(Bloomberg/Mark Gurman) — Apple Inc. launched its first new AirPods Professional mannequin in three years, including new health-tracking options, improved noise cancellation and a greater match.
The brand new system — priced at $249 — will characteristic a heart-rate monitor, permitting the earbuds to work with an iPhone to trace a wearer’s pulse and measure energy burned throughout train. And battery life will enhance from six hours to eight hours when enjoying music, in line with the corporate, which unveiled the product at its iPhone 17 launch occasion on Tuesday.
Apple is in search of to show its high-end AirPods into extra of a well being product, a course of that began final 12 months with new hearing-aid and testing capabilities. The center-rate monitor additionally could assist the corporate promote subscriptions to its Health+ program — and function a gateway product to pricier gadgets like Apple Watches. The corporate added the identical heart-rate characteristic to its Beats-branded earbuds earlier this 12 months.
Apple is touting the improved match of the AirPods Professional 3, addressing consumer complaints about prior fashions. The {hardware} comes with new ear suggestions that can accommodate extra folks, the corporate mentioned.
Apple rolled out the unique AirPods Professional in 2019, including options like noise cancellation and improved sound high quality. These capabilities had been improved with the AirPods Professional 2 in 2022. The noise cancellation on the most recent model is 4 instances higher than the primary AirPods Professional, Apple mentioned.
Bloomberg first reported on plans for the AirPods 3 and its new options, together with the heart-rate monitor and overhauled case.
Apple first launched its wi-fi earbuds in 2016, when the corporate eliminated the headphone jack from the iPhone. Since then, the class has exploded and now generates billions of {dollars} per 12 months for the iPhone maker. Apple has additionally expanded into higher-end audio merchandise, together with over-ear headphones and audio system.
Apple is already planning a follow-up mannequin to the AirPods Professional 3 for later, including digital camera sensors and synthetic intelligence to assist the gadgets scan and analyze the encircling surroundings, Bloomberg has reported.
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Initially Printed: September 9, 2025 at 1:35 PM PDT
