AirPods Pro 3 Launch Weeks Away: What Features Made Cut

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

The AirPods Pro 3 rumor mill is buzzing with excitement—and a healthy dose of uncertainty. We're potentially just weeks away from Apple's biggest audio upgrade in years, but recent reports suggest not everything we're hoping for might make it to launch day. Multiple sources point to a September 2025 reveal alongside the iPhone 17 lineup, yet analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests some features may be delayed until 2026. With the AirPods Pro 2 now three years old and software references already appearing in iOS 26 beta code, the timing feels right—but Apple's ambitious feature set might be more complex than initially anticipated.

Let's break down what we actually know versus what might get pushed to the back burner. After three years of pent-up demand and some truly impressive software updates to the Pro 2, Apple's next-generation earbuds are shaping up to be both an evolutionary leap and a cautionary tale about managing expectations in the rumor cycle.

What's definitely coming: the hardware upgrades worth waiting for

The good news? Every credible report agrees that AirPods Pro 3 will inherit today's software features while adding meaningful hardware improvements. We're talking about a genuinely refreshed design with a slimmer form factor, concealed status LED, and front-facing capacitive pairing button—drawing design cues from the fourth-generation AirPods that launched last year.

But the real excitement centers on what's under the hood. Apple is reportedly testing a faster audio chip—let's call it the H3—that delivers "much better" Active Noise Cancellation than the already impressive AirPods Pro 2. Here's what makes this particularly compelling: Apple specifically credited the H2 chip with doubling noise cancellation performance over the original Pro. If the H3 represents another significant leap forward, we could be looking at ANC that finally addresses the discomfort issues some users experience with aggressive noise cancellation.

From my experience testing various noise-cancelling earbuds, that "discomfort" factor is real—some people get headaches or feel pressure from intensive ANC algorithms. Reports indicate Apple's approach would make these issues "a non-issue," which would be genuinely game-changing for long-flight travelers, open-office workers, and anyone who wants ANC benefits without the side effects.

Beyond noise cancellation, the H3 chip opens up possibilities we probably won't see until months after launch. Just like the H2 became the foundation for features that arrived through subsequent iOS updates, the H3 could unlock capabilities we haven't even heard rumors about yet.

The health features that might not make the cut

Here's where things get interesting—and potentially disappointing. Apple is developing in-ear heart-rate tracking and researching ear-canal temperature sensing for AirPods Pro 3. The prospect of having comprehensive health monitoring directly in your ears is genuinely exciting, especially given how well Apple executed the hearing health features in AirPods Pro 2.

Think about the practical advantages: ear-canal temperature sensing could offer faster, more reliable body-temperature readings than wrist-based methods. Heart-rate tracking from your ears might deliver more accurate workout data than optical sensors on your wrist that can struggle with movement and sweat. These aren't gimmicky features—they represent a legitimate expansion of AirPods into serious health monitoring territory, potentially rivaling dedicated fitness trackers for accuracy.

But here's the reality check: these health features face significant engineering hurdles. Getting accurate biometric readings from miniaturized sensors inside earbuds, while maintaining comfort, battery life, and the form factor people expect, requires solving complex problems around sensor placement, algorithm optimization, and regulatory approval. Apple's track record with health features suggests they won't ship until the technology meets their quality standards—which could mean a phased rollout starting with basic temperature sensing before expanding to more sophisticated monitoring.

The AI-powered features facing delays

The most ambitious rumored features involve AI integration and advanced sensors that sound almost too good to be true. One rumor claims AirPods Pro 3 will partner with iPhone's Translate app for real-time conversation translation—imagine having a universal translator literally in your ears. Picture walking through Tokyo or Paris and seamlessly understanding conversations around you, or having natural conversations with people who speak different languages.

There's also speculation about infrared cameras that could enable in-air gesture control and enhance spatial audio experiences. Imagine controlling your music or answering calls with subtle hand gestures, or having your AirPods automatically adjust spatial audio based on your head movements and environment—all powered by tiny cameras that understand your physical context.

These features represent the kind of forward-thinking integration that Apple excels at when the execution is flawless. But they're also the most likely candidates for delay. Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple is prototyping infrared camera-equipped AirPods for mass production in 2026, not 2025. The technical complexity of integrating cameras, processing AI features locally while maintaining battery life, and ensuring reliable performance in real-world conditions—think noisy restaurants, crowded airports, or windy outdoor environments—suggests these innovations might arrive as a mid-cycle update or in a future generation entirely.

Why the September launch still makes sense

Despite the feature uncertainty, Apple's established pattern of updating AirPods Pro every three years strongly supports a September 2025 launch. Here's the business logic: the company has consistently announced significant AirPods updates alongside new iPhones, capitalizing on the massive marketing momentum of their biggest annual event.

With three years of accumulated demand from AirPods Pro 2 owners and competitive pressure from Sony, Bose, and Samsung's latest offerings, delaying until 2026 doesn't make strategic sense unless there are serious technical roadblocks. The fact that recent iOS 26 beta code already references the new hardware suggests development is progressing on schedule.

What's particularly telling is that Mark Gurman hasn't walked back his original 2025 timeline, and he's typically quick to report delays when they occur. Even Kuo's recent comments about AirPods "may not" see significant updates until 2026 aren't definitive—and notably, he didn't specifically mention "Pro" models.

The most likely scenario? Apple launches AirPods Pro 3 in September with the confirmed hardware improvements—enhanced noise cancellation, refined design, improved audio quality, and better battery life—while positioning the more advanced health and AI features as "coming later this year" or in future updates. It's a classic Apple strategy: establish the foundation with reliable hardware improvements, then deliver software magic that unlocks additional capabilities over time.

The bottom line: managing expectations while staying excited

The AirPods Pro 3 rumor mill perfectly illustrates the challenge of covering Apple's development process—the company is clearly working on incredible features, but not everything makes it to the first release. What we can reasonably count on are the fundamentals: better noise cancellation, refined design, and all the software features that made AirPods Pro 2 so compelling.

The health monitoring and AI features? They're definitely coming, but possibly not all at launch. Apple has shown with the AirPods Pro 2's hearing health features that they can execute genuinely meaningful health technology—the FDA-approved Hearing Aid feature that launched last year is already changing lives for people with hearing loss.

For current AirPods Pro 2 owners, this creates an interesting decision point. The confirmed improvements alone—especially that enhanced noise cancellation and three years of accumulated refinements—might justify an upgrade, particularly if you've been waiting for hardware improvements. But if you're specifically holding out for heart-rate monitoring or real-time translation, you might want to wait and see which features actually ship at launch versus which ones arrive via software updates down the road.

PRO TIP: Given Apple's track record with AirPods Pro updates, buying at launch often means you're getting the foundation for features that will arrive over the next year or two. The H3 chip could unlock capabilities we haven't even heard rumors about yet, similar to how the H2 enabled features that weren't announced until months after the Pro 2 launched.

With Apple expected to hold its annual iPhone event during the week of September 8th, we won't have to wait much longer to see which features make the cut. Either way, the prospect of meaningfully improved noise cancellation and three years of accumulated refinements should make AirPods Pro 3 a worthy successor—even if some of the more ambitious features need a bit more time in the oven.