[HN Gopher] The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem
___________________________________________________________________
The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem
Author : andrem
Score : 288 points
Date : 2025-10-28 14:27 UTC (8 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (basicappleguy.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (basicappleguy.com)
| maplant wrote:
| I get this in every day life, but it comes whenever I have to
| adjust the pods in my ears. But frankly I kinda expected these to
| pretty much suck until someone comes out with fully foam tips, at
| which point my problem will be completely solved as I no longer
| will have a need to adjust them
| lucasban wrote:
| For what it's worth I did not experience this issue on my most
| recent overseas flights, but I also only wore them at full
| altitude
| buildbot wrote:
| I have this issue intermittently just when walking around, at sea
| level! I can make them start screaming just by holding them even
| - The Airpods 2 do not have the same issue.
| wahnfrieden wrote:
| AirPods Pro 1 had that issue
| jshchnz wrote:
| This high pitched noise issue happened to me last week using
| noise cancellation on a flight, but I was using Airpods 4 (not
| Pro). I think this problem isn't only limited to the Pro models
| lvl155 wrote:
| OT but Apple is getting worse and worse in all aspects. I hate
| the fact that I am locked into their monopoly.
| veidr wrote:
| I mean... I did too, but you do know it's actually optional,
| right?
| lvl155 wrote:
| Is it optional? When there is basically Apple and Android? If
| you add family to the mix then you're basically stuck with
| Apple ecosystem. It's actually nice until something goes
| wrong and you realize their customer service is awful.
| They've gotten too big. It's basically a big black box and
| you're trapped.
| letmetweakit wrote:
| You are locked in your mind only ...
| andy99 wrote:
| Not sure what the OP meant but I too feel locked into them. I
| dislike both the company and in some cases the product, but
| they currently provide the least bad option - almost
| certainly for laptops and probably for phones.
| cortesoft wrote:
| I feel like a provider having the 'lest bad option' is a
| LOT different than 'locked in'. Locked in means that you
| are forced to keep using an inferior product even if a
| better option exists because you can't move your data; not
| having a better option is something else.
| herval wrote:
| Locked in doesn't imply "inferior", nor it has anything
| to do with an option being better or worse.
| cortesoft wrote:
| Ok, it seems I don't understand what locked in means
| then. What does it actually mean?
| herval wrote:
| it means that the cost of moving from X is too high (be
| it in terms of time, cost or lack of suitable
| alternatives).
|
| In the case of iCloud, for most people, it's probably a
| combination of convenience (no other tool is so well
| integrated with the OS) and cost (you can sorta replicate
| the combo of photos + files + vpn + fake emails, but
| it'll be more expensive and complex to maintain)
| mrkstu wrote:
| Yeah, VMWare post-acquisition is trying to help what the
| limits of lock-in are...
| scottbez1 wrote:
| Lock-in usually just refers to a situation where
| switching costs are (perceived to be) higher than the net
| benefit, within some reasonable payoff period. It can
| include things like high cost to extract data, but it can
| also include things like network/social effects.
|
| The latter is a huge reason companies strive to establish
| "platforms" and suites of connected apps - even if
| competition is cheaper/better in a vacuum, it still may
| not be worth the effort to switch if you're already
| established within an ecosystem. The goal is vendor lock-
| in even if they're not holding your data hostage (though
| they might do that too).
| cortesoft wrote:
| Yeah, I agree with that. I didn't mean to imply that it
| had to be impossible to move your data.
|
| However, I do think that it has to mean something besides
| "there are no other good providers of a service".
| Integrations, platforms, etc make sense as being "locked
| in", but not "no one else provides the service"
|
| To me, the key would be, "if you were starting from
| scratch and weren't using any service at all, would you
| choose a different one than what you actually currently
| use?"
|
| If the answer is "I would still choose the one I am
| using", then I don't think that is locked in.
| herval wrote:
| I have 1tb of data on icloud, including all my photos. Moving
| to a different platform is literally not an option (I was a
| happy Dropbox paid user until they decided to shut down the
| photos app, and Google Photos is a huge no no for multiple
| reason). The only alternative I can think of is self-hosting,
| which on itself is a nightmare, or a home NAS (not an option
| for me specifically). The lock-in is real.
| cortesoft wrote:
| Why is moving to a different platform literally not an
| option? 1TB of data is tiny. You don't even need a NAS, 1TB
| is a trivial amount of data.
|
| If you don't want to self host (which has actually become
| quite simple with immich), you could switch providers (even
| if you want to avoid google).
| herval wrote:
| which alternative platform exists? Onedrive is absolutely
| awful (it gets stuck in sync and crashes on Mac
| frequently), Google Drive/Photos doesn't respect your
| privacy and actually changes the resolution of your
| photos. The only alternative is Dropbox, which doesn't
| have a photos app anymore, or a bunch of disjointed small
| apps that together would cost multiples of what I pay for
| iCloud.
| lvl155 wrote:
| Name me one service outside of Google and Apple that's
| seamlessly tied to your devices. Once you buy into the
| system you're basically stuck. Apple is quickly becoming
| Oracle.
| scottbez1 wrote:
| Dropbox recently broke (accidentally or intentionally)
| hosted images/thumbnails from their Paper docs product
| (which they're quietly but noncommittally killing off) and
| that was a good wakeup for me to stop trusting hosted
| storage. And I'm saying this as a former Dropbox engineer
| of ~6 years who has plenty of free Dropbox storage for
| life. The brain drain and profitability crunch is real.
|
| Recently bought a 14TB HDD and downloaded my entire
| Dropbox, Google Photos, and Lightroom photos. Planning to
| set up an off-site copy as well, and will probably build
| out a proper NAS within a few years.
| herval wrote:
| Dropbox is just hard to trust. I used to pay for it,
| until they suddenly decided to shut down the photos app.
| Then the password app, recently. I don't expect Apple to
| shut down Photos any time soon, so I find it easier to
| trust them with my data
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| "The issue would go away for me as soon as I yawn..."
|
| So perhaps sealing your ears does not allow your ears to "pop"
| from the cabin pressure changes?
| tmyrden wrote:
| Glad to hear it's not just me. Happened repeatedly on my flights
| I took last week. I have had all 3 generations of the Pros, this
| is the first time experiencing this. Also left AirPod only.
| torarnv wrote:
| I've flown twice with my new AirPods Pro 3, and both times I had
| this exact experience; high pitched and loud feedback. They were
| properly cleaned, and had a "good seal" according to the settings
| wizard.
|
| Glad to see I'm not the only one at least, and hopefully this
| will be possible to fix as a software update, rather than having
| to replace the AirPods.
| jonny_eh wrote:
| In which ear(s)?
| jim180 wrote:
| Personally, the left ear.
| jonny_eh wrote:
| Seems pretty odd that all the reports are about the left
| ear.
