AirPods (3rd generation) Feedback

FiestaST

FiestaST

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I will be in NY & Chicago in June & I am looking at picking up one of these to replace my still well performing cheapie.

Does anyone have a pair of the Gen 3 specially? If so how is the fit, sound quality & battery life?

I am not considering the Pro or the upcoming Pro 2. I refuse to pay so much for TWS, ANC is not a dealbreaker for me & lastly I highly doubt they will fit nicely.

www.apple.com

Buy AirPods (3rd generation) with MagSafe Charging Case

Meet AirPods (3rd generation). All-new design featuring spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. Fast, free shipping and free engraving at apple.com.
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Buy the Pros.

They will indeed fit better too as you have both first party and third party options to control fit.

You also have none of the “vacuum” problems of conventional in ears.

Having done both in the past it’s night and day different and the Pros are absolutely worth it.

In fact if you don’t want to go Pro I’d say skip the AirPods entirely and go for another brand like Sony instead.
 
My opinion is the opposite. After much deliberation, I bought the AirPods 3rd Gen instead of the AirPods Pro. The audio samples I'd heard online comparing microphone quality strongly suggested the regular AirPods had vastly superior voice quality, which is critical to me when I take so many calls with my AirPods.

Many people at my company use AirPods Pro for Zoom and imo they sound half-underwater. Mine doesn't sound as good as the mics built into my MacBook Pro or my Razer desktop mic (obviously) but they sound pretty clear and don't have a problem of being too 'veiled'. I.e. they're perfectly usable if you're a stickler for that sort of thing.

I'm not a fan of the seal of the pros. I don't need that sort of thing from some earphones. I'm no audiophile but I have some decent headphone gear on my desk, so I have never expected AirPods to compete with that. And they don't, not by a quadrillion miles. It's a different experience - some music sounds okay (especially classical) and it's obviously great for podcasts.

I find my AirPods extremely comfortable, to the point where I can quickly forget I'm wearing them. The lack of a seal means I don't have to worry about cleaning rubber tips and, for my ear shape at least, the AirPods 3rd Gen doesn't pick up in-ear muck. I give them a quick wipe against a cloth or my shirt before putting them back in the case, as it just feels wrong to do nothing, but tbh I don't think it's necessary.

You'll find loads of people online arguing that the 3rd Gen sounds better than the Pros. I don't care to compare them. I'm simply delighted with my pair, I use them for many hours every day, and they are the best Bluetooth earpiece replacement for calls I've ever owned.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1518015019396435970

Edit: I'll also be in Chicago in June. How about that lol.
 
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After pondering for a long ass time I just succumbed at got the Pro's today. ANC is a must have for me.

I must say first impressions is that these are comfortable as hell. Connecting to my phone and MacBook was effortless as expected. I know they are probably releasing the Pro2 soon, but fsck it, I could not wait any longer as I've been desperate to replace my ageing Aukeys.

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Bryn said:
My opinion is the opposite. After much deliberation, I bought the AirPods 3rd Gen instead of the AirPods Pro. The audio samples I'd heard online comparing microphone quality strongly suggested the regular AirPods had vastly superior voice quality, which is critical to me when I take so many calls with my AirPods.

Many people at my company use AirPods Pro for Zoom and imo they sound half-underwater. Mine doesn't sound as good as the mics built into my MacBook Pro or my Razer desktop mic (obviously) but they sound pretty clear and don't have a problem of being too 'veiled'. I.e. they're perfectly usable if you're a stickler for that sort of thing.

I'm not a fan of the seal of the pros. I don't need that sort of thing from some earphones. I'm no audiophile but I have some decent headphone gear on my desk, so I have never expected AirPods to compete with that. And they don't, not by a quadrillion miles. It's a different experience - some music sounds okay (especially classical) and it's obviously great for podcasts.

I find my AirPods extremely comfortable, to the point where I can quickly forget I'm wearing them. The lack of a seal means I don't have to worry about cleaning rubber tips and, for my ear shape at least, the AirPods 3rd Gen doesn't pick up in-ear muck. I give them a quick wipe against a cloth or my shirt before putting them back in the case, as it just feels wrong to do nothing, but tbh I don't think it's necessary.

