Apple just dropped the AirPods Pro 3 - the biggest update to their flagship earbuds in three years. The $249 wireless earbuds now pack health sensors, AI-powered translation, and what Apple claims is the world's best active noise cancellation. Preorders start today with September 19th shipping, marking Apple's boldest move yet into wearable health tech.
Apple just made earbuds feel like science fiction. The AirPods Pro 3 launched today with a custom heart rate sensor that reads your pulse through your ears - and that's just the beginning of what might be the most ambitious consumer audio device ever created. The $249 earbuds represent Apple's first major AirPods Pro refresh since 2022, and the company isn't holding back on bold health claims. According to Apple's official announcement, these earbuds deliver the "world's best ANC of any in-ear wireless headphones" while simultaneously tracking your cardiovascular health with medical-grade precision. The timing couldn't be more strategic. While competitors like Samsung and emerging players scramble to add health features to their audio devices, Apple's dropping a fully integrated ecosystem play that connects directly to iPhone fitness apps and Apple Intelligence. The market responded immediately - wearable tech stocks jumped in after-hours trading as investors recognized the category-defining potential. The heart rate sensor represents Apple's smallest health monitoring technology to date. The custom photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor "shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow," according to Apple's technical specifications. It's the same core technology found in Apple Watch, but miniaturized for ear canal placement. This sensor works alongside accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model to track heart rate, calories burned, and activity metrics. There's also a new "Workout Buddy" experience in the iPhone fitness app that uses Apple Intelligence to analyze workout data and fitness history patterns. But Apple didn't stop at health tracking. The live translation feature feels like something out of a sci-fi movie. When enabled, the AirPods Pro 3 can lower the volume of someone speaking in another language and play back the translation in your preferred language in real-time. "When enabled, Live Translation helps users understand another language and communicate with others by speaking naturally with AirPods," Apple explains. For conversations where the other person doesn't have this capability, your iPhone can display live transcriptions horizontally. The audio improvements are equally impressive. Apple analyzed over 10,000 3D ear scans to redesign the AirPods Pro from scratch, making them smaller while improving fit. The new foam-infused ear tips come in five sizes and deliver twice the active noise cancellation of the previous generation. Apple's claiming the "world's best ANC" title with these new tips providing greater noise isolation than anything currently on the market. The durability upgrades matter too. IP57 sweat and water resistance means these earbuds can handle intense workouts and unexpected weather. That's a significant jump from the previous generation's basic sweat resistance, positioning the AirPods Pro 3 as legitimate fitness wearables rather than just premium audio devices. Apple's also rolling out broader AirPods ecosystem improvements with iOS 26 this fall. All AirPods models will gain camera remote functionality, while AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 get studio-quality audio support for songs, videos, and podcasts. Call quality improvements and smart charging reminders round out the software updates. The competitive implications are massive. 's Galaxy Buds series suddenly looks outdated without health sensors, while fitness-focused audio brands like Jabra face pressure from Apple's ecosystem integration. The $249 price point positions these directly against premium competitors while the health features create entirely new use cases. This launch caps off a three-year development cycle that began with the AirPods Pro 2 in 2022. Apple updated that model in 2023 with dust resistance and USB-C charging, but the Pro 3 represents the first ground-up redesign since the original AirPods Pro debuted. The timing aligns with Apple's broader push into health technology, following recent Apple Watch advances and rumored health features coming to other devices. For consumers, the AirPods Pro 3 blur the line between audio devices and health wearables. The ability to get continuous heart rate monitoring without wearing a watch opens new possibilities for health tracking, especially during activities where watches aren't practical.
