The 3rd Generation AirPods (AirPods 3 from here on) are finally here. Ordered a pair the day they became available locally, and after testing them for the last few hours, I am impressed. AirPods Pro owners who love the increased sound quality and spatial audio but are not a fan of the in-ear tips will love the AirPods 3. In fact, ar least from my testing, they actually sound better for some genres than the AirPods Pro in a quiet room.

Working from home these days, I rarely use my AirPods Pro as I have no need for the in-ear tips and the noise cancellation when I am in the serenity of my room, and the tips give me hearing fatigue after wearing the AirPods Pro for over an hour. I have therefore been using my AirPods 2 mostly for the last year, but after the last few hours the AirPods 3 will be my main earphones going forward. If the price goes down (from third parties of course) I will definitely look at getting another pair to use when my main pair is out of battery.

I have always been irritated by the fact that the AirPods 2 don’t come with a wireless charging case by default, and I cannot bring myself to pay more for the wireless case. So it helps that the AirPods 3 comes default with a wireless charging case, and the fact that it is also MagSafe compatible is just icing on the cake.

Do you need the AirPods 3? Maybe. If you have abandoned the AirPods Pro because of the in-ear tips, then you definitely need a pair. If you have been using the AirPods or AirPods 2 but want spatial audio, definitely get a pair. Hell, if you can afford a pair, why not? They are AirPods for gawd’s sake.

Enjoy the rest of the unboxing photos.