Apple Fixed The AirPods Pro 3

I posted a review of the AirPods Pro 3 and I had some complaints. First, the EQ was not great, it had a distinct V-shape. I noted how most speech felt a bit distant and how treble and bass were more pronounced.

And second, the noise-cancelling focused primarily on lower frequencies, allowing higher frequencies to pass through as if nothing was there. Higher frequencies are like honking noises and things dropping. This actually happened once and made me jump.

Neither of these problems is that significant though. You wouldn’t be able to tell they are V-shaped unless you compare them side by side and these higher frequency noises are quite uncommon. So I decided to keep the earbuds. But I was wondering if I made the right choice. After all, for the price I paid I really expect better.

But after publishing that review Apple released a new firmware version: 8B30.

Interestingly enough I’m not exactly sure when they updated. They appear to have updated automatically.

Now I didn’t think much about this update at first as it seems to be another ‘Bug fixes and other improvements’ update.

But after watching this video I was intrigued.

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It definitely seems like Apple improved at least the EQ. So I tried them on the newer firmware and… it seems like Apple fixed everything.

So my biggest complaint, that sounds sound distant, is now fixed. And Apple did this without compromising on the bass. I noted in my review how they had a lot of bass. They still have a lot of bass. Recently I was listening to Moves Like Jagger and I was like, “Did this song always have so much bass?” It’s also perhaps the biggest difference between my AeroFit 2s and these. When I switch to the AirPods Pro 3 I’m like, “Something’s different but I can’t put my finger on it.” It’s the bass.

And the noise cancelling has appeared to have been improved too. In my review I said there was a specific frequency that the AirPods Pro 3 don’t block. The video above says that this frequency is better and it does appear to be so. Now it’s not a huge change. It’s not going to blow you away but it is now competitive with what other earbuds are capable of doing.

The video above also notes how this came at the cost of making the noise cancelling worse on some lower frequencies. Now it’s a bit difficult to tell but maybe they are a tiny bit worse at blocking out lower frequency sounds. Not a huge difference though.

Also I’ve noticed that having the AirPods pushed in your ears properly makes a huge difference to noise cancelling. If they aren’t pushed into your ears you won’t get the full noise cancelling. This has become a bigger issue for me because I’m using smaller tips now and they sometimes slip out a bit.

Overall the noise cancelling appears to be more balanced. It’s more of what you’d expect from other brands. Some people may not like this because they are a little different. I think they’re better, but some people that have hearing damage and can’t hear the mid highs would say otherwise.

Also worth mentioning is that apparently some people were experiencing a whistling sound. I never experienced that but this update has appeared to fix that.

So with the original AirPods Pro 3 firmware I didn’t know if I would recommend them. The audio was suboptimal and the noise cancelling, although good, was problematic. With the new AirPods Pro 3 firmware… I’m still not sure if I’d recommend them.

I mean, with the new firmware they’re solid earbuds. The sound quality is excellent and the noise cancelling is very good. But they’re also very expensive. In Canada they cost 329 CAD which is a lot to pay for earbuds. The AeroFit 2s are under 100. No noise cancelling though. Even the Sony WF-1000XM5 are cheaper.

And the fit is still… interesting. Like cotton balls are in your ears. Sometimes they’re fine, but if you notice them you really notice them. In the previous post I noted how the AirPods 4 with ANC might be a better option if they fit your ears and I stand by that statement. These also have most of the same features as the AirPods Pro 3 such as live translation.

However if they don’t fit and you want to stay in the Apple ecosystem you could try the AirPods Pro 3. You might like them. But I don’t think they’re for everyone.

For me I no longer regret my purchase. 8B30 has fixed all the problems I had with the AirPods Pro 3 and they now go toe-to-toe with buds from other brands. But they’re still not perfect. The quest for the ultimate earbud continues.

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