So even though there are a whole lot of other earbuds out there in the market… some that
are really good at doing one specific thing…
AirPods are still a no brainer for any iPhone user.
Now we’ve got the brand new AirPods 3’s… and just as you’d expect these are a marginal
upgrade over the AirPods Gen 2 and they're still a no briner for any iPhone user.
But to make things we’re going to see how the AirPods Gen 3 compare to the AirPods Gen
2 which are apple’s current entry level ear buds.
We’re also going to compare them to the AirPods Pro to see if therye worth the upgrade.
And we’re also going to throw in the Beats Studio Buds which I feel some of you will
be tempted to go with over these.
Now regarding pricing… the AirPods Gen 2 retail for $130 and these are Apple’s entry
level earbuds.
The AirPods Gen 3 retail for $180.
And the AirPods Pro retail for $250.
But then there are the Studio Buds which are really a pair of earbuds meant for android
users because they charge via a USB C port.
However when it comes to pricing they have a retail price of $150, which undercuts the
AirPods 3’s and they like to go on sale for $130… the same price as the AirPods
Gen 2… and you’re getting a lot of features.
So I definitely understand why some iPhone user’s would be eying the Studio Buds.
Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about these cases.
One of the reasons why AirPods have always been so popular is jut because they have the
smallest cases out there.
All of Apple’s AirPods cases are significantly smaller than their competitors.
Just making AirPods very convenient to carry around in your pocket.
Now just as you’d expect, the AirPods 3 have a very small case.
And this case is very similar to the AirPods Pro’s case except it does have a smaller
foot print.
However, I do gotta point out that the AirPods 3’s case has an ever so slightly larger
foot print than the AirPods 2’s case.
But personally I really don’t think that you’re going to notice a difference unless
you’re holding these cases at the same time.
But then there are the Studio Buds case… and this case is pretty chunky when compared
to all of these other AirPods case’s.
Its decently thin… but it does have a relatively large foot print.
So case size is definitely a noticeable sacrifice that you’re going to have to make if you
decide to go with the Studio Buds.
But then there’s their battery life… and this is a noticeable upgrade for the AirPods
3.
The AirPods 3 have an advertised combined battery life of 30 hours.
The earbuds themselves can go for 6 straight hours and the case can supply 4 additional
charges.
Where as the AirPods Gen 2, AirPods Pro and studio buds all have a combined battery life
of 24 hours.
Both AirPods can go for up to 5 hours and the cases can supply around 4 additional charges…
where as the studio buds can go for up to 8 hours and the case can supply 2 additional
charges.
But keep in mind, the combined battery life of 24 hours on both the AirPods Pro and Studio
Buds is with their active noise cancelation turned off.
But the main thing to keep in mind here is that as you use these earbuds their battery
life is going to gradually degrade over time.
Now personally I’ve found that both the AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro are good for a solid
year and a half.
But then after that you do start to notice that your battery life just isn’t what it
used to be.
So hopefully the newer batteries on the AirPods Gen 3 are going to give them a longer, more
viable lifespan.
However when it comes to charging these earbuds… all of these AirPods charge via a lighting
port.
So that you can charge your iPhone and AirPods with the same cable.
Where as the Studio Buds charge via a USB C port.
Which is why I say these earbuds are really meant for android users.
But when it comes to wireless charging only the AirPods Pro and AirPods 3 have wireless
charging.
Now you can use any QI wireless charger or you can use your mag safe charger.
But the neat thing about the AirPods 3 is that they will magnetically align themselves
and attach themselves to your mag safe charger.
Which is pretty neat.
Where as the AirPods Pro don’t.
And you gotta fish around with the MagSafe charger to make sure its actually charging.
But out of curiosity…
I did want to see how the AirPods 3 would attach to my iPhone which also has mag safe.
And it doesn’t look like they're actually meant to go together.
Which unfortunately to me… it tell me that we’re still not going to see power sharing
on iPhones any time soon.
Cause if we were, I think this case would properly center itself on an iPhone.
But now lets talk about the earbuds themselves.
Design wise the AirPods 3 are basically just the AirPods Pro without the ear tips.
And personally I really prefer the look of the AirPods 3 over the AirPods 2 cause of
the shorter stems.
And here’s a hot take for you…
I actually really like the stems on AirPods.
It makes handling your earbuds super easy.
Where as with the Studio Buds… even though they look sleek…
I’ve noticed that its very hard to grab a hold of these earbuds.
And the same goes for other round glossy earbuds like lets say the Galaxy Buds 2.
So yes, I am Pro Stem.
Now when it comes to fit, the AirPods 3 fit just like the AirPods 2 as in they don’t
actually go into your ear canal… they just rest in the bowl of your ear.