| stronglikedan wrote:
| with buds, whichever connects first (usually right) is
| the master, and the other bud connects to that one as the
| slave, instead of connecting directly to the source
| device. probably has something to do with that
| jonny_eh wrote:
| Which would hint at a software issue. When it comes to
| ANC, both should behave identically
| pugworthy wrote:
| Does it matter which side of the plane you are on or how
| close to the wing (engines) you are? I could imagine an
| audio difference between left and right if you were sitting
| at a window near an engine.
| torarnv wrote:
| In my case, both.
| aeternum wrote:
| I'm going back to the Airpods Pro 2.
|
| Pro 3 is a step backwards, there are these ANC noise issues not
| only on flights but also during heal-strikes when running down a
| hill, a staticky thump rather than high-pitched.
|
| I've also had other more rare feedback issues. The Pro2s
| basically never had feedback issues unless you actually rubbed
| the outside of them.
| alexjplant wrote:
| I've not noticed them feeding back while listening but it happens
| whenever I put them in the case together for a split second. I
| also get a drop-out every time I walk past certain spots in my
| apartment building hallway because of what I'm guessing are
| ultrasonic sensors on fragrance dispensers or light fixtures.
| Definitely buggier than the previous version but the improvements
| in sonic accuracy and noise cancellation are well worth the
| inconvenience IMO.
| crims0n wrote:
| Interesting, by description seems fixable in software. I wonder
| if Apple will disclose the root cause, would be awesome to see a
| proper writeup.
| amelius wrote:
| LOL, if they share any insight in this problem it will be along
| the lines of "you're wearing them wrong".
| zamalek wrote:
| There's already [edit: multiple] comments here that are
| blaming human anatomy, despite the competition not having
| this issue. No need for Apple to claim it.
|
| It amazes me what people are willing to suffer merely because
| Apple makes it. Flights are one of the core ANC competencies,
| it boggles the mind that this wasn't found during testing.
| apetrovic wrote:
| I had a buzzing problem with AirPods Pro 1. Apple replaced it
| (both headphones) after year and a half of use, for free.
| moogly wrote:
| Other brands let you recalibrate the ANC on an airplane. It's a
| thing. Do Apple not let you do this?
|
| https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP00...
| wahnfrieden wrote:
| Ya
| Kirby64 wrote:
| Other other brands dynamically do this, so you don't need to do
| any recalibration manually. Bose Ultra headphones, for
| instance, seem to do this dynamically all the time. You can
| tell this happens since the ANC slowly ramps up as you get a
| better seal on your ears.
| iwontberude wrote:
| It's been doing this since AirPods Pro 1, surprised it took
| author this long to realize it.
| mcphage wrote:
| > surprised it took author this long to realize it
|
| I don't think "realize" is the right word here. "Realize" would
| require them to have been affected by this issue but unaware.
| Instead, they were not affected with their previous models,
| only with the new ones.
| behnamoh wrote:
| If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
|
| AirPods Pro 2 was already perfect. I don't know why Apple chose
| to "upgrade" it whereas AirPods Max, AirTags, and the Studio
| Display are all over due for an upgrade.
| dylan604 wrote:
| > I don't know why Apple chose to "upgrade" it
|
| Of course you do. If they do not constantly upgrade, there are
| no new sales. Charts must go up, not stay flat. As an example,
| the venerable Technics 1200 turntable only had a few version
| releases for fairly minor cosmetic usability items. The core
| functionality did not change since it was designed. Those
| versions came with years in between. You buy a pair of those,
| and you only replaced them when they were stolen. If something
| broke, you repaired it. Apple's share holders will not be happy
| with buy once keep forever items.
| cortesoft wrote:
| I don't think it is as simple as saying the demand for
| constant growth is the reason for this.
|
| Even if a manufacturer was a non-profit, if they make a
| product that never upgrades and can be repaired indefinitely,
| eventually the demand for new products will drop enough that
| they simply can't afford to keep making new ones. You can't
| maintain a manufacturing pipeline for small amounts of
| product, because there are fixed costs that can't be reduced
| with reduced production.
| rangestransform wrote:
| I could always have more ANC, I want feedforward ANC so strong
| that I don't have to listen to showtimers on the subway (still
| not there yet)
| mvkel wrote:
| I suspect this is fixable in firmware. What I heard on a long
| haul flight was the faint sound of the plane's engines traveling
| back and forth down a paper towel tube; a hollow, cavernous
| sound. It must be so tricky to nail these algorithms, but with
| the data of millions, it should be easier to triangulate and
| address.
| garyfirestorm wrote:
| i disagree here - having a feedback loop that makes loud noise
| instead of cancelling is fundamental failure of their ANC
| algorithm. There's basically no protection mechanism incase of
| divergence.
| vessenes wrote:
| Interesting. I have roughly 50,000 flight miles on the new
| AirPods Pro 3, and while I do prefer them to the 2s, I too have
| some annoyances with the left AirPod. In my case it never feels
| like it fits my ear canal quite right, to the point that I
| thought I might want different size tips - after trying all the
| tips, that's not it. The seal is in fact good, but the different
| feel is noticeable.
|
| The noise cancellation also feels a bit more variable - when it's
| good it's significantly better, but sometimes I get cycles or
| loops where the algo doesn't seem to be working right.
|
| I was mulling over getting custom tips, but it's a good reminder
| it might just be easier to downgrade.
| drcongo wrote:
| None of the Apple tips work for me, they all leak outside noise
| and slip out of my ears. I've tried nearly every 3rd party tip
| on the market, the AZLA ones are the best but with caveats. The
| Xelastic tips [0] provide the best comfort, noise cancellation
| and stay in your ears perfectly, but they wear out and become
| too soft quickly - like every two to three months. The Max tips
| [1] are durable, stay in properly, and are so comfortable it's
| easy to forget you have ear buds in. They're not so great at
| the noise cancellation though so I tend to use these as my
| every day tips and swap them for the Xelastics when I'm going
| on a flight or somewhere where the ANC is more important. I
| haven't tried the Crystal ones yet.
|
| [0] https://store.azla.co.kr/collections/sednaearfit-
| series/prod...
|
| [1] https://store.azla.co.kr/collections/airpod-pro-ear-
| tips/pro...
|
| Edit: I didn't know the Crystal ones existed until posting
| this, so ordering some now to see if they're the best of both
| worlds. If I remember, I'll report back.
| js2 wrote:
| The only thing that works for me is DIY tips.
|
| I buy Comply 600 Core Series (size medium), tear the comply
| foam off the plastic tube, then place the foam around the
| Apple silicone tips (size large).
|
| None of the Apple tips on their own seal correctly, nor do
| any of the numerous third-party tips that I've tried,
| including hybrid silicone/foam tips.
|
| I get about 6 months out of the foam and they fit in the
| charging case modified like this.
| drcongo wrote:
| I tried that one too but they'd squeeze themselves out as
| the Apple tips' silicon is the smoothest substance known to
| humanity.
| dehrmann wrote:
| I had a fit issue with Airpods Pro 2 in my left ear. It would
| always pop out after 20 minutes of rowing. I tried different
| ear tips, but none of them really worked. ANC is only medium-
| important to me, so I'm using Airpods 4 with ANC.
|
| Concurring with sibling, AZLA does make good aftermarket tips.
