Apple's new AirPods have Pro looks but aren't worth the upgrade

Is this a case of too little, too late?

Nov. 2, 2021

Apple's new AirPods have Pro looks but aren't worth the upgrade

After two and a half years (that felt twice as long as they actually were), Apple finally updated its entry-level AirPods. The only problem? A lot can happen in two and a half years.

Apple's third-generation AirPods occupy a strange space in a market now brimming with affordable and high-quality wireless earbuds. At US$179, they don't offer any form of noise cancelation whatsoever, something that's become standard in many other earbuds in this price range. But an attractive physical redesign mixed with typically excellent sound quality and some neat (though entirely unnecessary) spatial audio features make these new AirPods tough to dismiss.

It's just a matter of what you personally value in a device that'll run you almost US$200... and how loyal you are to Apple products in general.

Semi-Pro

There may be more important functional upgrades to the new AirPods, but the new look is crucial because it allows for a certain level of public subterfuge. Apple basically designed these new buds so you can fool strangers on the street into thinking you own the US$250 AirPods Pro when you don't.

These third-gen AirPods have been reshaped to heavily resemble their noise-canceling cousin. They now feature a significantly shortened stem which juts out of an egg-shaped earpiece with enough curvature that the stems are pointed slightly forward when placed in the ear properly. Apple also transferred the "force sensor" that adorned the AirPods Pro's stems to these new AirPods, meaning you squeeze the stems to control playback (i.e., once to play/pause, twice to skip ahead, etc.) instead of tapping the earpiece.

That might be my favorite physical alteration overall because it was far too easy to accidentally skip songs while readjusting the old AirPods. Now, it's impossible to do that without some intent behind it. Magnificent.

The biggest difference between the third-gen AirPods and the Pro is the lack of a silicone ear tip. Apple instead opted for the open speaker grill from the non-Pro models. This, along with the lack of ANC (more on that in a bit), means a great deal of ambient outside noise will bleed in while listening to anything, unless you feel like turning the volume up high enough to cause permanent hearing damage. I know not everyone likes ear tips, but as someone who enjoys actually hearing the things he uses earbuds for, this aspect of the new AirPods gets a major thumbs down.

That said, I did feel that these AirPods were noticeably more comfortable than the previous model. I was able to wear them for hours at a time without remembering they were there. And, more importantly, I rarely felt the need to adjust them so they wouldn't fall out. That was a big sticking point for me with the 2019 AirPods and it's been fixed here. But still, a silicone ear tip would virtually guarantee that they wouldn't fall out.

Apple dipped back into the AirPods Pro design well for the charging case, too, as this version of it is more or less identical to the one that shipped with the Pro two years ago. It's Qi- and MagSafe-compatible for wireless charging enthusiasts. However, people like me who prefer the speed of wired charging have to deal with one minor inconvenience: A lightning port. Yes, Apple is still stubbornly sticking to that proprietary charging solution for the AirPods case, despite almost every other wireless earbud case out there using USB-C instead.

Is this a life-ruining problem? Not really. Much like anyone else who would even consider getting AirPods, I have an iPhone, so it's not like I'm lacking in lightning cables around the house. But it'd be a hell of a lot more convenient if Apple would adopt the (nearly) universal charging standard used by almost every other device. Again, not a huge deal, but disappointing nonetheless.

As it relates to charging, Apple's buffed the battery life of the new AirPods. They're now rated for six hours of listening time on a full charge as opposed to the five hours you'd get on the 2019 model. That's consistent with my experiences over the course of a week or so of testing. It's not a massive upgrade, though, and that number might deteriorate with heavy use over time.

One last physical change from the second-gen AirPods is the addition of an IPX4 waterproof rating for both the buds and the charging case. That means they'll survive being splashed with water, but not being fully submerged.

Overall, the design changes Apple's made to the third-gen AirPods feel necessary. The long-stemmed look of past AirPods was starting to seem increasingly silly in a world where no other wireless earbuds had them, and the recent inclusion of a force sensor on the stubbier stems is far superior to the old way of controlling playback. That said, there are a couple of areas where Apple could've made key improvements, such as the inclusion of ear tips or USB-C charging.

"Nice, but not enough to justify an upgrade" also applies to the audio enhancements in the new AirPods.

Spaced out

It almost doesn't need to be said, but let's get it out of the way: The new AirPods' audio quality is largely outstanding. For any other complaints I've had about AirPods over the years, Apple has always delivered when it comes to making all your favorite jams hit your eardrums just right.

Both loud and quiet elements of any audio mix are well represented here, with an undeniable richness to the audio that still, all these years later, is surprising to hear out of something so small. Everything is ultra-crisp, stereo effects work flawlessly, and while the bass could occasionally thump a little harder for my taste, it's not subtle enough to neuter any bass-heavy song.

As for big-time audio upgrades, Apple has now added in support for spatial audio with head tracking. Simply put, that fancy tech wizardry is meant to immerse you in a song by making you feel like it's being played all around you.

Apple's been toying with spatial audio for months now with Dolby Atmos on its Apple Music streaming platform. My thoughts on it are the same now as they were at launch: It really enhances some songs and really doesn't enhance others, with the difference coming down to how each song is mixed.

Those little speakers can really pack a punch.

