Loi Dunk

Airpods Pro 3: First Impressions

• Barbara & Teja Arboleda • Episode 81

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Barbara and Teja test out the brand-new AirPods Pro 3 to see if Apple’s latest earbuds live up to the hype. Teja is especially curious about the improved background noise handling, because who doesn’t want to actually hear everyone spill the tea in a crowded café?

As for the new live translation feature, it’s still a little clunky, but give it some time. Maybe they'll even eventually add Klingon.

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#airpodspro3 #airpodspro #techreview

SPEAKER_00:

We're recording. I said we're recording. I said we're rec we're recording.

SPEAKER_02:

You're boring?

SPEAKER_00:

What we are recording. Recording.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

We're recording.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, yes, we are.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks a lot.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, we're recording. A show about the new AirPods. What a show, we're anyway. Hi folks. Hi. We are record we are we're doing we are reviewing AirPod Pro 3.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

I used for many years one of the earliest versions of AirPods. For many years. I think it was some some years ago.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, right, because she upgraded.

SPEAKER_00:

She upgraded. And again, this is a year.

SPEAKER_02:

She upgraded before you did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So I bought it from her for not much.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00:

And um I had been using that. Now I have some hearing loss. And what we also recognized some years ago is that I've always had hearing issues. We didn't know that I did until later on in life. Yeah. That I've always had uh certain frequencies that that I couldn't hear, and also a hearing cognition.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's difficult for you to pick out the conversation in background noise.

SPEAKER_00:

So and also to if it's if it's a complex situation that I have to de-scramble what I'm hearing. So it's partly an ADD. It's connected to ADD, that kind of thing. So um the the AirPods I was using were really good, but there was often very ex a lot of extraneous sound that was coming in, and it was difficult for me to hear a lot of things, especially if I'm watching Netflix while I'm at the gym.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, because it didn't have the sound cancellation features.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

And then I got the AirPods Pro 2.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

Two Parter. Um Two Parter. Um what's the reference? Jim, you gotta know the reference. You gotta know the reference. You have to know the reference.

SPEAKER_00:

Two Parter. I think it does it something like that. Two Parter. Two Parter.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, anyway. Um comment below if you know the reference. Um yes, oh, and I was giving, I I just gotten them and I was giving a talk at New England Conservatory, and I was leaving the building and I would put them in, and I'm like, oh, this is great, you know, turn on the the noise cancellation, and I walked outside. And and New England Conservatory is in the middle of Boston, it's got all those city sounds, you know, and I'm like, okay, I was looking for something on my phone. And then for one, and then for some reason I took one of them out.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh huh.

SPEAKER_02:

I had not realized how noisy it was. Like I was I was floored by how quiet it was here, and I was just listening to like some music or something, and then when I took it out, and it's like that's city sound? That's city sound.

SPEAKER_00:

I want to record you doing that. I want to use it as city sound.

SPEAKER_02:

It's copyrighted. Patented by me.

SPEAKER_00:

Barbara does really, really good city sounds. Here, listen to her. I've recorded it. Oh, wait, I can't.

SPEAKER_02:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

It's copyrighted. I can't play it back.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um and and I I I need, especially now that I've been told that I need, but I need a way to isolate voice, especially in a crowded room, restaurant, things like that, fight club, whatever it is I'm attending. Oh, right. Okay. I won't bring it up.

SPEAKER_02:

No. You don't talk about fight club. Yeah. So we got super excited, is what we're trying to say.

SPEAKER_00:

AirPod Pro 3 came out because not only does it have the features that you were talking about, yes, but it also has a couple of added things that are kind of cool.

SPEAKER_02:

They are.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00:

Including with the new iOS, now you need to upgrade to iOS 26.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And any of you who are asking iOS 26, like, when did that happen?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, because it happened 18. So it goes straight from iOS 18 to iO8 26, because that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, no, because next year's 2026.

SPEAKER_02:

And this year was 2018.

SPEAKER_00:

I I I know, but they're just like with cars. They're they're stepping six months ahead. Like if you buy a 2026 Toyota now.

