A case malfunction in my AirPods Pro drove me to purchase the AirPods 3. I was very happy with the Pro’s, a subject not yet documented on this blog in the form of a review but experienced by my ears on a daily basis. Just so we can get it out of the way, one of the little metal contacts in the AirPod Pro’s case stopped making contact with the left-hand side earbud, and that was that. RIP AirPod Pro happiness.
At the time (July 2022) we, as in me and a few other Apple product purchasing people, were expecting Apple to sneeze out the AirPods Pro 2, (which they summarily did in Sept 2022). I couldn’t wait that long. The form factor of the AirPods is just so handy; they have become wedged in my pocket almost consistently. So, I decided on the AirPods 3.
The first thing to note about AirPods 3, is that they’re a different sort of layout, there’s no rubber seal between your ears (AirPods never had one, but you know, just saying), and the form factor differs from AirPods 2.
Pods2 have that characteristic long stalk and ear design. Pods3 has a much shorter stalk and redesigned ear fit. I had a pair of the Pods1 for a long time, and I can say that they worked out very well for me; they stayed in my ear and were comfortable for long-term use.
Unfortunately, Pod3 do not share this fit or comfort factor. Of course, not everyone’s ears are the same, so you might have a pair of magic ears which suit the fit much better, but for me, not so much.
The two points here of note are, firstly, they become uncomfortable to wear after, say, 30 or so minutes. The bulk presses on the ear, and your ear will register its distaste with a very obvious feeling, which is the ear telling you to remove said item from its confines. The second factor, and this really is going to be subjective, is that they tend to fall out when you smile.
Not everyone smiles; it’s a sad fact but somewhat inevitable, given the rigours of adult life and/or teenage angst.
I smile a lot, especially when talking to people, mostly on Zoom. The net result is that I have to keep fiddling with my ears to avoid losing my Pods. It’s not a good look, or rather it doesn’t improve what is already not a good look. 😉
Okay, so we’ve covered what appears to be a downgrade, at least for me, in shape and fit. What about audio quality? There are moments when the AirPods 3 sound really nice, with a good balance of bass, treble and range. Typically, in a quiet room. When out and about or on a train, whilst the quality remains, seemingly the bass lets the whole thing down. It sounds tinny and weak. It could be, I’d have to admit, simply the fit to my ears isn’t aligned with where the drivers are. But it didn’t really seem to improve, no matter how I adjusted them (rotating them a bit in my ear, so the stalk pointed out rather than down).
So we don’t end on a bad note, battery life seems excellent, and the charging case is smaller and more compact than the AirPod Pros.
I can’t recommend these headphones; they are a 2.5 out of 5. I’ve sparked up eBay and sold them to replace with AirPods Pro 2. Once I’ve tested them out for a week or so, I’ll attempt a review. Happy headphones, I am hopeful.
