New AirPods Are Here, And You’ll Love This Battery Life Update

Apple unveiled a new generation of AirPod during its October “Unleashed” event, on Monday, Oct. 18. The new earbuds are the first OG AirPods refresh since 2019, and they certainly aren’t going to disappoint. If you’re wondering about Apple’s AirPods 3rd generation price, release date, battery life, and more, here’s everything you need to know before grabbing a pair.

Apple introduced its new AirPods 3 during “Unleashed,” which was held virtually from Apple Park in Cupertino, California — months after initial rumors that they would launch in spring 2021. The latest wireless earbuds model feature a more streamlined design similar to the AirPods Pro. Case in point: The AirPods 3 feature a shorter stem to help users get a better fit. But despite a similar appearance, the newest AirPods are not a total copy of the Pro version.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 3rd generation AirPods including their new design, features, and sound specs.

Design

AirPods 3 have a similar look to AirPods Pro, but without the same silicone ear tips. Instead, the latest generation of wireless earbuds come with a new contour design (with a short stem and no silicone tips) that was designed to help users get a better fit by delivering sounds directly to your ears.

They also have the same media control force sensor (to pause or skip tracks, answer calls, etc.) on the stem that you’ll find on AirPods Pro.

These new AirPods are sweat- and water-resistant, and a new skin-detect sensor helps your AirPods more accurately pause and play by knowing better if they’re in or out of your ears.

Sound

AirPods 3 don’t feature the same Active Noise Cancellation (which blocks out unwanted background noises completely) or Transparency Mode (which allows ambient noises through) as AirPods Pro, but Apple introduced other improved sound features, such as spatial audio, that’ll improve your listening experience.

There’s a new low distortion driver to deliver sounds like powerful bass and clean, high frequencies during your listening experience. Plus, Adaptive EQ (which was introduced with AirPods Pro) adjusts sounds in real-time, depending on the fit in your ear, using computational audio to filter low and mid frequencies.

Battery Life

You can expect an improved battery life compared to older models, which is a major plus. AirPods 3 sport up to six hours of listening time, with each five minute charge fueling one hour of use. That’s an hour more of listening time as compared to AirPods Pro and 2nd gen AirPods, which both provide for up to five hours of listening.

Price

It’ll cost you $179 for AirPods 3rd Generation model. That’s $50 more than the 2nd-generation AirPods ($129) and $70 less than AirPods Pro ($249).

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Release Date

You can order AirPods 3rd Generation model as of Oct. 18, and they’ll ship the week of Oct. 25.