And this is a double edged sword.
The good thing about these earbuds is that they are super comfortable to wear and you
really do forget that your wearing them.
They don’t get itchy or slimy after a while like in ear ear buds.
The bad thing though is that they let in a lot of ambient noise.
Which sometimes makes it very hard to actually hear your content.
Or you’re just not going to hear it as well.
But then there as the AirPods Pro and Studio buds which are in ear earbuds.
And even with their active noise cancelation turned off they're going to passively block
out a good amount of noise pollution.
Now even though both the AirPods Pro and Studio Buds are in ear earbuds… they don’t fit
like your standard pair of in ear earbuds.
Both the AirPods Pro and Studio Buds are shallow fitting in ear earbuds… they don’t go
in super deep into your ear canal like lets say the Galaxy Buds 2, Sennheiser CX Plus,
or Jabra Elite 3’s.
So both the AirPods Pro and Studio Buds are more natural feeling.
However the AirPods Pro’s do feel a little more natural than the Studio Buds cause the
AirPods Pro have more oval ear tips than the round ones found on the Studio Buds.
Now even though both the AirPods Pro and Studio Buds fit fine…
I would mostly recommend these earbuds for casual use.
Due to their shallow fit they do like to wiggle out quite a bit, especially when you’re
working out or just jogging.
And the same thing applies for the other AirPods as well.
Now when it comes to connectivity, all of these earbuds each establish a connection
with your phone.
So if you just want to use one earbud at a time you can use either one.
And this is the connection set up that we expect to see on our earbuds.
Now apple has gotten this right from day one.
Cause a lot of other earbuds out there up until recently have been using a hero and
sidekick set up.
Now all of these AirPods have apple’s h1 chip.
Which means a few things.
For starters all of these earbuds have Hey Siri support.
Which is great if you have your hands full… and even though she’s not perfect…
Siri does come in clutch sometimes.
But the important thing about the H1 chip is that you can easily hot swap from all of
your apple devices that are associated to your iCloud account.
So if you’re an apple power user with multiple apple products… then AirPods are great.
Cause you can easily switch between all of your device.
Where as with the Studio Buds… they don’t have the H1 chip.
And they can only be connected to one device at a time.
So hot swapping between your apple devices isn’t as convenient as with AirPods.
However, the Studio Buds do have Hey Siri support… which really is surprising to me.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these earbuds.
Now to keep it short and sweet im just going to say that both the AirPods 2 and AirPods
Pro just aren’t good for actually listening to music.
The AirPods 2 just have a lot of bass to them and they have very poor instrument separation.
Where as the AirPods have decent instrument separation… but they sound bright and their
bass is very flat.
So personally I would only recommend the AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro for consuming videos or
podcasts.
Not so much for actually listening to music.
But then there are the AirPods Gen 3 and Beats Studio Buds which are on a whole other level.
Now the AirPods 3 sound great, they have great instrument separation and they have just the
right amount of bass which also resonates a good amount.
However since these earbuds don’t actually create a seal with your ear canal… noise
pollution does manage to easily come in and just ruins the mids and highs.
So even though these earbuds sound great… they're still mostly all about bass and vocals.
But I can’t wait to hear these drivers when they're in the AirPods Pro 2.
So for right now I am going to have to say that the Studio Buds are the best sounding
earbuds here.
Since these earbuds do create a seal with your ear canals which blocks out noise pollution…
you’re going to get better detail and your mids and highs won’t get drowned out but
other noise.
Now even though these are a Beats product and they have a lot of bass… it not over
powering.
The mids on these earbuds are elevated.
So vocals on also prominent on these earbuds.
So overall, if sound is your main priority… then the Beats Studio Buds are the obvious
choice.
The AirPods Gen 3 also sound good… but you’ll want to listen to them in a quite environment.
However, one feature that we do have to go over which is new on the AirPods 3 and its
also only found on the AirPods Pro is spatial audio.
Basically if you’re watching content that supports it, as you more your head around
your sound scape changes.
Now personally I never us this feature… but it could come in handy once virtual reality
and the Meta Verse takes off.
But now lets talk about actually controlling your media with these earbuds.
Now the AirPods Gen 3 have the same pressure buttons as the AirPods Pro.
So you gotta squeeze these stems.
Now you can play and pause your music, you can skip a track, or can go back a track and
you can even configure what pressing and hold does through their settings.
And like I mentioned earlier, you’ve got Always listening Siri.
However…
I still prefer the haptic touch pads found on the AirPods 2.
Its just easier and faster to use.
Where as pinching the Stems on these other two AirPods always feels awkward.
However with the AirPods 2, you just don’t have as many control options.
