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Need-to-knows
- AirPods Pro 2 sit in the sweet spot of value and quality
- AirPods Pro 1 are no longer worth buying
- AirPods Pro 3 have the best noise cancelling, but there can be some issues with audio quality
I get to test most new noise-cancelling earbuds these days, but I still haven’t tried a pair that matches the AirPods Pro for all-round brilliance.
The combination of class-leading noise cancelling and transparency mode, superb audio, and deep ecosystem integration cannot be beaten. And, yes, I’m aware that the ecosystem in this case is very much Apple’s – but don’t forget that AirPods Pro work quite happily with any Bluetooth device.
The trouble is that if you’re in the market for a pair of AirPods Pro in 2026, you have three choices: the first, second, and third generation. There are numerous and often innocuous differences between the three of them, which makes choosing the right pair pretty tricky.
There are also countless Reddit threads with all manner of opinions vying for your attention. You may have sifted through a lot of them already.
Which ones deserve your money? And if you’re in the upgrade camp, is it really worth it?
My conclusion surprised even me. And, yes, I’ve spent considerable time with all three.
AirPods Pro 3
– Newest model with best noise-cancelling
– 8 hours battery life without case
– Built-in heart rate sensor
AirPods Pro 2
– Pretty much as good as AirPods Pro 3
– Still got great sound quality
– 30 hours battery with the case
AirPods Pro 1
– Still sound ok today, but AirPods Pro 2 are much better
– Uses older H1 chip
– No USB-C charging, but can use wireless
At a glance
| Feature | AirPods Pro 1 | AirPods Pro 2 | AirPods Pro 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release year | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 |
| Chip | H1 | H2 | H2 |
| ANC / Transparency | Yes / Yes | Yes / Adaptive | Yes / Adaptive |
| Spatial Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Health sensors | No | No | Heart rate |
| Live translation | No | Yes | Yes |
| Battery (buds, ANC) | 4.5 hrs | 6 hrs | 8 hrs |
| Total battery (case) | 24 hrs | 30 hrs | 24 hrs |
| Water resistance | IPX4 | IPX4 | IP57 |
| Charging | Lightning / Qi | MagSafe / Lightning | MagSafe / USB-C |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
AirPods Pro 1 vs 2 vs 3: key differences
We’ll start by looking at the key differences between all three AirPods Pro generations. There’s some big, important stuff to take into account here, so I’d recommend grabbing your favourite beverage and getting comfortable.
Pricing
These are the new and used prices for all versions of AirPods Pro at the time of writing.
- AirPods Pro 1 (used): £30–£80 / $60–$120
- AirPods Pro 2 (new): £140–£180 / $169–$199
- AirPods Pro 2 (used): £90–£130 / $120–$170
- AirPods Pro 3 (new from Apple): £219 / $249
- AirPods Pro 3 (used): £150–£180 / $180–$230
You’d be incredibly lucky to find a new pair of AirPods Pro 1 for sale these days, which means you’ll have to turn to the second-hand market for that variant. If you do, they won’t set you back much at all. But they are knocking on a bit.
At the time of writing, there’s still plenty of new AirPods Pro 2 stock out there, and at the prices above, I’d understand if you’re immediately tempted to buy your first pair of AirPods Pro or upgrade from the first generation. In both cases, you’d be making a very smart decision.
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But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The AirPods Pro 3, at £219/$249, are very considerately priced by Apple and sit comfortably within the ‘no-brainer’ category for a lot of people. They’re also cheaper than a lot of other premium earbuds on the market.
Chip
The AirPods Pro 1 are powered by the H1 chip. That’s where it all started, which means you get active noise cancelling (ANC), transparency mode, and the Apple ecosystem stuff (including Find My support and automatic device switching). But that’s it.
AirPods Pro 2 saw the introduction of the H2 chip, which had a big, positive impact on noise cancelling and transparency (more on that later), improved calling quality, and offered a more stable connection with devices.
The AirPods Pro 3 use the same chip as the AirPods Pro 2, but there have been minor improvements to noise-cancelling, and it now supports health and motion tracking.
Check out my full guide to find the best AirPods for you!
The big leap was between the H1 and H2, meaning the AirPods Pro 1 are left behind a bit.
Battery
This is where things start to get really interesting.
The AirPods Pro 1 offer up to five hours of battery life for the earbuds, and a total of 24 hours with the charging case. The AirPods Pro 2 increased the earbud duration to six hours and a massive 30 hours with the case.
The AirPods Pro 3 offer the longest single-earbud charge of the lot, with up to eight hours of playback. But the total time offered with the charging case (which is bigger, ironically, than the AirPods 2 case) is back down to 24 hours.
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This means that the AirPods Pro 3 offer the longest stamina for a single listening session, but the AirPods Pro 2 deliver the most battery life overall. In my mind, six hours is enough for anyone, which makes the AirPods Pro 2 the pick of the bunch if battery life is a big concern for you.
Fit and comfort
AirPods Pro have always been the most secure and the comfiest earbuds I’ve ever worn. Once in, they never fall out, regardless of what I’m doing.
I’m acutely aware that this isn’t the case for everyone. With that in mind, if you’ve ever tried AirPods Pro and struggled with the fit, Apple may have solved it for you with the third generation.
While AirPods Pro 1 and 2 are nigh-on identical in terms of design and fit, AirPods Pro 3 have been redesigned to fit more ear types and feature new foam-infused silicone tips. They still fit me just fine, but the tips do feel slightly more secure and hold their position better than the first two generations.