SPEAKER_02:

And this year is 2018.

SPEAKER_00:

This year is 2025.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so why isn't this year the why isn't it? Because they just started that.

SPEAKER_00:

No, they just adopted that new naming convention.

SPEAKER_02:

I see.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

So they're only going they are going to send out one operating system per year.

SPEAKER_00:

That is right. That is that that's the that's the goal. And then to name it the year that it's going to be taking taking most of its presence. So the 2020 2020 iOS 26, which just came out.

SPEAKER_02:

Just came out.

SPEAKER_00:

Just came out.

SPEAKER_02:

I like the glossy button look. I don't know. I know. I turned that off. No! Oh yeah. Oh my gosh, I love the glossy button. Oh, I love it. It looks like glasses, shimmery. But then again, I like shiny.

SPEAKER_00:

True, you do. But anyway, so some of these new features are kind of cool. One is instant language translation for certain languages. Right now it's limited to like instant.

SPEAKER_02:

Not instant, but it's but we'll we'll we'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and then the other cool feature is uh the ability to um do like uh really change the features of noise cancellation and focusing on uh a voice, and you can even design it so that as you're moving your head, it will like focus on what the intention is.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, what's in front of you so that it knows which um which voice to focus in on in a conversation.

SPEAKER_00:

It even does an audiogram test.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

On both ears. Just like if you go to the audiologist and they do that test where they, you know, the different sounds, and then you have to like say you know, point your finger up or whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Which is really fascinating because it it'll turn on the noise cancellation and then you just you take that test, and I I mean, I kind of feel bad for audiologist.

SPEAKER_00:

True, true. Um I do too. I think that there are a lot of things. Well, there's also it also like it'll take your blood pressure and your pulse. Oh, your pulse.

SPEAKER_02:

Not your butt. No, you can't take your blood pressure from the page.

SPEAKER_00:

It'll take your pulse through the airpods. So you don't even need a uh an Apple Watch. It'll like do it through here.

SPEAKER_02:

For your pulse.

SPEAKER_00:

For your pulse. It's pretty cool. So if you're exercising, it'll like tell you what your pulse is. That's pretty cool. I've already tested it. It's pretty cool. Oh, good. So opening it, open it. I always love this feature. When you open it, like it pops up here on the phone and it shows you uh that the battery is um 100%. That's the other problem that I had with the older AirPods.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, yeah, it never told you where you were.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh no, it did, but the battery lasted only an hour and ten minutes.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, well.

SPEAKER_00:

So this is was really good. So I'm gonna put these on. And Okay. There you go. So right now it's on the feature is set where it's closed. Like I can I can't hear much. Yes, that's so currently I'm on listening mode transparency.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

If I turn off transparency.

SPEAKER_02:

Wait, no, you just turned on transparency.

SPEAKER_00:

There you go.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, noise cancellation. No, wait, you well, now can you hear me?

SPEAKER_00:

Barely.

SPEAKER_02:

Barely. Right, which is except when you talk.

SPEAKER_00:

Then it turns on.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, it's not on adaptive right now.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I huh. Now it's really quiet and and I start talking and it turns on again.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, because you turned on conversational awareness.

SPEAKER_00:

Conversational awareness. Which is really cool. So I can set it for noise cancellation and it gets really, really quiet. All I can hear is my heartbeat, and my thoughts, and my and my and my my innermost desires.

SPEAKER_02:

Can you can you hear your soul?

SPEAKER_00:

I can hear my soul squirming about. Oh. Wondering how long will 2025 last.

SPEAKER_02:

So why don't you I thought you had to put adaptive on in order to for it to do the conversation thing.

SPEAKER_00:

If I turn off conversation awareness.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_00:

Now I turned off most uh conversation awareness, and now I I can't hear much at all.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay. So the thing with cut with what was interesting about conversation awareness, they had adaptive for a while, and I didn't find it useful. It would it would turn off the noise cancellation when I was talking, and then the other person would start talking back, and it would go back to noise cancellation. So it's like, I when I'm talking to someone, I don't really, I mean, I need to hear myself, but not the same way that I need to hear the person I'm talking to. So this was actually a really good.

