AirPods Pro 3 Launching SOON! 🤔
As somebody who’s covered the AirPods Pro heavily since 2019 including all the firmware updates, I’ve gathered all the leaks and rumors about the AirPods Pro 3 and put them here. These are 4 things the little birds have been saying about the AirPods Pro 3.
Launch date?
First, the AirPods Pro 3 are rumored to launch in early 2025. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, known as little bird number 1. Early could mean either the first half or first quarter of 2025. This timing is unusual for Apple as AirPods typically launch in September or October as was the case with 2019’s 1st Gen AirPods Pro. However, given that they didn’t launch the Pro 3 in 2024’s September event but the open-fit AirPods 4, they might have planned to launch the Pro 3 later so that it doesn’t steal the AirPods 4’s thunder.
It will have a new design…
The same little bird says that the AirPods Pro 3 could have a new design and a faster chip. That chip will most likely be called the H3, and if we were to take what we know about how the H2 progressed from H1, ‘faster’ could mean the noise cancelling being more reactive to noise, lower latency and more rapid connection speeds. This more powerful chip could also enhance the hearing aid features of the AirPods Pro such as better protection from sudden loud noises, although at this moment this is pure speculation on my part. As for it having a new design, I’m hopeful that Apple will finally adopt something with more grip in the ears, maybe earplug style instead of stems. The glossy surface of the existing model keeps slipping out, and that has a big impact on noise cancelling and sound.
It will have a faster chip…
The third rumor ties in with what I said about the faster chip. Our second little bird called Kosutami says on X that the AirPods Pro 3 will have much better active noise cancelling. As for how much better, he didn’t say, and nobody would know at this point.
It will have… Infra-red Cameras?!
Fourth rumor is a little iffy, but still possible. Veteran little bird Ming Chi-Kuo says in his post on Medium that Apple plans to mass-produce new AirPods with integrated IR camera modules. This is to actually give the AirPods spatial awareness which will help in localizing sound effects in a 3D space. This is more related to Apple Vision Pro and future headsets from Apple, because although you can already get lossless audio from the USB-C version of AirPods Pro 2, such technology could make the spatial experience more realistic for movies and games. However, Kuo also says this is expected to happen by 2026, so this may not be for 2025’s AirPods Pro 3, perhaps a refreshed version, just like how the 2nd Gen was refreshed with USB-C charging and lossless audio support. I’m leaning a little more towards that theory, but what do you think? Tell us in the comments below.
New AirPods with integrated IR camera modules
Long story short, we should be expecting the AirPods Pro 3 in early 2025, it’s going to be more hi-tech, and it’s going to look different, though we can only guess what it’s going to look like. But, if what happened in the past is any indication, when we get closer to the launch date there will be pictures. Some employee somewhere is going to accidentally snap a photo, and whoops! Next thing we know, it’s front page news on this channel. So if you haven’t yet, subscribe to the channel to stay notified of any news, rumors and analysis about the AirPods Pro 3 from me.