So I really wish apple would just add more tap options.
But finally there are the Studio Buds which have physical buttons.
You’ve got the same media controls as the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro, and they're almost
as easy to use as the AirPods 2 haptic touch pads.
However, I do gotta point out that the Studio Buds are the only earbuds here that don’t
have proximity sensors.
Where as all of these AirPods do.
So the studio buds aren’t going to automatically play or pause your music if you take them
out of your ears or put them back in.
And personally I do feel that this is a noticeable inconvenience.
But now lets talk about the Active noise cancelation on these earbuds.
Now the AirPods 3 don’t have active noise cancelation… but both the AirPods Pro and
Studio Buds do.
Now don’t expect the ANC on these earbuds earbuds to block out as much noise as a proper
pair of over ear ANC headphones.
But they defneitly help.
Now when it comes to ranking, the Sony WF-1000XM4’s block out the most amount of noise right now.
Albeit they do have an advantage cause of their itchy foam ear tips.
Right below them are the Jabra Elite 85T’s which also block out a ton of noise and personally
I do prefer them because they're more comfortable.
Below them are the AirPods Pro and Sennheiser Momentum 2’s which I feel are neck and neck.
And below them are the Galaxy Buds Pro.
Now below the Galaxy Buds Pro are the Beats Studio Buds, below them are the Galaxy Buds
2 and below them are the Sennheiser CX Plus.
So overall, when it comes to active noise cancelation the AirPods Pro rank well when
compared to the rest of the competion.
And just as you’d expect, the AirPods Pro are going to block out more noise than the
Beats Studio Buds.
But then there’s the ambient mode on these earbuds.
Now again the AirPods 3 don’t have an ambient mode.
But since these earbuds let in so much noise to begin with… you can basically hear everything
even then you have them in and playing music.
Now both the AirPods Pro and Studio Buds do have an ambient mode.
And they’re both really good.
But again the AirPods Pro have the better performing ambient mode here.
It just sounds better, they do a better job of rejecting wind noise and its also the active
kind.
So they’ll actively block out sudden spikes in loud noises saving you from just getting
your ears blasted.
But finally here’s the microphone test.
Now AirPods have always had a good sounding microphone.
However, the microphone on the AirPods 3 does sound a little better.
Now in the interest of time, the microphone on both the AirPods Gen 2 and AirPods Pro
2 perform the same.
However the microphone the AirPods 3 does have a little bit better clarity and a little
more amplification.
Where as with the Beats Studio Buds, even though this microphone does sound decent.
It doesn’t sound as good as AirPods.
Now when it comes to blocking out noise pollution… the Studio Buds do a good job of lifting your
voice.
But you can still hear a decent amount of road noise in the back ground.
Now the AirPods Pro also do a good job of lifting your voice… and they also have a
little less road noise in the back ground.
But then there are the AirPods 3 which do an even better job of of blocking out that
road noise.
And my voice just has better clarity to it.
And the same thing can be said when it comes to blocking out chatter.
The AirPods 3 do the best job here of blocking out chatter all while still keeping my voice
very clear.
Where as with the AirPods Pro… they’re definitely letting in more chatter and my
voice isn’t as easy to hear or as prominent.
And the same thing can be said about the Studio Buds.
My voice isn’t as prominent, and they let in even more chatter.
So over all… all of apple’s AirPods have good sounding microphones on them for phone
calls.
But the AirPods 3 do have a better performing microphone than the AirPods 2 and AirPods
Pro.
They have better clarity, they have more amplification, and they do a better job of blocking out.
So if you plan on taking lots of phone calls your earbuds, then the AirPods 3 are a real
option.
And then there are the Studio Buds, they also have a good microphone on them… but it isn’t
as good as AirPods.
But with all that being said, like I said at the top of this video.
The AirPods 3 are a great option for any iPhone user to consider.
From a usability standpoint they have a very small case so they're very conveinte to carry
around in your pocket.
And they are very comfortable to wear.
And from an upgrade perspective these earbuds sound way better than your AirPods 2, they
have a better sounding microphone for phone calls, they have a slightly longer battery
life which I feel is great and I also hope that it will help extend the lifespan of these
earbuds, and they now have mag safe which I pretty neat.
Now personally I do feel the AirPods 3 are worth the upgrade over the AirPods 2 because
they look better and they sound better… and even though these earbuds aren’t as
feature packed as the Studio Buds… they do feel more premium cause of their smaller
case and wireless charging.
And for right now, I really feel the AirPods Pro are only worth picking up if you really
need active noise cancelation, and you want all of the apple convenincace that comes with
them.
But personally I can’t wait to hear what the AirPods Pro 2 sound like with
the AirPods 3 drivers.