SPEAKER_00:

Currently I have it on adaptive.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So right now it's listening in and it's wondering, you know, where this is gonna go.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. You know, but isn't so adaptive isn't the same thing though.

SPEAKER_00:

It it is machine learning. It's not AI, but it's machine learning, and it is it is listening for the ways in which I am responding and speaking and so on adaptive you can hear me still too. I I can, but it's brought it's it's reduced some of the extraneous ambient noise.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, see, that's the thing. So if you go to a restaurant and you turn on adaptive, then it then you can hear the people you're talking to like at the table without necessarily hearing all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. And if I turn on the spatial audio, that also helps because it gives me a sense of where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, right. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Because that was also one of my uh when I was a professor, one of my students would ask a question and I would have to look around the room. I would always tell them first in class, laser. Yeah, so I know who's talking because otherwise I have to read lips often, and if I don't know who's talking, I won't know where to go to see what they're saying. And sometimes I would say that's an interesting question, and I would say, can you repeat it again? And be like, Well, how would you know it's an interesting question, Professor Abortable?

SPEAKER_02:

They caught you there. I know because they always you were faking it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, but this is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02:

It is good, it is good. No, I I think that's gonna be super helpful for you. And we tested it out at the coffee shop yesterday. You said it was working pretty well.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, pretty good, pretty good.

SPEAKER_02:

You know, you turned to face me and you could hear me talking to you, and then you turned your head away so it was facing somewhere else, and then you couldn't really hear me as much because I was to the side. So, like again, if you're talking to somebody in at a party and you want to look like a tech bro, you just put these in and uh is that how tech bros walk around? Look confident.

SPEAKER_00:

What's if the hand? Oh, wait, I can't go to the piano reads, yeah, Muppet hands. But it it when I see people with AirPods in and they're with other people talking, until I put these in, these particular ones in, I always thought that's pretty rude of someone to be sitting there and just not really listening. Now I'm understanding that in fact they may be using them as hearing aids like I do.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, not quite hearing aids, because it's not quite doing the same thing, but it's filtering, which is something that a lot of the the more expensive hearing aids do now. They like they do they filter that and you can change it. I think that's a little more adaptive because they do have like this the an app where you can have different settings. Yeah, but hopefully this will have it someday. I would imagine it it how could it not? Like, this is just the beginning, right? Just like with the translation stuff, the translation stuff was fun. You have to download the language onto your app, and then and it only has what right now it has English and Spanish and Portuguese and German and French.

SPEAKER_00:

Now the reason why we can't, the reason why we can't uh use the translation features on these new AirPod Pro 3s with my iPhone is because my iPhone is a 13 Pro. You're using the 16. And the 13 Pro.

SPEAKER_02:

Mine we're we're we're you know doing the video with. So we cannot demonstrate this at this moment. But if you decide to do cutaways later, we can demonstrate it.

SPEAKER_00:

We certainly can. Cutaways. What's a cutaway?

unknown:

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't know, but as we demonstrate with cutaways. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Sounds so sexy.

SPEAKER_02:

Cutaways.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, then what happens is you put you you open up the translate app, you have to download the language into the app, and then you have to have the app open. I did not know this at first. Okay, so you have the app open, and then you you have it start to do the translation, and then it it was translating you. Because you were you you taught you spoke German to me a little bit.

SPEAKER_00:

I I said, Did you sleep well last night?

SPEAKER_02:

Yep, and it did, and it it it speaks it in an artificial voice in the AirPods, but then it also puts it on the screen, the translation, so that you can see it.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, and then you hold that screen toward the one you're speaking to.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, because I can talk back and then it will translate it back into German and I can read it.

SPEAKER_00:

Because obviously, if you can't read German, it wouldn't make sense, or if it's spoken to your ear, you wouldn't be able to repeat what you're hearing.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, exactly, exactly. So that way you can have a two-way conversation. Uh, where where I can think of this is that sometimes we've had people at the hospital, they'll like come in before the interpreter arrives, and maybe you know, we want to say, Oh, okay, I will get you checked in and you know, have a seat out there. We'll we'll begin once the interpreter is ready. But how am I supposed to do that? Right now.

