Unlock Hidden Health Secrets: How AirPods Pro 3’s Heart Rate Tracking Could Transform Your Fitness Game Forever

Apple doesn’t drop new AirPods like clockwork every year, unlike its flashy iPhones or sleek MacBooks. That’s why I’ve been rocking the Pro 2’s—a solid pair that hit the scene back in 2022. But just this month, at Apple’s annual fall hardware event, the company unveiled the shiny new AirPods Pro 3. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to put these fresh buds through their paces before the official release on September 19. From airborne adventures to sweaty runs, dog walks, and endless calls—these little tech wonders accompanied me everywhere. The fit? Completely revamped. The features? Sneakily impressive, especially when it comes to fitness tracking. Spoiler alert: Apple’s done more than just tweak a few things—they’ve amped up the game. Intrigued to find out if the Pro 3 is worth the upgrade or if your trusty Pro 2’s still cut the mustard? Read on for a deep dive that’ll clear the air (pun intended). LEARN MORE

APPLE’S AIRPODS AREN’T updated on an annual cycle like Apple’s other gadgets, so the model I’ve spent the bulk of my time wearing recently are the Pro 2’s, which dropped in 2022. At its annual fall hardware event earlier this month, the company announced the latest model, the AirPods Pro 3.

Ahead of their wide release on September 19, I got a chance to test the Pro 3’s out. I used them on a plane, took them on a few runs and workouts, and wore them for more everyday activities like commutes, dog walks, and phone calls. Here’s what I thought about everything from the fit to the new fitness tracking capabilities. Spoiler: they’re really, really good.

Fit

The shape of the Pro 3 has been redesigned, with the aim of improving both seal and sound. They fit into the wearer’s ear at a more pronounced angle, and have an extra vent compared to the Pro 2.

The AirPods Pro 3 (R) have a new shape, compared to the Pro 2 (L).

The biggest tactile change are the squishy tips on the ends of the buds. Previous models were made of flimsy silicone. The tips in the Pro 3 have been upgraded with a foam infusion, which is much firmer and easier to swap out. Like previous models, Apple includes alternate sizes for the new tips.

I’ve never had any size issues with a pair of AirPods out of the box, and the Pro 3’s standard tips felt fine when I started using them. When I swapped them out for the “small” tip size and put them in — I could immediately tell a difference.

The new design includes a simple system to replace the tips.

The fit was better, more snug. The sound, which was already excellent, was clearer. Changing them is easier than with previous models, and the click of locking in the new, firmer tips is very satisfying. If you get the Pro 3, make sure to experiment with the fit to make sure you’re getting the most of them.

Active Noise Cancelling

Apple claims that the Pro 3’s Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) is twice as effective as the previous model. I popped the new buds in for one of the first times in an extremely noisy environment: an airplane.

Earlier in the flight, I’d been using my over-ear AirPods Max, which do a great job of filtering out plane engine sounds. While I’d usually I expect any over-ear headphone to be superior to earbuds in this situation I actually found that the Pro 3’s worked nearly as well. In my experience, there’s usually a more pronounced step down. (I confirmed as much when I tried out my Pro 2’s as a control.)

I watched a movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and listened to Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. The audio of the film, with its chaotic action scenes and retro hip-hop soundtrack, was immersive, without sounding tinny or pared back, while the bass in songs like “DNA” was deep without dominating the rest of the production or vocals.

Outside of such extreme circumstances, the ANC and the Pro 3’s other audio features work much more subtly. I tried out Transparency mode on a 10-mile run a few days later, and stayed successfully connected to the world as I crossed busy sidewalks and streets. I still had buds in my ear canals, so background noise isn’t as clear as when I wear open ear models (like those from Shokz and Bose), but I was still able to stay alert.

