CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — Apple today announced the third generation of its popular AirPods Pro, introducing new features designed to enhance fitness tracking, sound quality, and everyday communication.
But for those watching closely, the most significant updates may be in hearing health — an area where Apple has steadily pushed consumer technology into clinical territory.
Hearing Health Features Move Forward
When Apple introduced the Hearing Aid function in the AirPods Pro 2, it marked the first time a mainstream consumer earbud included features traditionally reserved for medical devices. With AirPods Pro 3, Apple continues to build on this momentum.
The new model expands access to Hearing Protection in the EU and UK, following regional certification, and improves the Hearing Test experience, which has already provided millions of users with home-based, scientifically validated results. AirPods Pro 3 also improve Conversation Boost, automatically amplifying voices in noisy environments like restaurants while reducing background noise — a change that could benefit those with mild to moderate hearing loss.
“With AirPods Pro 3, the most popular headphones take a massive leap forward, providing fantastic sound quality and the world’s best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones”
–John Ternus, Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering
Battery life improvements further extend the practical use of these features. In Transparency mode, which allows ambient sound while still applying background noise reduction, AirPods Pro 3 are said to deliver up to 10 hours of use — a 67% increase over the previous generation devices.
Personal Audio Meets Assistive Technology
While Apple highlights Active Noise Cancellation, fitness tracking, and language translation as headline features, the company’s continued investment in hearing health represents a significant shift in consumer tech. AirPods Pro 3 now provide ANC that removes twice as much background noise as the previous model, which not only improves entertainment listening but also strengthens the foundation of its hearing health tools.
By integrating these features directly into one of the world’s best-selling earbuds, Apple continues to blur the lines between consumer electronics and assistive technology — a trend with potential to make hearing support more accessible and socially acceptable.
Availability
AirPods Pro 3 are available for pre-order starting today, with in-store availability beginning September 19. The retail price remains $249 (U.S.).
- Learn more about the new AirPods Pro 3 here.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Apple’s six software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s more than 150,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Source: Apple
