I’ve reviewed the AirPods Pro 3, and I gave them a near-perfect 4.5 out of 5 stars. For the sake of this story, I must establish that I found virtually zero flaws when it comes to audio performance. These $249 wireless earbuds are impressively detailed, spatially accurate, and immersive in a way that makes music come alive.
As a consumer electronics enthusiast, there’s little more thrilling than actually getting to look behind the curtain at how a product like AirPods Pro 3 is made. I had the opportunity to do just that by visiting one of Apple’s audio labs, a place where industry-recognized engineers scrutinize every aspect of sound to ensure audio coming from any Apple device lives up to standards.
Some spaces in the lab, like the room for audiologist-style hearing exams that inform the AirPods Pro hearing aid feature, looked exactly like the kind of soundproofed rooms you’d expect in any professional audio setting.
But others, like Apple’s anechoic chamber, are unlike anything I’ve seen before. An anechoic chamber is basically a space designed to absorb every sound that hits it and thus eliminate all echo.
Image 1 of 2
This establishes an extreme silence that is both relaxing and revealing. There’s nothing to hide in a space like this; even the tiniest quirks, clicks or unintended noises stand out. For engineers measuring audio and analyzing performance of a product like AirPods Pro 3, that’s the point.
One thing that continues to set AirPods Pro apart from the competition is spatial audio. In a different room, I encountered a spherical array of speakers used to test 360-degree sound. Sitting in the middle of this system, everything from sporting events to stadium concerts to nature’s symphonies can be recreated and placed with precise detail.
The colored lights add a playful touch for testers, but the purpose for this contraption is precision. Engineers can locate where individual sounds are coming from and even isolate them within the larger environment. This is how Apple ensures that the AirPods Pro 3 don’t just play sound, but that the earbuds can place it accurately around you.
Apple also achieves this by mapping how sound interacts with the human ear and head. Every vertical and horizontal angle creates unique auditory cues, and your brain interprets them to figure out where a sound is coming from. Because everyone’s ears are different, Apple collects data from many people to refine both its algorithms and the actual hardware changes that materialized with AirPods Pro 3 vs. AirPods Pro 2.
In addition to spatial audio, transparency mode, adaptive active noise cancellation, and signal stability are all tested rigorously in these labs to ensure anomalies never make it to our ears.
Walking out of the lab (that was, honestly, my version of Disneyland,) I was reminded about Apple’s long-standing investment in sound. From the original iPod that’s still sitting in my drawer and the EarPods that remain a staple to many today, to the first wireless AirPods in 2016 to the latest AirPods Pro 3, Apple has always been taking audio seriously.
Seeing the lab firsthand gave me a new appreciation for the invisible engineering that turns a pair of tiny earbuds into something truly immersive and alive. And while my favorite thing might be the battery life that’s finally long enough to last a cross-country flight, it’s really the audio performance of AirPods Pro 3 that sets the standard.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!