| I have my Airpods Pro 2 in my work bag and still use their
| "crystal" tips.
| e40 wrote:
| Weirdly, I have fit issues in my left ear, too, like others.
| Very odd.
| deaddodo wrote:
| I've never had in-ears that use the same size tips. I always
| just assumed I was the oddball with weirdly mis-sized ears, but
| I'm pretty sure everyone has it to some degree and just always
| accept one subpar fit rather than use differently sized tips.
| Fwirt wrote:
| I feel like I'm in-between sizes or something. The medium Apple
| eartips are more comfortable but tend to sit farther out of my
| ear canal and feel like they're working their way out. The
| small eartips stay in more securely, but sit uncomfortably far
| into my ear canal and lose seal when talking or putting my head
| in certain positions. I eventually settled on the mediums and
| have become accustomed to the feeling of them "falling out"
| even when they're not.
|
| But yes, odd to hear that other people also have issues with
| the left ear fit, because they must be identical shapes. I
| wonder if human physiology averages to the left ear being
| smaller or something. Although I feel like the right ear falls
| out more easily if I switch to the small tips...
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Wow you fly a lot! These things are out what, 2 months? :O
|
| Doesn't that get exhausting? I used to have a job where I'd be
| on a plane every week and I couldn't hack it. It's supposed to
| be liberating to travel but basically just seeing the inside of
| a plane, taxi, meeting room and hotel room every day it was
| more like a moving prison. Sometimes I'd sneak out to walk
| through these strange places. But often I'd be forced to attend
| boring business dinners.
|
| My last business flight was in 2018 and I don't miss it at all
| :) I even cancelled my corporate amex since I never use it
| anymore. And these guys keep asking for copies of ID and stuff
| for tax records or something (completely stupid because yes I'm
| still the same person duhhh) so in the end I just rolled my
| eyes and told them to stuff it where the sun don't shine :P
| cj wrote:
| That amount of flying in ~2 months sounds more like a pilot
| or flight attendant.
|
| Edit: Or an exaggeration I hope! The guy looks to be in
| private equity.
| vessenes wrote:
| To be fair I had like 300 flight miles July-September, but
| us PE guys occasionally do work for a living! I currently
| have deals in Japan and UK and family in the west coast of
| the US so it's a realistic number.
| vessenes wrote:
| It can be tiring - and I don't do it all the time. The reason
| to travel at all for work is fundamentally relational; I find
| if I am happy with the relationships the travel on balance is
| a net positive: it lets me work on what I want to and meet
| and befriend super interesting people.
|
| That slight difference in agency and relational availability
| turns into a giant gap in feelings though, I agree. I've done
| the kind of travel you describe in my younger days and found
| it a mix of masochistically engaging and depression inducing.
| enlyth wrote:
| I'm also very disappointed with the Airpods Pro 3
|
| I use them mainly for running, and after I accidentally put my
| Pro 2s through a washer/dryer cycle, I ordered the Pro 3s, but
| I've noticed they feel heavier in the ears and make this annoying
| loud thumping sound every time my foot hits the ground, making
| them almost unusable for my primary purpose
|
| Also sometimes I fall asleep in bed with them while listening to
| a podcast, and have experienced the same painfully loud
| screeching as described by the article when the microphones brush
| against the pillow
| bluSCALE4 wrote:
| Use foam, problem solved.
| bigstrat2003 wrote:
| Use normal ass headphones that cost $5, problem solved even
| better. I think wireless earbuds are the dumbest product ever
| made. They are worse than normal headphones in every way.
| sceptic123 wrote:
| Not every way. For one thing, I've never had a pair of
| wireless headphones get ripped out of my ears because the
| cord got snagged.
| hooo wrote:
| I tried AP Pro 3 but decided to return them in favor of my v2.
| The v2 felt more comfortable in my ear and were good enough. I
| was also disappointed the heartbeat monitor only works while
| exercising.
| roycomputer wrote:
| I along with many others, have been facing a low frequency noise
| leak when ANC is fully on and music is playing.
| https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256148548?sortBy=rank
|
| Without playing any music the ANC is stellar, but this bug means
| the buds are basically unusable as they require reseating in the
| ear, or toggling to transparency and back to ANC, after a few
| seconds of listening (if in an environment which has any sort of
| constant low freq noise)
| dzink wrote:
| The Airpods 2 have a whistle problem for me. Any time someone
| whistles or anything makes a loud noise I would feel a pressure
| on my ear that was quite unpleasant and stemming from the airpod.
| Haven't tried the 3 but I wonder if it is related.
| spot5010 wrote:
| A wild guess as to what is happening. I haven't actually tested
| this hypothesis so I could be completely wrong.
|
| In feedback systems, the gain is a function of frequency, and
| typically decreases when going from low frequency to high
| frequency. This is often accompanied by a phase delay.
|
| So if the overall gain of the system is high enough, there will
| be some high frequency where the gain is 1, and the phase is 180
| degrees. This would result in positive feedback, amplifying noise
| at that frequency.
|
| Maybe that's what's happening in the latest AirPods? If Apple is
| aggressive cranking up the gain of the noise cancellation system,
| there's some high frequency where the noise gets amplified rather
| than suppressed.
|
| The solution would be to either reduce the gain (which reduces
| the noise cancellation), or to add some differential gain in the
| system which pushes out the unity gain frequency to higher
| frequencies.
| em3rgent0rdr wrote:
| Sounds like you are stating
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkhausen_stability_criterion
| (1921):
|
| "if A is the gain of the amplifying element in the circuit and
| b(jo) is the transfer function of the feedback path, so bA is
| the loop gain around the feedback loop of the circuit, the
| circuit will sustain steady-state oscillations only at
| frequencies for which:
|
| 1: The loop gain is equal to unity in absolute magnitude, that
| is, |bA|=1, and 2: the phase shift around the loop is zero or
| an integer multiple of 2p: [?]bA=2pn,n[?]{0,1,2,...}"
| em3rgent0rdr wrote:
| But you said "phase is 180 degrees" which is 1p, while
| Barkhausen instead says integer multiple of 2p.
| spot5010 wrote:
| Found an article which talks about the phase margin,
| referencing 80 degrees (pi).
