Apple announces a 'life-saving feature' coming to its new AirPods range.
Apple's 2025 event packed plenty of excitement for fans, stocking up the Apple Store with new products just in time for early Christmas shopping.
The showcase revealed four brand-new iPhone models, including the hyped iPhone Air, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the long-awaited AirPods Pro 3.
World-class noise cancellation
Arriving exactly three years after the AirPods Pro 2 debut, the tech giant claims the AirPods Pro 3 will deliver the 'world’s best active noise cancellation [ANC] of any in-ear wireless headphones.'
The upgrade includes foam-infused ear tips for superior noise isolation, promising twice the ANC performance of the previous generation with a widened soundstage and enhanced audio quality.
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Live translation
Another major addition to the AirPods Pro 3 is the live translation feature. When activated, ANC automatically lowers ambient volume while playing translated audio in your preferred language.
“When enabled, Live Translation helps users understand another language and communicate with others by speaking naturally with AirPods,” Apple explained. “To interact with someone who doesn’t have this hands-free capability, there’s an option to use iPhone as a horizontal display, showing the live transcription of what the user is saying in the other person’s preferred language.”
Heart rate sensor
Perhaps the biggest upgrade of the AirPods Pro 3 is Apple's revolutionary built-in health monitoring.
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Apple has developed its smallest heart rate sensor yet, using custom photoplethysmography (PPG) technology that 'shines invisible infrared light pulsed at 256 times per second to measure light absorption in blood flow.'
This sensor works alongside the AirPods' accelerometers, gyroscope, GPS, and a new on-device AI model to track heart rate, calories burned, and overall activity.
Moreover, the health monitoring integrates with a new iPhone Fitness app experience called 'Workout Buddy,' which uses Apple Intelligence to analyse workout data and fitness history.
Improve fit and durability
Apple analysed over 10,000 3D ear scans to redesign the AirPods Pro 3 for better comfort.
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Each earbud is shaped to fit more naturally in the ear canal, with five different ear tip sizes included. The durability has also improved with IP57 sweat and water resistance rating.
Beyond the newest offerings, iOS 26 will also add several features to the current AirPods models this fall. AirPods can function as camera remotes for the iPhone camera app in iOS 26, while AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 will support studio-quality audio for music, videos, and podcasts.
The AirPods Pro 3 are available for pre-order now at $249 (£219), with shipping beginning 19 September.