SPEAKER_00:

But with with Google Translate, and maybe this it works that way as well, you can press on the speaker button and it'll it'll speak what it what it's written.

SPEAKER_02:

Ah, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

So you like if you're if you don't know how to say a word in a certain language and you look at, you also may want to know how to say it. But no, and it'll like play it back.

SPEAKER_02:

But that means if you use the Apple Translate app, though, I I think it does that as well. I think it does. Then you can have your first thing say there, and then turn on the little translate thing, and when they speak to you, then you can hear what it says. That's right. And then you can go back, you know. So for something simple like that. I think the downside right now is that it really has to function exactly like you would with an interpreter, like a medical interpreter. Right. Not the simultaneous UN interpreters who like are like yeah, they have a high potential intellectual leg, right from the other crossing video streams here. Don't cross the stream! Don't cross the stream! Where's that one from?

SPEAKER_00:

Come on, you need to come on.

SPEAKER_02:

They know that one, they must know that. Don't cross the streams.

SPEAKER_00:

If you don't know, you should not be watching this episode or any other of our technology episodes. If you do watch. It's very simple. Just type it into Google.

SPEAKER_02:

And listen. Um, right, exactly. But um These are AirPods. Right. No, so you can't cross conversational lines, it gets very confused. So it has to be that the person says something to you, and then it will speak, it will speak it and write and write it down on the phone, and then you say something back, and then it writes down on the phone and you show it to them, and then they speak. Like it has to be very organized, like that. It it loses track, so it doesn't have voice awareness in the sense that it can't tell that two different people are talking, right? And so it gets all confused.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, we don't like confusion.

SPEAKER_02:

We don't like confusion. Because yeah, we tried that with a we pulled up a Spanish video, like a telenovela or something, on YouTube, and we're like, okay, let's give this a try. So it was like some telenovela scene, and tried to have it do it, it was a complete fail. I mean, not a complete fail. It it would come up with the words, but they were all jumbled up because like you couldn't tell one person from the other. Well, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And there's usually music behind it.

SPEAKER_02:

And generally speaking, one thing I learned in school was that people who speak Spanish use a higher syllable per minute frequency than English speakers in in general.

SPEAKER_00:

In general, wow.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. So what is it like a?

SPEAKER_00:

Is it because words are longer or is it Again, it's syllables per second.

SPEAKER_02:

So when I say average syllables per second for English, so it's got a broad range, but it average is about four to five syllables per second. Um, right.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

And then Japanese. Oh, Japanese is often cited as the fastest at 7.84 syllables per second.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think that's a good one.

SPEAKER_02:

But then what's although I never really thought about it, but and then Spanish average this is AI overview, so results may vary. Um, but it says Spanish is seven to eight syllables. So again, it's it's fairly the same as as Japanese then. So I think that that that will that will make you different.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you think that the translator is it wasn't keeping up because of the speed?

SPEAKER_02:

No, no, no. I think it it wasn't keeping up because it's designed for a statement, translate.

SPEAKER_00:

Ah, right.

SPEAKER_02:

A statement back, translate.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

It's not meant for conversation. We are not yet at Star Trek's universal translator. Not yet. Close. Not so so close. Not make up oh not yet. Wow. Vicious.

SPEAKER_00:

It almost went up my nose.

SPEAKER_02:

No, I was out here.

SPEAKER_00:

I was out here. I've got a long nose.

SPEAKER_02:

What are you, Pinocchio? But yes. No universal translator yet.

SPEAKER_00:

Not yet. At some point when we do reach. Were you just crying? Some point when we when we that would be so weird too if we had like it would have to be able to translate not just uh languages by adults, but if it could translate like child language. Like, you know how when you say to a child, I I don't understand what what can you try to explain it in a different way what you need? You know? And then it translates crying or yelling or mumbling or you know nonsensical stuff. You know?

SPEAKER_02:

Mm-hmm. Nonsensical stuff. It would translate nonsensical.

