Some of you feel that I may have overreacted a little when I first tried
the AirPods Pro 3s.
And while I stand behind my assessment that Apple unnecessarily boosted the
bass on this product, the Beats acquisition was for the brand name, not
the sound signature, it is clear that
after daily driving them for a couple of months for a longerterm review that you
were right. I've now accepted that it is a small price to pay for the plethora of
benefits that these bring to the table. The way that Apple managed to pack the
heart rate sensor and its supporting electronics into the ear tip is nothing
short of incredible in a mass-produced product. The increased battery life and
the more secure fit have directly contributed to a more restful sleep for
me, sometimes lasting all the way through the night. And the ANC is quite
literally the difference between a restful travel experience and arriving
on zero hours of sleep and not being able to function. Not to mention its
day-to-day utility. both as a tool for taking the edge off of sensory
overloading environments, and as a quick and dirty hearing protection that both
looks better on camera, which is great for me, and thanks to Apple's incredible
adaptive transparency mode, allows me to communicate with others in those
environments. Like, wow.
But none of that means that they aren't without legitimate issues, like the
unnecessary omission of this pry point that results in some ear tips getting
stuck on the AirPods Pro 3's so tight that they can't be removed without
ripping off the silicone flange. Also, while the fit is more secure, it is
still not as comfortable for me. So, do I upgrade or do I stick with the twos? I
legitimately don't know what to do. >> There is another way, my child. Tim, is
that you? >> It is I. And you have forgotten the
sacred words passed down for generations. Why not both?
>> No, I thought the secret words were segue to our sponsor.
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Something I want to make clear is whether we're talking about my initial ShortCircuit or this video, any
criticisms you hear from me about the AirPods Pro 3 or even the entire AirPods
Pro lineup comes from a place of love. I
may despise some of Apple's pricing strategies and business practices, but I
have been a diehard user of this product line ever since it launched. And the
AirPods Pro 2Os were by far my favorite
true wireless earbuds for their entire 3-year life cycle. And that is in spite
of the fact that Apple treats me like an absolute secondass citizen for having
the audacity [music] to pair them with an Android phone. With
that said, I was impressed by just how seamless the process was for pairing my
Pro 3s to my Android. You just [music] tap the virtual button in the front and
within about 5 seconds you can be listening to music [music]
and only listening to music. Even using
a third party app that does allow battery monitoring and pausing playback
when removing an earphone. As an Android user, I miss out on a lot of the
functionality of these, [music] like binding separate actions for pressing
the left and right stem, using head gestures for control, pausing media when
I fall asleep, using the stem as a camera shutter, personalized spatial
audio, and adaptive audio that adjusts based on my environment. Forget about
it. The list goes on and on and on. I
mean, you still can't even update the firmware on your AirPods unless you have
an iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac, which
personally I believe entitles Apple to a special level of hell for them and any
other company that is so user hostile that they will punish a customer with
cut down functionality simply because they haven't bought enough of their
products to be cared about. But once you try the A&C or the active
noise cancellation on these earbuds, you just can't go back. It is genuinely
mind-blowing what Apple has done here. And the more that I've used these, the
more that I love them. Here's a paragraph that I wrote while I was on a
flight to Japan for the Kyokia Fab Tour.
[clears throat] I feel like I'm flying private almost.
There is a bit more pressure than before when you enable the ANC, but you quickly
forget about that as you just marvel at the silence. And Flying Lionus wasn't
exaggerating. Plof took these home for a week and said basically the same thing.
Just about everything. Engine noise, crowd chatter, treadmills, it's either
gone or it's reduced to a light hum. And
that's before you turn on any music. [music] The moment you press play on
your media, even some appliances like London.
>> What? Yeah, just like that. >> Oh, I couldn't hear it.
>> That's exactly what I'm talking about. There's a plane overhead that's
interrupting our shoot and I can't tell.
You can't script that man.
Anyway, let me continue. Seriously, they might be too good. Turning A and C off
when you're in a noisy environment can be downright jarring, especially if
you've been using transparency to speak to the people around you. It almost
makes me wish that they offered two or three different levels so you could have
a little bit of A and C just for walking around the mall, but the full fat when
you're trying to sleep on a noisy plane. Even without that though, they are
simply phenomenal. And I'm going to be using these when I travel for years to
come. All without worrying too much about the battery life. And that last
point is a huge one that is pushing me toward the threes. Whether you've got
the ANC on or off, if you've got the case with you, these things last
forever. Okay, not forever. and 8 hours
isn't even going to get me all the way from here to China. But they recharge so
quickly that even once they finally do run dry, you just throw them in the case
and you can zap them up to three times in between every time you recharge that.
