Apple AirPods 3 review: Spatial audio steals the show

For their $179 price, Apple's new 3rd generation AirPods are a worthy pick if you're looking for truly wireless earbuds with fantastic sound, a stylish, curvy and portable design, solid battery life and Apple's newest gimmick – spatial audio.

And although the word gimmick has a negative connotation, spatial audio on the AirPods 3 might actually surprise you with a whole new music experience, one that you'll love and definitely can't get on any other headphones but Apple's.

AirPods (3rd generation)

$179

Buy at Apple

AirPods (3rd generation)

$179

Buy at BestBuy

AirPods 3: Design

As always, first impressions start with the packaging, and we have the usual white box Apple's products normally come in. But there's faint embossing on the AirPods 3 earbuds printed on the top of the box, which is a nice touch.

Slide the bottom of the box out and we get some documentation, a Lightning to USB-C charging cable, the AirPods 3 charging case, and inside of it – the earbuds themselves. No rubber eartips, as the AirPods 3 don't use those, which might be a bonus to those that find them irritating like I do.

The AirPods 3 charging case has a familiar glossy white plastic design with a metal lid hinge, a pairing button on the back and a Lightning port on the bottom. The case is visibly smaller than the AirPods Pro case and about as large as the AirPods 2 one.



The AirPods 3 earbuds themselves are cute and small, also made out of white plastic, with some black accents and stems that are significantly smaller than the AirPods 2. The length of the stems and the earbuds' design in general is about the same as on the AirPods Pro, minus the rubber eartips, of course.

All in all, the AirPods 3 earbuds and their case are a very light and portable package that should fit in any pocket just fine. In terms of weight, the AirPods 3 case and the earbuds together are just about 1.64 ounces (46.47 grams).

And in terms of durability, the AirPods 3 (both the earbuds and the charging case) are IPX4 sweat and water resistant, so whether you're working out at the gym or walking outside during a light rain, you can use them without any worries.

AirPods 3: Fit and comfort

Thanks to their smooth and lightweight design, it's easy to forget that the AirPods 3 earbuds are even in your ears after not too long.

Their lack of rubber eartips means they don't exactly seal your earhole perfectly, nor do they provide good passive noise isolation.

And although the seal isn't perfect when I wear them, that doesn't seem to affect how the AirPods 3 sound. It may reduce how impactful the bass is in some cases, a tiny bit, but even still it's punchy enough.

The AirPods 3 earbuds likely won't be falling off your ears, they're staying in there pretty tight despite what their design suggests at first glance. At least in my case no amount of shaking and not a single reasonable workout got them to budge, although I've heard that they can indeed fly off some people's ears if they try hard enough.

It's up to the individual and their unique ear shape as always, but unless you're making an effort, the earbuds shouldn't fall off your ears or even budge.

And their lack of eartips, as mentioned earlier, can actually be a plus for many, as rubber eartips can irritate people's ears quite a bit, especially after long-term listening sessions. No need to worry about that with the AirPods 3.

AirPods 3: Controls

There's a ridge on each AirPods 3 earbud, and that's where you have to press to trigger a quick action. One press to play, pause or answer a phone call, two to skip forwards, three to skip back.

Unlike with Samsung Buds, accidentally triggering the AirPods 3's touch gestures isn't an issue, as you really have to press the touch area to trigger it, not simply brush your fingers against it.

Each click is followed with a reassuring clicking sound from the earbuds, so you can tell how many clicks were detected. Not that you'll ever get it wrong, as the touch detection is impressively accurate, so long as you know to press a bit harder than you normally would on any other touch-sensitive earbuds.

If you have Siri enabled you can also press and hold or say "Hey Siri" and just ask the virtual assistant to do something for you, be it increase the volume or start a call. Even if your music is playing at high volume Siri will hear you and lower it as it waits for your commands.

Unfortunately you don't really get any fun customization options, for example the ability to change the touch controls to, say, be used for volume adjustment, so for things like that you'll have to reach for your iPhone. Or, as mentioned, just ask Siri.

Speaking of gestures, the AirPods 3 will activate when you put them on and pause your music as soon as you take them off, which is convenient and always welcome.

There's no gesture for enabling ANC (active noise cancellation) because the AirPods 3 don't have it. If you want ANC you'll have to go with the AirPods Pro instead.

AirPods 3: Audio quality with spatial audio

The AirPods 3 excel in their sound quality, especially for their price range, unless you choose to disable spatial audio, which is on by default. And because it's on by default, and I doubt many would choose to disable it, we'll start with how the AirPods 3 sound with spatial audio on.

Now, Apple definitely knows how to make old things feel like garbage, compared to its new things. In this case, the old thing is how music sounds without any equalization and processing, and Apple's new thing is spatial audio, which does just that.

I've worked as an audio engineer, so I can hear and confirm that Apple is using all the tricks in the book to make spatial audio sound epic – keep the low-end in the center of the soundstage, spread out the highs, boost certain frequencies that make music sound more impactful...