Like clockwork, Apple launched a brand new set of iPhones this September. However the spotlight of the “Awe Dropping” keynote for me wasn’t the brand new iPhone 17 lineup and even the Apple Watch Collection 11. It was the brand new AirPods Professional 3.
As an Android person for the previous few years, I’ve at all times been a bit envious of how seamlessly the AirPods work inside the Apple ecosystem. You possibly can effortlessly change between gadgets, get pleasure from that smooth connection animation each time you open the case, and expertise among the finest lively noise cancellation on any earbuds.
Positive, Android has loads of robust contenders, too. The Google Pixel Buds Professional 2 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Professional are each wonderful wi-fi earbuds, and there are equally spectacular choices from manufacturers like Bose and Sony, together with the brand new QuietComfort Extremely Earbuds Gen 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5.
However the AirPods Professional 3 had been the turning level for me. After avoiding them for years, I lastly purchased them — and there is not any doubt they’re spectacular. The lively noise cancellation is actually top-tier.
I took two flights carrying them, and there was just about no cabin noise in any respect. My Pixel Buds Professional 2 have been nice at reducing down ambient sounds throughout journey, however this was on one other degree.
However that is not the function I would like different manufacturers to repeat. Earbuds will maintain getting higher at noise cancellation with every new era, however the function that genuinely blew me away on the AirPods Professional 3 is the built-in coronary heart price monitoring.
AirPods Professional 3 can now observe your exercises too
One of many new options Apple has added to the AirPods Professional 3 is an optical coronary heart price sensor. This implies now you can use the AirPods Professional 3 to trace your exercises. Much like different health trackers, the center price sensor flashes mild to measure blood move by way of the ear canal and shares that knowledge with the iPhone’s Health app.
The app then makes use of on-device AI to calculate exercise metrics reminiscent of energy burned, steps taken, and distance coated. Apple even claims that the AirPods Professional 3 can observe over fifty exercises, together with operating, yoga, and power coaching.
And whereas it might sound unusual to trace exercises utilizing earbuds as a substitute of conventional health trackers or smartwatches, it is really a fairly sensible concept. The ear is definitely a fairly secure location for coronary heart price monitoring, because the sensors are near main arteries and fewer affected by motion throughout intense exercise.
Apple additionally says that when each the AirPods Professional 3 and an Apple Watch are linked to your iPhone, the system robotically makes use of knowledge from whichever system supplies probably the most correct readings at any given second. This ensures the very best protection and accuracy all through your exercise.
That stated, I made a decision to make use of the AirPods Professional 3 as my solely health-tracking system for over every week, evaluating it immediately with a devoted health tracker. And here is how the AirPods carried out and whether or not they can actually be thought of dependable health trackers.
How dependable is the AirPods Professional 3’s coronary heart price monitoring?
Since I already put on the AirPods Professional 3 all through my exercise periods, with the ability to observe exercises means I can skip health wearables on my wrist, which appears like a win-win for me.
To actually assess whether or not the AirPods Professional 3 is a dependable health tracker, I examined them in opposition to one other health tracker, the Huawei Watch Match 4 Professional, which I paired with a special smartphone to forestall my iPhone from mixing the info. My purpose was to see if the 2 gadgets recorded comparable outcomes, and the result was surprisingly shut.
For context, my exercises normally embody a mixture of power coaching, cardio, and stretching. Even on different health gadgets, I usually choose the “Different” exercise mode so I haven’t got to change between a number of modes throughout my hour-long periods.
I adopted the identical setup for this take a look at. I began my exercise on each gadgets on the similar time and in contrast their coronary heart price and calorie readings all through.
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To my shock, the center price numbers from each the AirPods Professional 3 and the Huawei Watch Match 4 Professional had been nearly equivalent each time I checked. The calorie estimates had been barely completely different, which is smart since every system makes use of its personal algorithm to estimate energy burned. What impressed me was how nicely the AirPods tracked exercise depth and rhythm by way of the ear.
The center price is a direct physiological metric, whereas calorie burn relies upon extra on how every system interprets your physique knowledge. The truth that the AirPods Professional 3 matched a devoted health tracker in real-time coronary heart price accuracy was genuinely spectacular.
For most individuals, particularly informal gym-goers or those that do not like carrying a smartwatch, this degree of precision is greater than sufficient, in my view. You possibly can merely pop in your AirPods, begin your exercise, and nonetheless get significant insights with none further gear.
In fact, in case you’re on the lookout for superior health monitoring, one thing like a Whoop or Garmin watch will nonetheless be the higher selection. However for on a regular basis customers or those that sometimes neglect their tracker at dwelling, the AirPods Professional 3 does a surprisingly good job.
Health in your ears
The AirPods Professional 3 ship an improved lively noise cancelation together with spatial audio with dynamic head monitoring. Apple’s newest earbuds additionally add IP57-rated sweat and water resistance, Stay Translation assist, and a built-in coronary heart price sensor that screens your pulse throughout exercises, bringing health monitoring on to your ears.