6 things we want to see from the Apple AirPods 3

Date:
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 14:41:49 +0000

Description:
The AirPods 3 are predicted to launch today - here are the new features were hoping Apple will announce.

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With the next Apple event taking place later today (October 18), the hot product on everyones minds are the AirPods 3 .

Rumors around the successors to Apples popular true wireless earbuds have
been circulating for quite some time, and previous events have left us disappointed. However, with everything pointing to a 2021 release date,
todays Unleashed event is probably our last chance to see the AirPods 3
before the year is out and recent leaks have all but confirmed that Apple will announce its next wireless earbuds today.

While we cant say for sure that the AirPods 3 will be announced today, we
feel fairly confident that Apple is ready to finally upgrade the 2019 AirPods . After all, with all the advancements in Bluetooth technology, spatial audio , and hi-res streaming that have taken place over the last two years, the old AirPods are starting to look a little outdated. Not to mention their divisive design, which we think is well overdue an AirPods Pro -style upgrade.

Well be tuning into the event at 10am PDT / 6pm BST (or 4am AEDT on October 19, depending on your time zone), and you can follow our Apple event live
blog for all the latest updates but in the meantime, weve dreamed up an AirPods 3 wishlist of all the new specs were hoping to see. How to watch the Apple October event (Image credit: TechRadar) 1. Improved audio

The AirPods (2019) may be among the most popular wireless earbuds on the planet, but they certainly dont offer the best audio performance. Their
lively presentation works well for casual listening, but harsh trebles and underwhelming bass frequencies means that they arent the best true wireless earbuds for listening to music.

Apple has proven that its true wireless earbuds can sound very good indeed - the AirPods Pro are far more sonically impressive than their predecessors. And, we know from models such as the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus , that high-quality sound doesnt have to come with a huge price tag so an entry level pair of AirPods have no excuse for coming with poor sound.



Theres no reason why Apple couldnt take a cue from companies like Cambridge Audio (as well as Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose), and release a pair of AirPods with more accurately tuned drivers for a more powerful bass response and pleasingly rolled-off trebles.

As with any next-gen pair of headphones or earbuds , well be disappointed if Apple hasnt made any changes to the audio performance of the AirPods. We
think the AirPods 3 will take some design cues from the AirPods Pro (pictured). (Image credit: TechRadar) 2. A new design

The original AirPods launched back in 2016, and while they were upgraded in 2019, the design has remained the same: long, protruding stems and no
silicone / memory foam eartips.

While this design has served Apple well after all, the AirPods are probably the most easily-recognizable true wireless earbuds on the market we think
its time for a change.

Wed love to see Apple move away from the one-size-fits-all approach, and
allow people to choose from a selection of different eartips. As well as making the AirPods feel more comfortable and secure, the improved sound isolation afforded by a good fit should deliver a more powerful bass
response.

Its something thats worked really well for the AirPods Pro, Apples noise-cancelling wireless earbuds. In fact, weve heard plenty of rumors that the AirPods 3 will take a few design cues from the AirPods Pro, and that includes smaller stems.

While the long stems of the original AirPods means they can comfortably fit
in touch-sensitive controls, the AirPods Pro have proven that these controls dont require such a large amount of space to work.



On the AirPods Pro's far shorter stems is a capacitive force sensor; squeeze this and you can activate noise cancellation or Transparency mode, as well as skipping and pausing your music. The AirPods Max (pictured) come with support for Spatial Audio. (Image credit: Apple) 3. Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking

Apples Spatial Audio technology takes 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos content and applies directional audio filters, placing sound in a 3D sphere and making it feel more immersive, as if the audio is coming at you from every angle.

Right now, this technology only works with the AirPods Pro and the AirPods
Max , as it relies on their built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes to track the position of your head and ensure the sound is coming from the right direction.

Wed love to see this feature implemented in the (presumably) cheaper AirPods 3, especially now that Apple Music users can listen to some music tracks
using the immersive format. Why not bring the entry-level earbuds in line
with the rest of the AirPods family? (Image credit: Apple) 4. Hi-res and lossless audio support

A less likely (but equally desirable) feature wed like to see from the
AirPods 3 is support for hi-res audio codecs. Now that Apple Music offers hi-res audio at no extra cost to subscribers, we'd like to see Apple update its own hardware so that its capable of delivering lossless audio and it could start with the AirPods 3.

Right now, all AirPods models only support the AAC codec when connected to an iOS or iPadOS device, whereas the new lossless Apple Music format is encoded in ALAC. In short, without ALAC support built into the headphones, the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max aren't capable of transmitting hi-res audio.

In fairness, the necessary bit-rate to deliver truly lossless audio over Bluetooth hasnt been available until very recently. In September, Qualcomm announced aptX Lossless , a new feature of its Snapdragon Sound technology, which the company claims is capable of delivering 16-bit / 44.1kHz audio over a Bluetooth connection.

aptX Lossless is expected to start showing up in new headphones and earbuds between now and the end of the year and the AirPods 3 could well be the
first buds to deliver mathematically bit-for-bit exact audio via Bluetooth.

So, why do we think this is less likely than Spatial Audio? For starters,
were expecting the AirPods 3 to be an entry-level pair of earbuds to replace the current AirPods. As the technology is quite new, truly lossless Bluetooth audio will probably be a premium feature for the time being perhaps better suited to any future AirPods Max models, which will have the powerful drivers and accuracy needed for you to really appreciate the difference in sound quality.

Still, theres no reason why not-entirely-lossless hi-res audio support
couldnt be implemented in the AirPods 3. All Apple needs to do is add in support for codecs like aptX HD and ALAC, and the AirPods 3 will have an edge over many of their less high-spec competitors. (Image credit: Apple) 5. Bluetooth 5.2

Speaking of Bluetooth, its high-time Apple updated the AirPods wireless transmission standard to the latest version.

Lots of true wireless earbuds on the market come with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, whereas the 2019 AirPods only support Bluetooth 4.2. That means the current AirPods are missing out on faster data speeds and more stable pairing, as well as a wireless range of about 780 feet.

For comparison the wireless range of the 2019 AirPods is about four times shorter than this not the end of the world, but it would be great to be able to leave your iPhone in your kitchen while you potter around in the garden, without the fear of losing the connection. The Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 (pictured) have a far longer battery life than the current AirPods. (Image credit: Future) 6. Longer battery life

Last, but certainly not least, were hoping that Apple has made some serious improvements to the battery life of the AirPods, which currently comes in at
a rather meagre 24 hours.

Many true wireless earbuds on the market easily surpass this playtime, with models like the Lypertek PurePlay Z3 2.0 delivering an outrageous 80-hour battery life. Sure, were not expecting numbers anywhere near that for the AirPods 3, but we think 30 hours is very doable based on the competition.



Recent rumors have suggested that the AirPods 3 will come with a longer battery life than their predecessors - but the changes will be coming to the charging case, rather than the buds themselves. In a tweet , reliable leaker Max Weinbach said that the charging case will have a 20% larger battery, and will come with support for wireless charging as standard.

At the moment, you have to pay extra for the AirPods with a wireless charging case, which costs $199 / 199 / AU$319 as opposed to $159 / 159 / AU$249 for the standard charging case (though these prices are routinely discounted now that the AirPods (2019) are fairly old).

While wireless charging without the extra cost does sound appealing, well be
a little disappointed if the onboard battery life of the AirPods isnt improved. Right now, the 2019 AirPods can handle five hours of playback
before needing a rest in their charging case which isnt much compared to
many rival earbuds. AirPods Pro 2 : what we know so far



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/6-things-we-want-to-see-from-the-apple-airpods- 3/


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