Siri is an indispensable assistant to listening or replying to messages. There are no other headphones in the world that can rival the AirPods.
But don’t think that you can sell your AirPods Pro if you buy AirPods 3. I know I can’t. I accidentally took my 3s to a Six Flags amusement park this weekend and they didn’t work for me very well. I couldn’t hear my podcast over the intercom music, roller coasters, and crowd noise. The AirPod Pros would’ve worked perfectly.
But the fact that I would even consider selling my AirPods Max because of the arrival of the 3s is all you need to know. These new AirPod 3s are the most well rounded headphones that Apple sells. They are more comfortable than the Pros, they are more portable than the Max, and they are easier to insert/remove from your ear than stemless Beats. They may not be the best at everything, but they do everything well.
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