And it's just a non-issue if your bedtime routine already includes
plugging in your electronic gizmos or putting them on a G-spot or putting them
on your Apple Watch charger. There's just so many options, none of which they
felt was necessary to include in the box, of course, not even a charging
cable, which to be clear, I get it, that
wouldn't bother me either. I actually agree with Apple that we don't need an
endless supply of warts and cheap cables. But their end of the deal is
that they're supposed to pass the savings on to me, and you know damn well
they didn't. Talk about pricing later, though. Back to the case for a second.
The extra battery life and the updated shape did make it a bit bigger, which I
noticed immediately in my unboxing, but it still fits in all my usual pockets
that I store my AirPods in. So, realistically,
it hasn't changed the experience of using it much. And it really is a great
user experience. Find My is included, so as long as you at least have a friend
with an iPhone, they're pretty easy to track down, which I have had to do a
number of times, including once when my two Pros were stolen. and they still
have the speaker that makes little ping noises to make them easier to find. Um,
I guess the hinge is slightly less satisfying, but it's still better than
just about any other wireless headphone. They're just a great overall package.
Unfortunately for Apple, this is the part where I start bringing up the less
positive stuff. Starting with the ear tips. My rage is justified here, guys,
because what were they thinking? I mean, yeah, it's not the kind of thing that
you have to change often, but removing and replacing the ear tips sucks. I
don't know if this is a manufacturing tolerance thing or what, but if you get
one of the ones that fits as tight as mine do, good luck removing these
without tools or without tearing them to absolute pieces. I tried to swap them
out on a flight thinking that it would be easy. Big [music] mistake. And the
worst part is regardless of which size I try, I still prefer the comfort of the
AirPods Pro 2os. Your mileage will vary
on this one, but it's a big reason why,
spoiler alert, I might not end up daily
driving these, at least not for everything. More on that later, because
next I want to talk a bit more about the lack of feature support on Android,
which need I remind you is estimated at over 70% of mobile phone users
worldwide. If you've got an iPhone, the AirPods Pro 3s are a lot more than just
earbuds. They're a single pair of devices that can play audio, act as a
hearing aid or hearing protection, read your heart rate, and do live
translation. Okay, slowly for that last one, but it is still an incredible
package, even at $250.
Wait, did I say $250? cuz I meant more like starting at $850
because unless you spend that much, Apple doesn't want to give you a bunch
of those features. Now, Libra Pods is a thing. Cavish Devar posted on r/ Android
apps about a month ago claiming that they have reverse engineered the AirPods
protocol, giving us key features like ear detection, conversational awareness,
and head gestures. Except the problem is, as cool as that is, and like
seriously like gold star for you, it requires root access. though very very
few Android users are likely to use it which really sucks because it also adds
a freaking EQ mode.
On that note, let's talk a bit more about sound quality. Did I overreact?
Yes, [music] they offer up suitably adequate sound quality for listening to
anything from podcasts to your favorite metal album. But while I could have
toned it down a little, my point does still stand. They are worse when
compared to the AirPods Pro 2os for the average listener. As you can see from
this helpful visual courtesy of DMS, it isn't a massive downgrade, but this is
an expensive pair of earbuds from a company that has the R&D budget of a
small nation. Okay, I shouldn't fly off the handle, but I also don't have to
lick their boots. [music] Apple created their own mess here by branding
themselves as innovative and constantly reminding us that the new version is
just way better than the old one. Sorry, that was a terrible accent. The
point [music] is, this time around, it isn't. At least not in every way. By the
way, the Labs team wrote up a great article on testing these earbuds. So, if
you want to know more about that, we'll have it linked down below. Spoiler, some
folks said that a firmware update might change the sound profile, but we got the
same results with the latest firmware. So, what's more likely is that they,
like I did, either got more used to it or they got the hang of getting a better
fit in their ears. You know, it's funny. I thought I'd have a clear answer after
spending 2 months with these, but I'm still torn. And it's not just me. More
and more reviews have come out with mixed opinions now that people have had
these for weeks or months, and they're not just glazing Apple over their shiny
new toy. So, in conclusion, Pro 3es.
Yeah, I don't think there's any other answer, is there? Did I say I wasn't
going to daily the Pro Twos? I think I've changed my mind between then and
now. I think I'll hand me down my AirPods Pro 2os and then maybe I'll
treat myself to a nice USBC to 3 and 12 mm adapter and then I'll just use the
IE600's that I already carry for emergencies whenever audio like really
really matters, but it isn't in a noisy environment. I tried them on the plane.
It was awful compared to these. Like
absolutely awful. And oh, sorry. I got
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Thanks for watching. If you guys liked this video, maybe check [music] out the unboxing we did. Man, was I ever ticked
off when I first listened to these real
look at how they massacred my boy energy. Place of love. Place of love.
And I do still love them. And I just love them a little less.