Overall, there’s little difference between all versions of AirPods Pro when it comes to fit and comfort, but your mileage may vary, and if you can give them a test, it’ll definitely be worth it.
Extras
There are a bunch of additional features that vary between all three versions of AirPods Pro, which I’ve decided to label simply as ‘extras’.
The AirPods Pro 1 have very few extras. You get ANC, transparency mode, and the Apple ecosystem stuff mentioned earlier. The AirPods Pro 2 added adaptive transparency, a case speaker (handy if you lose it), and precision tracking for Find My, thanks to the inclusion of a U1 chip in the case.
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AirPods Pro 3 went a step further with smarter adaptive audio, better motion sensing, and heart rate tracking. The latter means you can take your AirPods Pro 3 for a run, without an Apple Watch, and still obtain heart rate measurements.
Apple made a big thing about live translation during the AirPods Pro 3 announcement, but the second generation are also compatible with this feature. This is mainly because the iPhone does most of the heavy lifting during live translated conversations, but it’s fair to note that the third-generation AirPods Pro are likely to be more accurate and reliable for that task.
Sound quality
The AirPods Pro 1 were never the best or worst-sounding earbuds on the market during their reign. They got the job done and dealt well with all music genres, podcasts, and movies.
The AirPods Pro 2 took things up several notches. They were clearer, punchier, and had more detail than their predecessors.
Apple promised better bass, more detail, and an improved sound stage with the release of the AirPods Pro 3, and I appear to be one of the few reviewers who agrees with that. I really like the sound of the third generation, but others did not. This is why I always point out that sound is incredibly subjective (whether some of my lovely YouTube commenters like it or not).
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Once again, though, it’s hard not to look past the general sentiment, and it does appear that the AirPods Pro 2 are, again, the sweet spot when it comes to audio.
It’s worth noting that all three generations support head-tracked Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos playback, but you might notice a difference with AirPods Pro 2 and 3 when it comes to accuracy.
Noise cancelling
At their time of release, the AirPods Pro 1 were the best in their class for noise cancelling and transparency mode. They’re still very good to this day.
However, the AirPods Pro 2 represented a seismic leap for earbud ANC, thanks in no small part to the H2 chip. They were so good, in fact, that I compared them against the AirPods Max in a YouTube video. I received a fair bit of stick for this but I did it for one very specific reason: for the first time ever, I’d heard a pair of earbuds that had the same ANC capabilities as over-ear headphones.
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I stand by that – they are incredible. And the same goes for the transparency mode, which remains unmatched to this day in the world of earbuds. AirPods Pro 2 barely feel like they’re in your ears when you turn on transparency which makes them perfect for telephone calls and for being completely aware of your surroundings when the time calls for it.
AirPods Pro 3? They’re slightly better, thanks partly to the new earbud tips. But it isn’t a huge leap forward. It’s hard, after all, to improve on near perfection.
AirPods Pro 1: The OG
I can’t really recommend the OG AirPods Pro in 2026, unless you just need a cheap pair, fast, and don’t really see yourself relying too much on them (or caring much about them). Regardless, you’ll probably still fall in love with them.
The problem is that they’ll almost certainly be second-hand and, therefore, possibly have less than stellar battery performance.
You’ll also have that nagging feeling that, if you’d spent just a tiny bit more, you could have got something a lot better.
AirPods Pro 2: The sweet spot
It should come as no surprise that if I had to pick one pair of AirPods Pro, it would be the second generation.
They are absolutely the sweet spot of the range. They sound superb, the battery life is fantastic, they have a decent range of additional features, and they have over-ear headphone-level noise cancelling and transparency.
AirPods Pro 2 are one of Apple’s finest products, and if you can get a new pair for considerably less than the AirPods Pro 3, it’s a no-brainer.
AirPods Pro 3: Newest, but polarising
You may just want the newest Apple kid on the block, and I totally understand that. The good news is that if you opt for the AirPods Pro 3, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
There are, however, a couple of things to bear in mind. My time with the third generation hasn’t been faultless. I’ve occasionally experienced a high pitched noise in the right ear cup while travelling, which I think is related to the ANC. Equally (excuse the pun), I have an ongoing problem with an occasional imbalance between the left and right channels. At first, I thought this was hardware related, but it drifts in and out, and appears to be related to either ANC or adaptive audio.
Both issues have been reported elsewhere online and neither have been fixed thus far. I’m sure a firmware update will arrive, but it’s worth keeping this stuff in mind before you spend your hard earned money (although your mileage may vary, of course).
That said, I’d take the complaints about sound with a pinch of salt – AirPods Pro 3 are still some of the best sounding ANC earbuds on the market. And they are the best ANC earbuds on the market, no question. They’re also well-price, relatively, for what you’re getting, in my opinion.
Conclusion
Let’s wrap this up super quick.
- AirPods Pro 1: The OG, but too outdated to be a serious purchase in 2026.
- AirPods Pro 2: The sweet spot and still one of the best products Apple has ever released.
- AirPods Pro 3: You’ll get the best tech and the absolute best ANC, but they’re less predictable.
What are you going for? Get involved in the comments!
1 Comment
This buying guide gives a clear comparison between AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Pro 2, which is really helpful for anyone deciding whether to upgrade or stick with the older model. The breakdown of features and real-world value makes the decision much easier. Also, I recently played Golf Hit and it’s a great example of how simple, well-designed experiences can be just as satisfying as premium tech upgrades—fun, smooth, and surprisingly addictive.