You'll find loads of people online arguing that the 3rd Gen sounds better than the Pros. I don't care to compare them. I'm simply delighted with my pair, I use them for many hours every day, and they are the best Bluetooth earpiece replacement for calls I've ever owned.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1518015019396435970

Edit: I'll also be in Chicago in June. How about that lol.
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Just to be clear, you are aware the Pros don’t actually seal like other in ears?

You have tried them?

Many people think there will be the typical in ear vacuum (I hate it too), but the Pros specifically don’t do that by design because they can breathe.

The mics can be a problem, there I fully agree. But I found this an AirPods problem as a whole, but haven’t tried the new ones.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Just to be clear, you are aware the Pros don’t actually seal like other in ears?

You have tried them?

Many people think there will be the typical in ear vacuum (I hate it too), but the Pros specifically don’t do that by design because they can breathe.

The mics can be a problem, there I fully agree. But I found this an AirPods problem as a whole, but haven’t tried the new ones.
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I was aware that the seal isn't the typical sort of thing for in-ears, but I haven't used them. I have AirPods Max for listening to music. My AirPods 3 are for hands-free calls and podcasts, and generally nothing else. So the mic is critical, and it's leagues ahead of the Pro for that so for me was a no-brainer.

I'm really hoping the Pro refresh coming this year has a killer mic. I still use my Razer Seiren Mini with my desktop setup - would be great to pack that away and rely entirely on AirPods.
 
Bryn said:
I was aware that the seal isn't the typical sort of thing for in-ears, but I haven't used them. I have AirPods Max for listening to music. My AirPods 3 are for hands-free calls and podcasts, and generally nothing else. So the mic is critical, and it's leagues ahead of the Pro for that so for me was a no-brainer.

I'm really hoping the Pro refresh coming this year has a killer mic. I still use my Razer Seiren Mini with my desktop setup - would be great to pack that away and rely entirely on AirPods.
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Aah yes if you have the Max I can perfectly see where you are coming from.

When I’m working alone at home the Pro mics are fine but they are super crap in an open office environment. The Apple “voice isolation” plug-in thing does help but it’s available to all Apps it seems and therefore somewhat useless.

Where the Pros shine for me is how versatile they are for my use case, from cooking to putting them inside my helmet when riding and all with N/C that is pure magic, yet also allows me to talk to someone next to me without changing anything.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Aah yes if you have the Max I can perfectly see where you are coming from.

When I’m working alone at home the Pro mics are fine but they are super crap in an open office environment. The Apple “voice isolation” plug-in thing does help but it’s available to all Apps it seems and therefore somewhat useless.

Where the Pros shine for me is how versatile they are for my use case, from cooking to putting them inside my helmet when riding and all with N/C that is pure magic, yet also allows me to talk to someone next to me without changing anything.
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That's exactly why I only use my AirPods 3 for business calls and Zoom if I'm in laptop mode. The mics in the M1 Pro MBP are excellent but not great as directional mics.

My Razer Seiren Mini is insane in that regard. I can have dogs barking, a fan on just to the side, call participants on a loudspeaker etc. and the mic picks up absolutely nothing but my voice. I should probably just travel with it seeing as it's not that huge.
 
Got a pair of Airpods 3rd gen via a buddy who flew to the US.

Fell in love with them immediately. They sit so nicely (i hate silicone tips in my ears).
 
After detailed testing with the bro's AirPods Pro (& all 3 eartip sizes) I settled on the Gen 3's. They fit far better for me (right ear especially). Bro's M3 serving as a backdrop. I missed the Amazon & Walmart special so had to settle on a 169 USD price, 10 USD below Apple's MSRP.
Very happy so far.

Chuffed with the 10 USD Pickle Rick case as well.

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Hmm only now did I learn that the Gen3's look exactly like the pros with the exception of the tips. It's a great form factor and much better than those long ass ear tampons of Gen1-2. Unfortunately the ANC is a deal breaker for me, hence I went with the pros. @FiestaST still happy with these? I might get a pair for the SO
 
I'm happy yes, they were used extensively on my moerse length layover yesterday. The R&M karabiner case is hooked onto my jeans & for easy access when needed. Spatial audio is impressive & adds depth to your content.
 
FiestaST said:
On "special" at the Electronics store at CT International.

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Those stores are insane.

My travel charger broke and i wanted to buy one there. Its supposed to be duty-free and i'm telling you I can order one on Amazon, AND pay shipping and VAT/duty and still save money.

Their mark-up is eye-watering.
 
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