What's changed and what's new in the Apple AirPods 3?

According to Apple, most official Apple retailers should have the AirPods 3 available in-store starting as early as October 26. How much do the AirPods 3 cost? It's rare for an Apple product to be as well-priced as the AirPods 3.

Apple's stable of wireless earbuds just got a lot bigger with the AirPods 3. Because of its price point, Apple now has something to offer for people who are looking for something more feature-filled than the AirPods 3 but less expensive than the AirPods Pro. The AirPods 3 retails at $179, which is $70 less than the AirPod Pro's $249 price point and just $50 more than the AirPods 2 at $129.

However, it is worth mentioning that Apple just stealthily announced that all AirPods Pro units will start shipping with the same MagSafe charging case as the AirPods 3 going forward.

At first glance, you probably wouldn't notice. But, if you take a closer look, you'll see how Apple redesigned the AirPods 3 to have a more angled fit. Apple claims that this helps improve the comfortability and listening experience without affecting the weight as much. The AirPods 3 also comes with a high dynamic range amplifier and a brand new driver.

The trickle-down effect is also very real as the AirPods 3 borrows a couple of key features from the AirPods Pro such as the shorter stems and touch controls. Unfortunately, the AirPods 3 still doesn't have interchangeable ear tips; this remains exclusive to its more expensive sibling.

As for the calling experience, Apple has covered the mic of the AirPods 3 with an acoustic mesh to minimize wind noise with an AAC-ELD codec for higher quality calls over FaceTime. What's new in the AirPods 3? The AirPods 3 don't just look new, the latest AirPods also bring plenty of fresh features on the table, and some aren't just borrowed from the AirPods Pro. For example, while the AirPods 3 has the same spatial audio support in Dolby Atmos and dynamic head tracking, it has a much longer battery life (30 hours with the case compared to the AirPods Pro at 24 hours).

Speaking of the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 3 comes with Adaptive EQ that automatically adjusts frequencies depending on how you're wearing the AirPods.

On that note, the AirPods 3 are more durable as well. The wireless earbuds are not IPX4 water and sweat-resistant, as well as a "skin-detect" sensor that can tell if you're wearing the earbuds or not and pause automatically whenever you take them out. It's a bummer that the AirPods 3 still doesn't have active noise cancellation, but then again, Apple might have just reserved this feature for the more premium AirPods Pro. Are the AirPods 3 worth buying? If you haven't had a chance to jump on the wireless earbuds bandwagon yet and you have money to spare, the AirPods 3 are a no-brainer. It doesn't exactly come with all the premium features of the AirPods Pro, but it's also $70 cheaper. At the same time, it's just $50 more expensive than the AirPods 2 and comes with its wireless charging case already, which makes its $179 price point a rare steal for a newly launched Apple product.