AirPods 3 vs AirPods 2: Top 8 improvements and new features of AirPods 3

AirPods 3, the successor of the 2-year-and-7-month old AirPods 2, was officially announced on October 18 2021. So many users are wondering about the new features of AirPods 3 (vs AirPods 2).

This AirPods guide explains the top 8 improvements and new features of AirPods 3 vs AirPods 2: the Force Sensor, IPX4 water-resistance rating, longer battery life, Spatial audio, wireless charging, adaptive EQ, Find My Network, and improved design.

A comparison of AirPods 3 vs AirPods Pro is discussed in this post.

As mentioned, AirPods 3 is the successor to AirPods 2 with considerable upgrades. They share a similar design and use the same H1 chip. But Apple managed to add some exciting new features to AirPods 3. Some are ported from AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.

Compared to AirPods 2, you may find the following 8 improvements and new features of AirPods 3.

Update: in iOS 17, Apple added some new features to AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max. You can now use the force sensor to mute and unmute during a phone call.

Force Sensor: the best of the new features of AirPods 3

Force Sensor is one of the most well-received features of AirPods Pro.

As explained in this guide in detail, the Force Sensor is superior to “touch” (as in Samsung Galaxy Buds) or “button (press)” controls (e.g., in Jabra Elite Sport) for in-ear wireless earbuds.

In AirPods 2, you have to tap (mostly double-tap) to control the earbuds. With AirPods 3, you can now press the Force Sensor at the stem of the earbuds. More gestures (single, double, triple presses, and long-press) can be used.

Personally, I would rate this Force Sensor as the No.1 new feature of AirPods 3.

In iOS 17, you can now press the force sensor to mute or unmute your microphone during a call.

Sweat and Water Resistance

AirPods 3 has an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance. So, it is safe to use these wireless earbuds in a heavy workout or even on rainy days.

As a comparison, AirPods 2 has no official rating for sweat and water resistance, although many AirPods 2 owners use them in the workouts without issues.

The IPX4 is surely one of the most wanted new features of AirPods 3 for many AirPods or AirPods 2 owners.

Longer battery life

AirPods 3 offers a playtime of 6 hours on a single charge (or 5 with spatial audio enabled). The talk time is about 4 hours. This is similar to the battery life of AirPods Pro 2.

As a comparison, AirPods 2 can last about 5 hours on one charge. The talk time is about 3 hours only.

The charging case of AirPods 3 can provide about 30 hours of listening time. While AirPods 2's charging case provides about 24 hours of playtime.

Spatial audio

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking was first introduced for AirPods Pro. It offers more immersive sound experiences than normal stereo by mimicking the theatre-like sound coming from all around you.

In a nutshell, spatial audio actually does two things:

• Spatialize stereo sound (similar to virtualized 3D sound).
• Position the sound precisely based on your head movement (which was calculated from the accelerometers and gyroscopes data).

Please note, Spatial Audio is totally different from Sony's 360 Reality Audio or Samsung's 360 Audio. They were developed independently (and internally) by these companies. And they usually work best on their own devices.

Please note AirPods 3 (and all other AirPods, including AirPods Pro) only support SBC and AAC codecs. You cannot enjoy high-resolution audio with AirPods.

Wireless charging

AirPods 3 charging case supports Qi wireless chargers (and Apple's MagSafe charger). Of course, you can still charge it with a lightning cable.

For AirPods 2, there are two versions of the charging case. The default one can only be charged through the lightning port. You need to pay $40 more to get the charging case with wireless charging.

Adaptive EQ

Adaptive EQ tunes sound in real-time based on how AirPods 3 fit in your ears (and the shape of your ears). It uses the inward-facing microphone to monitor the sound and then tunes the low and mid frequencies to compensate for the possible losses.

Apple first introduced the adaptive EQ in AirPods Pro and then in AirPods Max. Now, AirPods 3 also gets this feature.

Find My network

Find My is a revolutionary (and unfortunately underrated) tracking feature. It helps you locate your lost or stolen Apple devices.

AirPods 3 is fully supported in the Find My network, together with AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2. and AirPods Max.

Improved design

AirPods 3 has tweaked contours that apparently make the earbuds fit better for most owners. The new shape also funnels audio better directly to the ear canals.

The stem in AirPods 3 is obviously shorter than that in AirPods 2. It is close to that in AirPods Pro. Of course, there is a Force Sensor on it, just like in AirPods Pro.

Do you have any questions on the new features of AirPods 3 vs AirPods 2?

If you have any questions about the new features of AirPods 3 vs AirPods 2, please let us know in the comment box.

The community will help you.

You may check this guide if you are comparing AirPods 3 vs AirPods Pro.

You may check Headphone 101 for detailed explanations of headphone technologies and terms.

For Bluetooth headphone guides, please check the Bluetooth headphones section.

The sports headphones section is dedicated to guides on sports headphones.

You may also reach us through our Facebook page.