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_margin
| Fwirt wrote:
| I just had a thought, it's possible to completely disable ANC
| in settings, turning them into "dumb" bluetooth headphones.
| (Enable "Off Listening Mode" in Airpods Settings and the option
| will become available in Control Center.) If some of us who are
| able to replicate this effect consistently could try turning
| ANC off and seeing if the effect still occurs, that would
| narrow it down to being feedback related from Transparency/ANC
| or being something external like back EMF.
|
| I just tested this myself and the two ways that I am able to
| get consistent squealing (stroking the upper body when in-ear
| and cupping them in the hand) both fail to replicate when ANC
| is off. So this does point to a feedback issue.
|
| My other thought is that the APP3 may have microphones located
| next to the drivers in the ear canal, both for measuring fit,
| and for the new "own voice amplification" feature that appears
| in hearing control center if you enable Hearing Assistance.
| Maybe vibration is leaking through the body to the inner
| microphone.
| ilt wrote:
| Own voice amplification is nothing new and has been present
| at least since iOS 18 and hence was/is present in Airpods Pro
| 2 as well.
| layer8 wrote:
| That doesn't explain why the issue seems to be specific to left
| APPs.
| numpy-thagoras wrote:
| Is it the noise cancellation making a feedback sound, or is it
| the pressure differential in the ear canal pulling the ear drum
| back to produce a white noise?
|
| He said that it goes away when he yawns, so I'm thinking it might
| be the pressure differential.
| keepamovin wrote:
| Yawning alters the conformation of the external auditory canal
| by displacing the mandible, which articulates with the tympanic
| plate of the temporal bone adjacent to the canal.
|
| The seal might be so good that a small pressure differential
| happens as cabin pressure drops, which causes some issue with
| the microphone or speaker. Yawning might break that seal, or
| otherwise cause pressure equalization. Why only the left one?
| Apple might put some kind of special signal diagnostics or
| sensors in that side that bugs out under those conditions, or
| maybe human anatomy on the left side is consistently subtley
| different in a set of people.
|
| Because this doesn't happen to everybody it could be some kind
| of "instrument effect" where the particular shape of someone's
| ear canal, and the interaction with their ear drum and the
| speakers and sensors in the app creates this tone, likely
| assisted by the constant driving signal of air cabin white
| noise.
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| > The seal might be so good that a small pressure
| differential happens as cabin pressure drops
|
| That's my guess. I'm very sensitive to pressure changes and I
| know that cabin pressure on most planes is not constant even
| when cruising. It's in a range that most people won't notice
| but it definitely fluctuates near constantly within that
| band.
| herval wrote:
| I bought the airpod pro 3 and returned it after a couple of days.
| It would make a loud crunching sound every time I move my mouth,
| probably due to the memory foam moving inside my ear canal. Never
| experienced anything similar on pro 1 or pro 2.
|
| This entire cycle of Apple releases is riddled with puzzling
| defects - the super scratchable iPhone Pros, the condensation
| issues on the Air lenses, the Airpod fit and weird noise
| cancelling issues. I don't recall this level of weird basic
| defects since the first unibody macs or the butterfly keyboard
| debacle. Wonder what caused it...
| xeromal wrote:
| I have the samsung buds pros and I've noticed a high pitched
| screech when I put the buds in and I figured it's related to how
| noise cancelling works. I bet basicappleguy wouldn't hear the
| noise if the ANC is turned off as a test.
| MrDrone wrote:
| I've been on ~4-5 flights since upgrading to the Airpods Pro 3
| from the 2 and haven't experienced this, though I had
| occasionally experienced a similar whine on my Pro 2 that seemed
| to have been resolved in a software update sometime back.
|
| I am surprised by the general negative sentiment for the 3s in
| this thread. They've felt like a straight and clear upgrade to
| me. Better fit, better ANC, and much improved battery life. I
| typically wear mine almost all day so comfort is hugely important
| to me.
| EA-3167 wrote:
| Same here, and I wonder if this is down to shifting pressure in
| the ear-nose-throat axis. The fact that yawning seems to
| remediate the issue, and also is a way to equalize pressure,
| makes me suspicious.
| acomjean wrote:
| I think the general neagtivity might be from a $250 set of
| headphones that aren't great in all situations.
|
| It's not just an apple problem, but expensive tech just doesn't
| seem to work well. generally apple were kinda the gold
| standard, now they're having issues like a lot of tech.
| jerlam wrote:
| I'm surprised of the general positivity of the previous
| version, also $250. When the Airpods Pro 2 had been out, it
| seemed like there was non-stop complaining about how every
| firmware update made the ANC worse, the sound quality was
| worse than Sony, continual clicks and rattles, and how they
| were designed for battery failure.
|
| Just goes to show how negative opinions travel fast.
| Liftyee wrote:
| Not every expensive device works well, but the tech products
| that typically work best tend to not be the cheapest ones.
| There is plenty of subpar expensive tech, but much less top-
| tier inexpensive stuff.
|
| Of course, that doesn't mean it can't suffice for the average
| user.
| matwood wrote:
| Same. I've been on a number of long haul flights since getting
| my 3's and they have been great. They do fit very different
| than the 2's, and took me a few hours to get used to them.
|
| I understand though that not everyone wins the ear hole
| lottery. For some the 2s may fit better than the 3's and vice
| versa. It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit
| change without considering 2's are simply better for some
| people fit wise.
| lamontcg wrote:
| > It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit
| change without considering 2's are simply better for some
| people fit wise.
|
| I immediately ran out and bought aftermarket foam tips for my
| 2's since the silicone ones never stayed in. Apple is likely
| trying to fix that kind of problem (and may have done so on
| average entirely successfully) but now you're seeing the
| people that it doesn't work for show up in these comments.
| This comment section is going to be biased towards
| complaining about the 3's so you can't really judge if what
| they did was effective or not on average, only that clearly
| it wasn't perfect.
| seemaze wrote:
| I frequently use my AirPods Pro when working in my shop.
| Previously the APP2 did a great job of reducing loud tool noise
| and I could mostly still listen to music or podcasts at
| reasonable levels.
|
| With the APP3, they are largely the same except with the louder
| tools (circular saw, cordless grinder) they produce a horrific
| feedback instead of canceling the noise. So much so that I
| switched back to my APP2 (which do not have this issue in back-
| to-back testing).
|
| This REALLY irks me, as the APP3 are what forced the upgrade to
| iOS 26 (which is terribly misguided and under-baked), so I'm
| stuck with all of Apple's foibles and none of their wins.
|
| Feel like I got punched in the gut and my lunch money stolen. Not
| a good feeling Apple.
| aunty_helen wrote:
| I feel a bit the same. I rushed out to upgrade for the better
| noise cancelling, apparently better mic quality and live
| translation feature.
|
| All three have been a miss. Noise cancelling is much the same
| and seems to leak higher pitch noises more. Mic is more or less
| still bad and the live translation only works in doors in a
| quiet room.
|
| And I resent the upgrade to 26 and all of the bugs like phantom
| notifications.
|
| They're still good ear buds and the noise cancelling is
| valuable but I shouldn't have made the upgrade from the 2 pros.
|
| Ahh lastly, it seems the case battery depletes much faster now
| too.
| bobbylarrybobby wrote:
| Apple has done some really shady marketing about live
| translation because it's also supported on the AirPods Pro 2.
| It's clear they don't want people to know that to drive the
| upgrade to the 3s.
| laborcontract wrote:
| Seems like you should try and get a replacement
| Fwirt wrote:
| 100% agree with the required update to 26, I was hugely bummed
| when I discovered I had to update my devices to pair them.
|
| I've had the opposite experience with noise cancelling though,
| the APP3 feel like magic when I'm working with power tools -
| better than any other (passive) ear protection I've tried in
| Noise Cancellation mode, and still enough protection in
| Transparency mode that I can use my circular saw without any
| discomfort. I did experience a little of what you're mentioning
| the other day, but only when my Airpods (and head) were close
| to the tool. I thought it might be back EMF.
