AirPods Pro 3 with 'much better' noise cancellation are coming 'soon' says leaker – but I'm still skeptical

Don't get my hopes up…

· TechRadar

News By Matt Bolton published 28 August 2024

(Image credit: Future)

We're strongly expecting AirPods 4 to be unveiled at Apple's September 9th 2024 event alongside the iPhone 16 – and the new AirPods will supposedly come in two versions, including one that takes a lot of the features of the AirPods Pro 2.

But perhaps they won't have all the limelight to themselves: leaker Kosutami (who MacRumors notes has a good recent record) says that the AirPods Pro 3 will have "much better" active noise cancellation than the current version, and and will come "soon".

Considering that AirPods Pro 2 still rank among the best noise cancelling earbuds when it comes to sheer noise-blocking power, another leap forward could be… kind of bonkers, actually. I already had to do some retraining of my brain to get used to just how well the current AirPods Pro 2 silences low-frequency sounds, and they haven't been massively bettered by rivals in the two years since their launch.

Which is one of several reasons why I'm skeptical that "soon" means "at the event next month." Other reports have said AirPods Pro 3 are set for a 2025 release, and that tracks given that the original AirPods Pro were replaced after three years and the the current ones have only been around for two – and the current model got upgraded to include USB-C only last year.

However, there are also possible indicators that a new model is coming, and a few reasons why it could be logical to launch them now.

The two reasons Apple might launch AirPods Pro 3 now

The reasons Apple's wouldn't launch AirPods Pro 3 now are simple: the current model is too new and too popular still, and it would take the edge off the launch of the more affordable model.

But there are two things that make me think it could actually go ahead (on top of the fact that I predicted Apple wouldn't announce the USB-C AirPods Pro 2 in September last year and I was dead wrong, so I am sensibly questioning my instincts).

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