Head tracking is new to iOS 15, and the third-gen AirPods do a nice job of showcasing a feature that's more neat than necessary. When enabled, the gyroscopes in the AirPods will communicate your head's positioning and use that to create the illusion that a song exists at a fixed point in space when you move around. Turn to the right, and suddenly the song is heavily favoring the left earbud, and so on. It's smart enough to "re-center" the audio after a few seconds if you're walking around with head tracking enabled, but while sitting still, the effect will remain until you move once again.

This is a fun trick that can make a song you've heard a million times just a tiny bit more entertaining. Outkast's boisterous masterpiece Stankonia celebrated its 21st birthday over Halloween weekend, and it just so happens to support spatial audio on Apple Music. Huge, bombastic tracks like "Gasoline Dreams" and "B.O.B." take on an engrossing new dimension with spatial audio enabled, almost like you're drowning in them. With head tracking added in, I constantly found myself craning my neck around just to see what would happen.

Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is another spatially enhanced track on Apple Music that I recommend trying out. It's an excessively melodramatic song that explodes in the last couple of minutes, and spatial audio is very kind to it.

You can toggle spatial audio on or off, as well as choose between fixed and head-tracked modes in the Control Center.

Now for the bad part: If you don't subscribe to Apple Music, spatial audio is basically worthless at the moment. You can enable the option in the iPhone's Control Center to sort of spatialize all audio sources, but the difference between something that was specially mixed for Dolby Atmos and something that wasn't is massive.

"Gasoline Dreams" sounds enormous and rowdy in Apple Music, and significantly less so in Spotify. I'd actually recommend turning off spatial audio if you're a Spotify user like me because those tracks just weren't meant to be listened to that way and can sound less impactful when it's turned on.

I can't criticize Apple for being the first to heavily incorporate spatial audio into its own music service, but its impact as a selling point for the new AirPods is lessened because of how limited it is right now.

The AirPods Pro and Max also support all of the above spatial audio tricks, so folks who own either of those devices will be just fine without the new AirPods. In fact, they'll be better off than anyone who buys these AirPods because those devices have ANC.

By the way, it's also worth noting that you can technically use these AirPods with an Android phone like with any Bluetooth earbuds, but there's no real reason to do that. You'll lose out on Apple's instant out-of-the-box pairing and iOS-exclusive features like spatial audio with head tracking.

Noise un-canceled

I'm going to get on my little soapbox for a minute here and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

Noise cancelation is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century. When I listen to music or podcasts, I want to hear only music or podcasts. I don't want to hear a conversation happening six feet away, or the din of construction, or an approaching subway train. And if you do have a need to let the outside world in, any good pair of earbuds or headphones should let you temporarily disable ANC for those situations anyway.

Of course, Apple is certainly not obligated to include ANC on every pair of earbuds it produces, but the total lack of any noise reduction in the new AirPods is the most disappointing thing about them by a mile.

I live in Brooklyn, a place where noise is always just happening everywhere you go: There's the above-ground train near my apartment, the guys jackhammering outside my window, and even impromptu weekend block parties to contend with. While there's a certain charm to all of that (I chose to live here, after all), sometimes I want to ignore it and the new AirPods won't let me.

To drown out that aforementioned jackhammering and focus on writing this review, I've had to turn the AirPods' volume up so high that it's probably doing damage to my eardrums. Even then, there's nothing to stop the outside noise from bleeding into my ear canal. The AirPods have no physical seal, nor software-based noise reduction — nothing whatsoever.

For reference, here are some other recent wireless earbuds that cost less than the new AirPods while also offering good ANC:

Obviously, none of those competitors play as nicely with Apple's spatial audio tech as the AirPods do, and I'd argue Apple's option has the best sound quality of the bunch. But what's the point of music sounding great if you can barely hear it?

With all of this in mind, I'd have a tough time recommending these AirPods to folks who need to tune out exterior distractions to get anything done. If you work from home full-time and your home environment isn't a noise factory, go for it. If not, well, there are cheaper alternatives with acceptable ANC.

Slightly too little, too late

The third-generation AirPods are, by any reasonable metric, the best entry-level AirPods yet.

They look much less goofy in the ear thanks to a shorter stem, and the force sensor provides more precise playback controls than the old tapping mechanism from before. Audio quality has never been an issue for AirPods and that's still true here. Songs come through with a richness and depth that's enhanced by the all-too-limited spatial audio features.

You're better off paying more for the AirPods Pro.

Despite every enhancement Apple has made to the newest AirPods, they're still held back from being truly competitive thanks to a high cost and some baffling design limitations. Sure, they look and sound better, last longer, and grant access to the coolest Apple Music feature, but for US$70 more you can get an even better pair of AirPods with quality ANC. And for anywhere from US$20 to US$70 less, you can get third-party options with the same thing.

There's simply little reason to upgrade from the second-gen AirPods to the new model unless you've worn out the old ones so much that the sound quality is shot or the battery doesn't last very long. Apple could've made these new AirPods more competitive in the earbuds marketplace it basically created by adding some form of noise reduction (and perhaps dropping the price of the Pro models). But it didn't.

As it stands, Apple's third-gen AirPods are very good for what they offer, but that offer is sadly out of step with the present competition.