|
| I have no complaints with my APP3 other than the forced iOS
| upgrade. I feel like they fit much better than the APP2, I have
| had far fewer incidences of them working their way out. And
| sound quality is a huge leap forward IMO. Best IEMs I have ever
| heard.
| seemaze wrote:
| Huh, that's a good counter point. Perhaps something has
| changed between APP2 and APP3 that make them more susceptible
| to EMF, or maybe I have a bad pair. I'll attempt a
| replacement and see where we land.
| animegolem wrote:
| i own app3 and have not updated it asks you and warns you
| some ai features won't work but they pair and function fine
| after that.
| seemaze wrote:
| For myself, the two features (which are not iOS 26 related)
| are being able to see them in FindMy, and having access to
| case sound and battery notification volume options.
| OGWhales wrote:
| > 100% agree with the required update to 26, I was hugely
| bummed when I discovered I had to update my devices to pair
| them.
|
| Interesting, I had no issue pairing despite not being on iOS
| 26. The only things I noticed was that they didn't show up in
| the Find My app (which is pretty bad) and that I didn't get
| the shortcut to the airpods settings on the main setting page
| and had to go through the bluetooth menu instead, otherwise I
| could pair and do everything I normally did. Tbh, I didn't
| even notice an issue until I read online about the two things
| I mentioned...
| Fwirt wrote:
| When I tried to pair mine out of the box it initiated an
| "Update to iOS 26!" workflow and wouldn't let me pair until
| I did. Also, after I updated my iPhone and paired them to
| my iPad Pro, still on iPadOS 18, they just showed up as
| generic bluetooth headphones with none of the ANC or
| Hearing Assist features available.
| SchemaLoad wrote:
| Apple always releases a point release for the last version
| at the same time as a new major release. It's possible you
| had to install either 26 or the new point release for 18,
| but the UI doesn't explain you have that option.
| abakker wrote:
| I'll say, I recommend my Honeywell sync earmuffs for the
| workshop. They block more noise, have a physical volume knob
| and accessible buttons, and best of all, the microphone is also
| noise cancelling directly, meaning you can usually have a
| conversation with someone while using a power tool or mowing
| the lawn without much issue. APP2 or 3 for me has never been
| able to displace these.
| seemaze wrote:
| Thanks for the recommendation, you're probably correct that I
| should be using a product specifically designed for the
| environment. I'll check them out.
| afandian wrote:
| Are you sure that the perceived reduction in noise corresponds
| to a reduction in damaging sound pressure levels?
|
| I know about destructive interference in theory, but was always
| curious about the perceptual vs real SPL.
|
| Whenever I've tried ANC (Bose) it's always hurt my ears, even
| when quiet.
| steve_adams_86 wrote:
| My personal rule is that the sound level should be
| comfortable without ANC. So, if the sound is physically
| dampened sufficiently by the earbuds or headphones even when
| ANC is disabled, I'm happy.
|
| ANC is more for comfort than safety from what I understand.
| seemaze wrote:
| I can't say that the feedback causes damaging levels of
| noise, and its possible that my hearing is still protected,
| but the feedback that is produced is so uncomfortable that
| I involuntarily pulled them out of my ears.. which is not a
| great reaction with power tools in hand.
|
| Apple does market 'Hearing Protection' as a feature of the
| AirPods Pro. https://support.apple.com/en-us/120850
| seemaze wrote:
| I'm not, and should probably get a more specific product as
| recommended by abakker.
|
| I can say I've used ANC in-ear and over-ear of various
| implementations for years without experiencing discomfort
| typically associated with ANC 'pressure'.
| bartman wrote:
| Anecdotally, my APP3 have worked much better then expected when
| I worked with a drill and jigsaw this weekend. No weird noises
| and much more NC than the 2 had.
|
| Might be worth trying different ear tips or asking for a
| replacement if software updates don't improve it.
| NaomiLehman wrote:
| hearing aids, in general, have the some problems and they
| operate on similar principles - sound is isolated physically,
| and the outside world is transmitted digitally to the ear/ANC
| when needed.
| fionic7 wrote:
| I have had this happen while on the ground before in a room with
| a specific frequency of noise
| _sgianelli wrote:
| I've had this exact same issue as described but only on longer
| runs where I've had them in my ears for longer than 3 or 4 hours.
| When I figured out I could just turn off the pass through or
| noise cancellations and it'd go away I was relieved but it
| doesn't seem reserved for pressurized plane cabins. Never had
| this issue on previous generations.
| dharma1 wrote:
| put the APP3 through a washing machine recently by accident and
| they had the high pitched feedback if NC was used until they were
| fully dry after a couple of days. Have also put APP2 through
| washing machine before but never had this
| remix2000 wrote:
| > stupidity-shaped left ears
|
| Now I wonder, what could "cleverness-shaped ears" possibly look
| like? Also funny: my ears can't hold earphones, they just eject
| them every time I change my facial expression or talk or what-
| not.
| lamontcg wrote:
| I replaced the silicone tips with memory foam, which fixed this
| problem for me.
| Der_Einzige wrote:
| These problems don't happen to the chads who don't even bother
| trying Apple's stupid ear-tip stuff and just use Airpods 4 with
| noise canceling.
|
| You screwed up by trying so hard to make fundamentally anti-ear
| designs with the pros.
| el_benhameen wrote:
| I have this happen outside of flights. Cupping your finger over
| the ANC mic is enough to trigger it.
|
| The new tips (that's my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations
| into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory
| foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving
| around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in.
| I think the latter is partially caused by the "reduce loud
| noises" feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel
| strikes as loud noise.
|
| I'm glad I'm apparently not the only one experiencing these
| issues. I hope they're software fixable. I filed a bug report,
| but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of
| the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the
| 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different
| set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my
| daily drivers. And I've been through three pair of the third gen,
| so it's not a one-off issue.
| Fwirt wrote:
| I have been able to trigger it when fumbling around with
| adjusting the fit. If I run my finger over the top of the body
| I can get a brief squeal out of them. Happened just a few
| seconds ago. I also have noticed on multiple occasions that if
| I take them both out of my ears and cup them in the same hand,
| they squeal audibly enough to hear faintly from a couple feet
| away. The skin contact sensor is very sensitive.
|
| However, unlike a lot of other commenters in this thread, I
| feel like the APP3 are a huge leap forward from the APP2 and
| have had zero regrets with the upgrade (other than the forced
| iOS 26 upgrade, but I feel like that's inevitable anyway.) They
| stay in much better, the fit is more comfortable, the battery
| life is better, the ANC probably drops background noise another
| 10db subjectively, and most of all, the sound quality is
| absolutely stellar. I have owned several midrange headphones
| and a portable DAC and I find myself preferring the AirPods
| over them. I haven't worn my Sennheisers since I got the APP3.
| can16358p wrote:
| Just curious, which Sennheisers did you give up on in favor
| of APP3?
