AirPods 3: 4 things the new earbuds don’t get

After a long time of rumors and leaks, the AirPods 3 are finally a fact. At the beginning of this week, Apple announced the new earbuds that are armed with a lot of nice functionalities. But we remain Dutch and of course always have something to say.

Where there are a lot of features that the AirPods 3 have, there are also a number of things that can be missed. These are listed in this article.

AirPods 3: 4 things the earbuds don’t have

It was the week for me. In addition to the new color options of the HomePod mini and two new MacBook Pro models, Apple also showed the new AirPods 3. The earplugs have long been discussed in the corridors and I have been looking forward to the product for some time.

To be honest I was not disappointed last week. The AirPods 3 have a lot of nice functionalities. These include improved battery life, a new driver for higher sound quality and support for Spatial Audio. Although there are a number of functionalities that are missing.

#1 Noise Reduction

The strength of the AirPods Pro is its impressive noise cancellation. This functionality is a success due to the perfect cooperation between software and hardware. Software based on what the microphones record (and how it is handled), hardware based on the tips that go into the ears. This ensures that the ambient noise is perfectly closed off, so that you can enjoy it in peace. Something that is not really possible with the AirPods 3.

The new earbuds are equipped with improved microphones, but do not have the tips. The AirPods 3 have a so-called “open design”, which makes it difficult to keep the quality high. Apple has therefore chosen to omit the Noise Cancellation. A decision that is understandable, but which it is a pity that it is made.

#2 Different color options

Apple has equipped the HomePod mini, the M1 iMac and the AirPods Max with a lot of cheerful color options. Something the company has left out with the AirPods 3. The earbuds retain the classic Apple look and to be honest I’m not super sad about that. Pink, green, or blue AirPods aren’t really what I’m looking for right now.

Although I cannot ignore the lack of a dark variant, such as space gray. The fact that I will not be provided with such a color option again in 2021 hurts a little bit.

#3 Hi-Res Audio

That certainly does not apply to the lack of Hi-Res Audio. Of course I would have liked to see the functionality, just like Spatial Audio, in the AirPods 3. But the development to send actual Lossless Audio via Bluetooth is still in its infancy. Something that could negatively affect the user experience.

For the nerds among us: the necessary bitrate to do this has only recently become available. Last month, Qualcomm announced the aptX Lossless functionality within its Snapdragon Sound technology. This makes it possible to send 16-bit / 44.1 kHz audio over a Bluetooth connection. A pleasant development that unfortunately comes too late for the AirPods 3.

#4 More control over the sound

The AirPods 3 are equipped with the same technology as the AirPods Max, Apple’s very expensive headphones. It is an adaptive equalizer that ensures that the user always gets the optimal sound quality. The AirPods 3 do this by listening to your surroundings and providing a counter-noise, so that you can hear your content well anytime and anywhere.

It’s very nice that Apple automatically tweaks the quality of the sound, but it would have been nice if you had a little more say about that yourself. Just a little more control over the sound quality of your AirPods 3.

More about the AirPods 3

I said it at the beginning of this article: the AirPods 3 carry a lot of nice functionalities and improvements. You tap the earplugs for € 199 on the head and can then discover from next week what is good and what is not.

Are you curious about all the improvements I’m excited about? Be sure to check out the list I wrote about it above.