SPEAKER_00:

That would be awesome, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_02:

That would be very difficult. However, I am absolutely shocked.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02:

Shocked that the first set of languages did not include Klingon.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no, no, no, no, no. You mean in the uh the translator app?

SPEAKER_02:

In in the AirPods.

SPEAKER_00:

The translator app? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Why we're talking about geeks here. We are talking about computer people. I'm not sure. There is no excuse for not having Klingons.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm freezing here. I'm frozen. Uh because do I need to explain this? I was gonna say that Klingons aren't real, but I'm not a total nutcase. Objection. What's the phrase? Relevance.

SPEAKER_02:

What's the uh I'm not a total I'm not a total nutcase.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm not a total nutcase. What's that from?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm not a total nutcase. It's real. I knew it. What's it from?

SPEAKER_02:

What's it from?

SPEAKER_00:

It's literally one of the best written uh sci-fi movies.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. Yep. Yeah, we love it. But they didn't include Klingon.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh well, that's too bad. That is that is.

SPEAKER_02:

I was sad they didn't include Japanese.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, they will, but Japanese is is not based on this the algorithm would have to be.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. I mean it's kind of so different. Really surprised they didn't include Chinese in the first rollout. Just because I would imagine that there might be a lot of demand for that. I just saw a screen.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I was just gonna say that the nuances between sounds in Chinese are they're so close.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, and there's involved.

SPEAKER_00:

A lot of pitch, and if you're not completely accurate, it could come out sounding uh.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, no, but it would be uh no, it would be the person speaking to you so that you would understand.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

But um I saw a list of the most used languages at our hospital for the interpreter services. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it not English and Spanish?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Spanish was one of them. I mean, but the interpret we generally don't call interpreter services for people who speak English, generally speaking.

SPEAKER_00:

Generally speaking, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

But yes, it was um Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it Brazilian Portuguese or Portugal Portuguese, European Portuguese?

SPEAKER_02:

Most of the people I see are Brazilian.

SPEAKER_00:

Probably, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Um and then the fourth one. What do you think the fourth one is? Russian. I would have thought that too. And it used to be when I worked there about 25 years ago, 20 years ago. Um it was there were a lot of Russian-speaking people that came, but it was not. It is not.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Um I saw a map a couple months ago showing the most prominent um uh ethnic groups in Massachusetts.

SPEAKER_01:

I gotta get it, I gotta get it.

SPEAKER_00:

I remember seeing Russian, so it's not but are you saying it's not Russian?

SPEAKER_01:

Not Russian.

SPEAKER_00:

What do they speak in the Ukraine?

SPEAKER_01:

Never get it. Ukrainese.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean I could I would say French, but it's not French because you would be you wouldn't be like jumping around like a.

SPEAKER_02:

Although surprisingly it might have some elements of it.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay, so it would be um Haitian Haitian Creole. Yeah, Haitian Creole. Oh, okay, Massachusetts. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Haitian Creole, got it. All right, very cool. Excellent. Well, I'm sure they'll come out with you know updates every month.

SPEAKER_02:

Everyone's gonna be a little bit. Japanese will be there at some point.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so so overall, would you say you are happy that you got the upgrade?

SPEAKER_00:

I am very happy that I got the new AirPod Pro 3. Um, it the batteries last a long time. They they fit really well, they cut out all the noise, they they isolate certain sounds. Uh it's got some other cool features that uh um do not require me to have an Apple Watch. Like I don't want an Apple Watch, but I love being able to, let's say, um uh see where my heartbeat is at, my heart rate.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

It's awesome stuff.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, cool. Well, that's our I'm keeping my twos for now.

SPEAKER_00:

That's very good.

SPEAKER_02:

Um but I've got my bling case.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Because as mentioned previously, I like shiny things.

SPEAKER_00:

Clearly, I like things that are smooth and look like eggshell.

SPEAKER_02:

Mmm, very nice. Nice little eggshell.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that looked condescending the way you did that.

SPEAKER_01:

Aww.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks a lot.

SPEAKER_01:

You're welcome.