|
| I have over-the-ear Momentum 3 and love it, but if APP3
| provides better sound quality and better ANC I might consider
| switching as Momentum 3, while I love it, is bulky, heavy,
| and started to wear off and break down.
| Fwirt wrote:
| Drop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee through a Qudelix 5K. Both
| are great pieces of kit, the Qudelix especially. The
| onboard parametric EQ combined with AutoEQ is fantastic.
| However, after running a hearing test and enabling Hearing
| Assist, the EQ on the Airpods is incredible and everything
| sounds very natural. I have no idea how they managed to get
| this much soundstage and bass out of these things. I also
| have a pair of Grado SR 80, and have a soft spot for Koss
| KSC 75.
|
| FWIW I got mine at Costco and their return policy is top
| notch, and I believe they include AppleCare+ with the
| purchase. I had bought my APP2 fairly recently before the
| APP3 were released, experienced buyers remorse, but had
| kept them in like new condition with the box and
| accessories, and had no problem exchanging them.
| renewiltord wrote:
| Yep, I have the same exact story with the 2. Most times I
| move my right to fit in my ear it squeals.
| philistine wrote:
| > (other than the forced iOS 26 upgrade, but I feel like
| that's inevitable anyway.)
|
| I'm using my Airpods Pro 3 with iOS 26 yes, but I stayed on
| macOS 15 (THANK GOD!) and I saw nothing unusual about using
| the new Airpods there except for the missing artwork.
| laborcontract wrote:
| The horrible thumping is purely a fit issue. The solution to
| the thumping when running is to either size down the tips or to
| slightly dislodge the tips from your ear.
|
| It's not ideal, I'll grant you that.
|
| While we may have some overlap in issues, I would say that the
| Airpods Pro 3 are incredible. I've ditched my Airpods Max
| entirely. The noise cancellation works too well, the sleep
| detection is a godsend, and the battery life is so good. I use
| my airpods to sleep. before, i'd always wake up to dead
| airpods. now, they have like 70% batteries when i wake up,
| because the sleep detection kicks in.
| bobbylarrybobby wrote:
| Seems odd to call it a fit issue when the solution is to make
| the fit worse by dislodging them from your ear. If it's a fit
| issue then improving the fit should make it go away!
| el_benhameen wrote:
| I've tried with every set of tips except for the xs, same
| thumping with all of them. Zero issues running almost daily
| with the second gens for several years. I think it's more
| than fit--either oversensitive ANC or something with the
| composition of the tips themselves. Oddly enough, it's not
| present in both ears every time. Sometimes both, sometimes
| just one, rarely neither. I've stopped gathering data because
| I switched to a different set of headphones.
|
| I'll grant you that the ANC in the third gen is fantastic. I
| just felt like the second gen fit themselves into my routine,
| whereas I have to fiddle and futz with the third gen to get
| them just-so so that they don't inhibit my routine.
| laborcontract wrote:
| It's hard to argue with you about that. I think you're
| right about the tip composition being the issue. Also,
| there's definitely an alien feel to APP3.
| marricks wrote:
| > incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud
| noise
|
| You should be thankful you get a free reminder to stop heel
| striking
|
| /uj figured a little running BS hear could be fun
| el_benhameen wrote:
| Ha, I figured someone would give me shit for that. I blame my
| comically oversized feet and comically undersized hamstrings.
| marricks wrote:
| Heel striking is fine, most pros do it, I do too. It is
| great joke fodder, though!
| xsmasher wrote:
| YOU WERE A HEEL STRIKER TOO BEFORE I FOUND YOU!
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNZ_6rQvaq0
| snug wrote:
| I've been able to get this same issue when I am laying in bed
| and lay on my side where my APP rub against the pillow. I've
| been able to reliably make the screeching sound by putting one
| airpod in my hand and tumbling it around or opening and closing
| my hands.
|
| I still love my APP3, and still have my APP2, but have not made
| a change back to them. I think they feel so much better in my
| hear with the new tips, and sound way better.
| SoftTalker wrote:
| You're holding them wrong.
| fredoliveira wrote:
| Something happened today as I was closing my car door, where I
| had the Airpods (Pro 3 as well) make this low but extremely loud
| rumble-like sound. Something related to pressure and seal,
| perhaps?
|
| I could replicate it immediately at will. ANC on, nothing
| playing, sat on the driver seat and closed my door with a little
| bit of force.
| n8cpdx wrote:
| I also have this. I haven't tried with cars, but the ANC seems
| to really amplify some deep bass sounds from the environment.
| To the point I hear things I wouldn't ever notice before (e.g.
| different states of my air conditioner).
|
| The problem is it comes through as an extremely loud rumble,
| usually in only one ear at a time.
|
| Not a high pitched squeal, but a low pitched rumble. Goes away
| if I remove and reinsert, but immediately comes back in short
| order.
|
| I can make it go away but only by using tips that don't fit as
| well, and therefore don't reduce noise as well (and also fall
| out of my ears while running).
| elAhmo wrote:
| Anecdotal, one of my colleagues was sounding surprisingly clear
| on one of the calls, and I had to ask him what is he using. Turns
| out whose were AirPods Pro 3, so my first impression with their
| microphone is quite amazing. Comparable to "studio mics from MBP"
| from a generation or two ago. He shared noise cancellation is
| also great.
| cactusplant7374 wrote:
| At first I liked the noise cancellation on the AirPods 4 but
| after a while I started feeling weird. A weird, fullness in my
| head. Not very enjoyable.
| tecleandor wrote:
| It might also be because newer Bluetooth codecs being used. I
| think Apple doesn't publish a lot of documentation about it (or
| it isn't obvious, at least...)
| elAhmo wrote:
| Could be the case, but it is very obvious if someone is using
| Pros 1 or 2, the audio is really bad. This was honestly such
| a jump that I somehow wish my Pros 1 to break so I can get
| new ones :D Can't upgrade from a perfectly working set of
| headphones, although they are more than four years old and
| probably my 2nd most used device after the phone.
| Tepix wrote:
| Probably Airpods Pro 3 then and not Airpods 3. The latter have
| no noise cancellation.
| elAhmo wrote:
| yup, edited my comment, it was Pros
| semiinfinitely wrote:
| I've had this issue with AirPods 2
| wil421 wrote:
| The same issue happens to me at my house.
| cbeach wrote:
| Just one data point, but I was on a flight this weekend and
| AirPods Pro 3 worked fine for me with ANC. No feedback or other
| noises, just a slight bit of wind noise when the overhead air
| duct was directed straight at my head (so I angled the duct
| slightly away from me).
| yokoprime wrote:
| I experienced the same thing first time I took them onboard a
| plane. The APP has so far been a disappointment for me. They do
| have much better NC, but at the cost of issues like this and
| worse sound quality
| hnlmorg wrote:
| Completely off topic, but when did people start calling earphones
| "headphones"?
|
| Headphones are the cans that cup your ears and strap around or
| over the head. Hence their name.
|
| Whereas earphones go inside your ear.
