Apple AirPods

The 3rd-gen AirPods offer a huge audio quality upgrade over the older version, but is the fit right for you?

If you’ve had AirPods for years, love them, and are wondering whether the 3rd-gen model is worth it, the answer’s an easy yes. They feature more discreet buds, massively improved audio quality, and even more iPhone-friendly features. It’s what you like about the current ones, but made better in every way.

Let’s get into the good stuff, then: the sound quality. The new AirPods sound excellent, and are a major and instant step up over the 2nd gen. The improvement seems to come from a more dynamic driver, because what you’ll notice immediately is how much clearer and brighter everything from the mid-range up is.

It makes the earlier model immediately feel like the bass is actually weighing down the soundscape, and the treble is only just keeping its head above the surface. In comparison, the new model feels like the high-end has burst out of the water, unfurled its wings and taken flight. At the same time, the bass still stays nice and deep.

The new Spatial Audio feature is implemented extremely well here, too. Not everyone will even bother to make use of it, and some don’t like it for music, but we’re total converts.

In movies, Spatial Audio with head tracking acts like you’re in a movie theatre, with the sound presented like surround sound all oriented to the screen (ie, your phone). In movies that make the most of a Dolby Atmos mix, this is just fantastic.

In music, Spatial Audio is a little less of a clear-cut success. We recommend turning off head-tracking, because without the focal point of a screen, we found it annoying. But with that switched off, you get sound that pleasingly appears to come from a ‘bubble’ around you rather than pumped straight into your ears.

The new AirPods follow the path laid down by AirPods Pro, with ‘sticks’ that are a third shorter than the previous AirPods, and slightly larger in the actual bud section. They’re also controlled using a system of squeezing the sticks, which works way better than you’re expecting it to.

The big thing about the fit is that they don’t feature in-ear tips, for better and worse. Lots of people don’t like the feel or isolation of in-ear tips. But, conversely, without them, the new AirPods let in lots of outside sound.

The battery life has been improved, with the buds now offering six hours per charge and the case bringing the total battery life up to 30 hours between charging. That total battery life is pretty great compared to other models, though the charge in the buds is more average – some cheaper options get eight or more hours between charges.

Accepting AirPods for what they are, they’re very, very good. The sound quality is truly impressive, the smart features are really useful (for iOS users), and the new design is great. But we’re frustrated that headphones this pricey are overwhelmed by sounds when travelling or vacuuming – we’d want them to be just as useful anywhere, since they’re pretty premium. But we know that the design that lets the sound in is just the fit that lots of people like about AirPods.