AirPods (3rd generation) vs AirPods Pro 2

Read the battery ratings and these look like twins: up to 6 hours on the buds, up to 30 hours with the case, and about an hour of listening from five minutes of charging. What those hours include is the difference. AirPods Pro 2 is rated for its 6 hours with noise cancellation running, while AirPods (3rd generation) gets the same figure with nothing to cancel the world around you.

How they compare

Spec	AirPods (3rd generation)	AirPods Pro 2
Announced	18 October 2021	7 September 2022; USB-C case in 2023
US launch price	$179	$249, and $249 again for USB-C
Fit	Open stem, one size, no tips	Sealed, four silicone tips, XS to L
Chip	H1	H2 in the buds; U1 in the USB-C case
Noise cancellation	No	Yes, with Adaptive Audio
Transparency	No	Yes, with Conversation Awareness
Spatial audio	Personalized, with head tracking	Personalized, with head tracking
Battery, buds	Up to 6 hours; 5 with Personalized Spatial Audio	Up to 6 hours; 5.5 with Spatial Audio and head tracking; up to 4 hours lossless with Apple Vision Pro
Battery, with case	Up to 30 hours	Up to 30 hours with the USB-C case
Quick charge	5 minutes for about 1 hour	5 minutes for about 1 hour
Hearing features	Live Listen, headphone levels, Headphone Accommodations	Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, Hearing Protection, Loud Sound Reduction
Water and dust	IPX4, buds and case	IP54, buds and USB-C case
Case charging	Lightning; MagSafe and Qi on the MagSafe case	USB-C, MagSafe, Apple Watch charger or Qi
Weight	4.28 g a bud; 37.91 g case	5.3 g a bud; 50.8 g case
Controls	Force sensor	Touch control with volume swipe
Bluetooth	5.0	5.3

Noise control: Pro 2 has three modes, AirPods 3 has none

AirPods (3rd generation) is built for sound, not silence: Personalized Spatial Audio, Adaptive EQ, Apple’s custom driver and amplifier, and no seal. There’s no noise cancellation and no Transparency mode. It isn’t a cheaper Pro with noise cancellation switched off; it simply doesn’t have any.

Pro 2 has Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency and Adaptive Audio, which blends the two as your surroundings change. Conversation Awareness lowers your music when you start talking, and Personalized Volume is there too. Apple says Pro 2 cancels up to twice as much noise as AirPods Pro (1st generation) and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. That’s Apple’s comparison with those models, not a decibel figure, and it says nothing about AirPods 3, which has no noise cancellation to compare.

The open stem leaves the room audible all the time. Pro 2’s Transparency mode gives you that awareness with the tip still sealed, and you choose when.

Hearing features belong to Pro 2

Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, Hearing Protection and Loud Sound Reduction are all on Pro 2. Apple offers Hearing Aid on AirPods Pro 2 and later with current firmware, an iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, or a Mac on macOS Sequoia or later. It’s meant for adults 18 or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, it isn’t available in every country, and it isn’t a diagnosis, so talk to a clinician first.

AirPods (3rd generation) has Live Listen, headphone levels and Headphone Accommodations. They’re useful, but they aren’t a hearing aid.

Live Translation also came to AirPods Pro 2 and later as software: it needs an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, it’s in beta, and it doesn’t cover every language or region. AirPods (3rd generation) doesn’t get it.

Fit and water

AirPods (3rd generation) is one size in white, with nothing to swap. That’s the appeal if tips hurt, and the problem if the stem won’t stay in your ear.

Pro 2 comes with four silicone tips, extra small through large, one more size than the original Pro. It doesn’t include the extra-extra-small foam-infused tip that AirPods Pro 3 added. Its vent eases pressure in your ear, but the fit is still sealed, not open.

AirPods (3rd generation) is rated IPX4 on the buds and the case: sweat and water resistant for non-water sports. Pro 2’s IP54 adds dust protection and also covers the buds and the USB-C case. Neither is for swimming, the resistance isn’t permanent, and Apple says not to charge either one wet.

Battery and charging: same hours, different ports

Apple’s Pro 2 battery figures come from tests in August and December 2023 with AAC audio at 50 percent volume, noise cancellation on for the main rating and ALAC for the Vision Pro figure. They apply to the USB-C version. Apple doesn’t give separate battery or water figures for the 2022 Lightning case. On the software side, Apple said on 12 September 2023 that Adaptive Audio and Conversation Awareness were coming to both versions.

Both AirPods (3rd generation) cases have a Lightning port. The plain Lightning Charging Case has no wireless charging; the MagSafe Charging Case adds MagSafe and Qi. Both cases weigh 37.91 grams, and each bud weighs 4.28 grams. Neither case has a U1 chip, a speaker or a lanyard loop.

Pro 2’s USB-C case weighs 50.8 grams, has a speaker and a lanyard loop, and charges by USB-C, MagSafe, an Apple Watch charger or Qi; the cable is in the box. Its U1 chip lets Find My guide you to it with Precision Finding. Each Pro 2 bud weighs 5.3 grams.

Chip, controls and your phone

On AirPods (3rd generation), the H1 chip handles Spatial Audio, Adaptive EQ and automatic switching between devices on your Apple Account. Pro 2 does the same on H2.

The 2021 pair uses a force sensor on the stem to play, skip and call Siri. Pro 2 uses touch control, including a swipe for volume, and adds Voice Isolation to clean up your voice on calls.

Both work best with a current Apple device. On other phones they work as Bluetooth headphones with limited features: Personalized Spatial Audio needs an iPhone with TrueDepth, and Hearing Aid and Precision Finding don’t appear in Android settings. Switching happens through your Apple Account rather than a two-device multipoint setting, and Apple doesn’t publish a codec list for either, so don’t count on LDAC or LC3.

What they cost, and what replaced them

AirPods (3rd generation) launched at $179 on 18 October 2021. AirPods Pro 2 launched at $249 on 7 September 2022 and stayed at $249 when the USB-C case arrived. Used prices move, and sellers don’t always say which case is in the box, so match the port and the tips to the version you want. The 2021 box has the buds, one case, a Lightning to USB-C cable and no tips; the USB-C Pro 2 box adds four tip sizes and a USB-C cable.

If you’re buying new, both have been replaced. AirPods 5 is Apple’s current open pair, with noise cancellation from $129. AirPods Pro 3 is the current Pro at $249, with IP57, five tip sizes, up to 8 hours with noise cancellation and a workout heart-rate sensor; AirPods 5 vs AirPods Pro 3 compares those two. Check apple.com before you buy.