| slg wrote:
| I'm not sure if this is a "when did people start" situation. I
| have never heard a layman use "earphones" in casual
| conversation.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| People definitely used to. Or at least in the UK they did.
| wk_end wrote:
| Yeah, might be a UK thing. In Canada/the US I've only ever
| heard "headphones" and "earbuds" (a specific kind of
| headphone).
| hnlmorg wrote:
| That would explain my surprise then. :)
| slg wrote:
| Another example of us being separated by a common language.
| I don't think this has ever been common in the US.
| simmons wrote:
| I don't think it was ever common, since earphones weren't
| that popular until people started calling them "earbuds",
| but the term was historically used in at least some
| circles in the U.S. The 1988 Radio Shack catalog [1]
| seems to mention "earphone" 57 times, including two mono
| earphone products.
|
| [1] https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-
| Catalogs/Radio-Sha...
| slg wrote:
| That's interesting, although that seems to be a different
| usage than OP mentioned. It seems to be used
| interchangeably with headphones as it's also being used
| to describe cables and jacks.
| 0xffff2 wrote:
| I'm reasonably certain that I am about as old if not slightly
| older than the invention of in-ear headphones. I'm also
| reasonably certain that I have always used "headphones" to
| refer to any small portable speaker designed to inject sound
| directly into the ears. I'm absolutely certain I have never
| used the term "earphones", although "ear buds" was/is a common
| synonym for in-ear headphones.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| I'm probably around 2 decades older than the invention of
| earphones and people definitely did used to call them that
| here in the UK.
| beala wrote:
| I use them interchangeably. Webster appears to back me up here.
| However, I only say ear _bud_ when referring to the type that
| 's inserted into the ear.
| efficax wrote:
| i've never heard anyone say "earphones"
| iAMkenough wrote:
| In my corner of the world, we call them "earbuds" as a subset
| of headphones.
|
| Earphones sounds antiquated. I could picture my father saying,
| "Let me connect my earphones to my gramophone so I don't
| disturb your grandmother."
| Fwirt wrote:
| Something interesting occurs to me. Many of the anecdotes about
| the squealing on flights says the noise goes away when yawning.
| Yawning lifts the soft palate and equalizes ambient pressure
| behind the eardrum in the sinuses. Air pressure is lower in a
| pressurized airplane cabin than on the ground and is usually more
| dynamic as well. I wonder if an air pressure gradient forms in
| the ear canal when in the air that exacerbates the ANC feedback
| issues that users (myself included) are experiencing on the
| ground. I feel like there must be some interaction between the
| multiple microphones due to vibration transmitted through the
| body of the Airpods.
|
| Since it seems to be an ANC issue it should be fixable in
| software.
| ofcrpls wrote:
| I discovered another way to remove this problem - Initiate a
| screen recording and it's gone. I was doing this to report a
| TestFlight app bug on a flight I was experiencing and wow did
| the ANC improve so much.
| OGWhales wrote:
| That's pretty peculiar... the ANC worked still it just got
| rid of this issue? I don't have any guesses why that would
| be.
| vcanales wrote:
| I use these at night, sleeping with them on. I experienced this
| screeching intermittently for like a week, and then it went away
| almost completely. Now, it only happens if I lay down in a very
| specific way. It's probably related to the strength of the seal
| in my case, and maybe at higher altitudes and different pressures
| the seal is affected in a similar way.
|
| The seal might have improved for me the more I used the same
| eartips
| jamies888888 wrote:
| I had to return my AirPods Pro 3. I upgraded from AirPods 4 with
| ANC and they were worse in every department I could see. I assume
| battery life is better, but I've never ran out of battery anyway.
|
| I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips, and these were no
| different to any I've tried, despite reviews stating they were
| super comfortable.
|
| My left ear is also worse to get it fitting right than my right
| ear. I have tried every size provided, none seem right. A grimace
| in the gym is enough to unseat even the most secure fit/seal, in
| either ear.
|
| My main gripes specifically with AirPods Pro 3, which I've not
| seen in any other review;
|
| - Because the rubber tips vary in size, the case has to
| accommodate the largest. This means if you're using small tips,
| there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily
| be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection.
|
| - The case is substantially bigger than AirPods 4 with ANC. I
| would say ~40%.
|
| - The volume swipe on the stalk action is very tricky to trigger.
|
| - Any stalk action is a bad idea when it's so easy to unseat
| them. I skip songs with a double press regularly, and nearly
| every time I had to push in and rotate after.
| HelloMcFly wrote:
| > This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare
| room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated,
| breaking the charge connection.
|
| I've used many headphones - probably upwards of 10 pairs cross
| 5 brands - in my day with rubber tips that can accommodate
| multiple sizes. This has never been a problem for me with any
| brand. I've switched to open ear headphones (over-ear for
| flights) since last year so my knowledge base is aging.
|
| Is the magnetic action in Apple's case not strong enough,
| maybe?
| stronglikedan wrote:
| > I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips,
|
| That's a shame since it's literally impossible to get that deep
| sub bass or punchy mid bass without a seal. But if you're not
| into genres that sound better with that, then you probably
| wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
| joecool1029 wrote:
| Wonder if it's humidity related. Besides the lower pressure,
| commercial aircraft are usually single digit % humidity due to
| use of dry bleed air to pressurize the cabin. Besides the effect
| on sealing, I wonder if there's an effect on acoustics that the
| ANC has to contend with. It would possibly explain some of the
| other people facing the same issues at home.
| temp0826 wrote:
| I became fed up with my airpods (and bluetooth earbuds in
| general) and switched to some great (albeit definitely not new
| and definitely not high end) IEMs and couldn't be happier. I was
| worried about losing the noise canceling but it turns out to not
| matter in the slightest with IEMs with proper tips on them, the
| isolation is unbelievable. Not dealing with battery life and
| charging issues anymore is worth it alone. The absurd price
| difference is a great bonus too.
| gwbas1c wrote:
| What's an IEM?
| temp0826 wrote:
| "In-ear monitor", fancy buzzword for earbud afaict (I am
| definitely not a part of the audiophile scene and am not sure
| if there is actually a difference there, except maybe they
| insert very deep in the ear canal and have excellent
| isolation).
| redwall_hp wrote:
| They're musicians' tools. Playing live music is absolutely
| destructive to your hearing, and ear protection is
| required. IEMs are a combination of protective equipment
| (many are designed the same way as concert earplugs) and
| earphone, so you can hear a clear signal from the mixing
| board at a safe volume, while shutting out the house
| speakers' insane noise levels.
|
| Before IEMs were common, the norm was (hopefully) ear plugs
| and having monitoring speakers pointed at the musicians
| from the floor.
|
| IEMs can be made in the concert earplug style, which is
| usually a center pair with 3-4 layers of rubber domes like
| typical earbuds. Or you can pay more and have custom molds
| made of your ears, so ones can be made to perfectly fit.
|
| "Monitor" also has certain implications in audio. Usually
| something designed for monitoring will have a flat
| frequency response, while most consumer gear has aggressive
| EQ curves that do things like boosting bass. (Most people
| will think monitors "sound bad," while the lack of sound
| tampering is essential for performance and mixing.)