Heart Rate and Fitness Tracking

When people think of fitness tracking and monitoring their heart rate, they’re usually thinking of devices that go on their wrists or strap to their chest. The new AirPods aim to add ear canals to your list of options. They’re not the first earphone to feature a heart rate monitor—Apple-owned Beats offer it with the Powerbeats Pro 2, as does Sennheiser’s Momentum Sport buds—but these are the first to offer the capability outside of the exercise specialty space.

Using the feature is easy. You start by choosing the type of exercise you’re doing (there are 50 choices) on the connected iPhone, and the AirPods immediately begin measuring your heart rate. I logged one of my dog walks, and the buds gave me a heart rate reading that matched my Apple Watch. When I compared it to another heart rate monitor, my Whoop strap, I was within about 10 BPM. This is the difference I’ve usually noticed between my Apple Watch and the screen-free wearable. Assessing the accuracy of these wearables is always difficult compared to medical settings, so it’s fair to say the Pro 3’s are at least similar to other tech devices.

The heart rate comes up on the screen during tracked activities while wearing AirPods.

Does this mean you should ditch your other wearables? For some people, maybe. You won’t get the same in-depth data you would from most smartwatches, but it does check most of the basic boxes like heart rate and calories burned, while the phone provides GPS tracking.

To make the earbuds tougher for all this training, Apple says the Pro 3s now features an IP57 sweat and dust resistance rating, which levels the water resistance up to protect them from “temporary immersion in water.” Even when I sweat through the hat I was wearing on my run, I had no problems with the Pro 3’s, which isn’t always the case with other earphones. I’m not exactly going to dump the earbuds in a pool to test this out—and you shouldn’t try to swim in them—but from my testing experience they’ll stand up to normal use it wet conditions.

Live Translation

The AirPods Pro 3 also offer Live Translation, a feature that gives in-the-moment language service to users in five languages. Apple isn’t the first to offer something like this, and other models have more expansive options: Google’s Translate app and Pixel Buds Pro can deal in 40 languages, and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds3 offer real-time translation of 21 language through its Interpreter app. Apple says it will expand and launch service to Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) by the end of the year.

To use Live Translation, you can open the Translate app on your iPhone and select the option on the screen, or use both hands to squeeze the AirPod stems to launch the feature. I tried it out in Spanish-to-English. There’s a brief pause as the system works, but as someone with only remedial foreign language skills, it’s quicker than I would usually take to jumble through what someone might be saying to me in French.

The Live Translation screen interpreting Spanish to English. 

The other side of the conversation, with my explanation of the feature.

When you speak your reply, the translation appears on the phone screen—unless, of course, the other person is also wearing AirPods. Obviously, this could be hit or miss in a real world scenario.

Should You Get the AirPods Pro 3?

If you’re an iPhone user and you need a new pair of wireless earphones, these are probably going to be your best option. The price point ($249) is similar to comparable models, some of which don’t offer features like the heart rate monitor or the clinical-grade OTC hearing aid feature, which was introduced last year with the Pro 2.

That said, there’s no rush to upgrade just to upgrade—the Pro 2’s are already so solid, even if the ANC and sound of the Pro 3 is superior. The watch-free workout tracking might be worth your while, but the Live Translation feature will be coming to all ANC-enabled devices with the launch of iOS 26—which means you will be able to use it on the Pro 2’s and AirPods 4 with ANC as long as you have an iPhone with Apple Intelligence.

Basically: Think about how much you value the heart rate monitor, and decide accordingly.

For those of you waffling about whether or not to make the switch to AirPods from other headphone models: There’s one very specific issue that continues to give Apple’s options an edge over other brands for me personally. It doesn’t matter if it’s Bose, Beats, or Shokz—all of them I’ve loved, only to have one of the earbuds crap out on me after extended use. Right ear, left ear—inevitably, one of the units stops holding a charge. Across multiple AirPods models, I’ve never had this problem. Only time will tell if the Pro 3s can keep up the winning streak—but based on my experience, it seems plenty likely.

Brett Williams, NASM-CPT, PES, a senior editor at Men’s Health, is a certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.