| Eisenstein wrote:
| "In Ear Monitor". Its named for its use by musicians to
| listen to the mix while they perform, but now it just refers
| to the style of isolation via mechanical means (foam or
| silicon seal) and the way the cable folds back over the top
| of the ear.
|
| * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor
| OGWhales wrote:
| Yup, it's pretty impressive how good IEMs can be at isolating
| you from sounds with good fitting tips. I am fond of the
| SpinFit W1 tips, they were much better than whatever stock tips
| came with mine and they seal really well.
| jherskovic wrote:
| Love my APP3, upgraded from APP2 and have only one regret... no
| Comply Foam tips available yet. Why does Apple not go all-in on
| memory foam, I dunno, but at least the APP2 version was so much
| better it's not even funny.
|
| With the Apple XS tips, which otherwise fit well for me, any yawn
| means the APP3 fall out.
| Liftyee wrote:
| Sidenote from an observer since I don't use AirPods (or any other
| Apple device, for that matter). I've been seeing more "Apple
| design problem" articles around the latest release cycle. It
| seems out of line for a company whose main advantage is attention
| to detail and UX (which you pay dearly for).
|
| I'm always reminded of dystopian stories by Doctorow et al. when
| the frequency of brand name usage exceeds a certain threshold,
| and this article certainly did that.
| thenobsta wrote:
| :( I recently lost my APP1 and was going to buy new airpods this
| week. I guess I'm going to look elsewhere until Apple improves
| their quality. I'm one of the few that are bothered by ANC, so I
| don't use it. But I also don't want to buy/support a subpar
| product release.
| falkensmaize wrote:
| This is not an ad, just personal experience, but I went through
| two pairs of AirPod Pro 2s in the last couple of years and both
| developed problems outside of warranty. I bought a pair of
| Earfuns from Amazon and they're honestly pretty great. 95% of
| the sound quality and functionality of AirPod pros for about
| 25% of the price.
| thenobsta wrote:
| Thanks for the report! This iteration of earphones will be
| the Honda civic of ears phones, not the BMW.
| lilyball wrote:
| If you don't use ANC, then why is an ANC issue that only
| appears on flights a reason for you to not buy a product? If
| someone said they have weird ears and the AirPods Pro 3 simply
| doesn't fit their ears, would that be a reason for you to not
| buy it even though it fits yours?
| gwbas1c wrote:
| This just sounds like the fallacy of ignoring corner / minority
| use cases.
|
| A minority of users might encounter a flaw in a corner case, but
| if that's an important corner case, it's a defect: IE, Airpods
| might only be used on flights 1% of the time, but for the people
| who use them on flights, it's a very important (and hyper-
| critical) use case.
| surfsvammel wrote:
| I have this exact problem, my colleague does not. I also noticed
| yawning helped. I gave my old AirPods to my ex :( I miss them.
| jsbisviewtiful wrote:
| Anecdotal, but recently gave up on AirPods and moved over to
| Beats Fit Pro to get similar feature parity with my iPhone. Thus
| far, the Beats fit way better than either my AirPod 2 or AirPod
| Pro 1's ever did. ANC and the lack of an extra mic are ever so
| slightly worse, but the battery life and fit are so much better.
| My $250 AirPod Pros had to be exchanged for a battery defect
| within 3 months and were regularly falling out during runs... I
| don't think I will be buying AirPods again, but anyone struggling
| with them should scope the Beats line.
| treetalker wrote:
| I am surprised that Apple did not test in a way that revealed
| these problems (testing around a variety of loud noises, and
| especially testing on airplanes, where the product is used a
| lot).
|
| And I am surprised that, if they did do the testing, they shipped
| anyway.
|
| But I am becoming less and less surprised via-a-vis Apple
| problems, because they seem to be occurring with increasing
| frequency.
|
| Apple, take note.
| jdelman wrote:
| I've noticed a big problem with AirPods Pro 3 on the NYC subway.
| Maybe my fit isn't right, but Adaptive/Transparent mode is a lot
| less "transparent" with really loud background noise - I can tell
| I'm listening to a processed signal rather than the natural muted
| sound of the AirPods Pro 2.
| nadis wrote:
| > This entry was written at 33,000 feet while flying over the
| Canadian Rockies.
|
| Respect the commitment to the craft!
|
| Also useful / timely knowledge for me, thank you. I have a big
| international trip with multiple longhaul flights coming up and
| was debating if I should upgrade my airpods or consider something
| else (e.g. overear headphones). Do folks have overear
| recommendations?
| brundolf wrote:
| I had something similar happen after sleeping a few times with my
| first-gen airpods pro. I think something must have gotten filled
| with earwax or something, because the noise cancelling got more
| and more broken and had more sudden sharp sounds until they were
| unusable
|
| But since then I've had two pairs of airpods pro 2 and bought the
| 3s on the first day, and I've had no such issues with any of
| them, including sleeping, and flying twice with the 3's so far.
| YMMV
| Traubenfuchs wrote:
| - I can't jog with the APP3: the new tips transmit too much of
| the impact vibration into my ear, creating a painful noise
| sensation that can not be healthy. Same for walking sometimes! It
| makes me walk carefully and weirdly.
|
| - Certain type of noise, like strongly vibrating idioit cars and
| idiot motorbikes also create some very painful feedback noise
| that makes me take them out when I need them most.
|
| - I too experienced this horrible screeching, but I wasn't doing
| anything specialy. Cupping them made it worse, taking the out and
| in again did not help. I put them back in the case and a few
| hours later this issue disappeared.
|
| To me, the APP3 feel half broken and dangerous, I regret buying
| them, I wish I would have bought just another set of APP2.
|
| It was one of the most anticipated Apple upgrades of all times
| and they dropped the ball.
| pugworthy wrote:
| Hearing Aid wearer here. Welcome to the occasional whine because
| something doesn't quite sit right.
| tomcam wrote:
| I get this same problem (whistling sound) coming from my AirPods
| Max headsets. I think it has something to do with partially
| obscuring the mic.
| suchar wrote:
| In my case (although I have not yet flown with APP3) the ANC
| works great, however, transparency mode (and adaptive mode) have
| issue with a noise. In a silent room I hear quiet noise in
| transparency mode (not present in ANC nor in "Off") which wasn't
| present in APP1. I tried different tips
|
| Also, transparency mode felt more "natural" in APP1 in comparison
| to APP3. Currently it feels like a downgrade from APP1
| (unfortunately my pair of APP1 broke recently), because I used
| transparency a lot and it feels worse
| nick-sta wrote:
| I've also had this sound on my 3s, but only when handling them
| before putting them in my ears. I'd say it's happened at least
| 10-15 times, and every time I've thought it's so loud it'd do
| damage if it was in my ears.
|
| Anecdotally I've done four 11+ hour flights with them so far and
| they've been super solid on the plane - no issues there.
|
| Edit: here's what I mean - https://youtube.com/shorts/VvEjetlYwa8
| prmoustache wrote:
| ewaste
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