AIRPODS. During its keynote on October 18, Apple presented the third generation of its famous AirPods. Spatial audio, improved sound quality, increased autonomy… Update on new features.
As lingering rumors hinted at, Apple presented the AirPods 3 well at its October 18 online conference, among other new features like the M1 Max and Pro chips and its revamped MacBook Pro. If they were not at the heart of this keynote more devoted to technologies and computer products, these new wireless headphones – the third of the name if we put aside the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max – do not remain. no less interesting by the improvements and the evolutions from which they benefit. Especially when we know the success of these models, which have become emblematic of true wireless and darling of young and old, despite their high price. And even if the competition is tougher in this coveted market, it’s a safe bet that the newcomers are following in the footsteps of their elders, setting sales records.
What is the AirPods 3 release date?
Unlike other big players like Google or Microsoft, who like to advertise their products very well in advance, Apple keeps it a secret until the last minute but does not wait between presentation and marketing, which is really appreciable. So, while they have just been unveiled this Monday, November 18, AirPods 3 will be available from Tuesday October 26 in France as well as in some 25 other countries and geographic areas. Enough to carve out a good reputation before the expected rush for Black Friday 2021 and the end of year celebrations of which they will probably be the big stars, alongside other highly prized high-tech gadgets. As always, they will be available on Apple’s online store, in Apple Stores, on all major retail sites (Amazon, Fnac, Darty, Boulanger, Rakuten, etc.) and in specialized stores, where it is also possible to pre-order them now.
What is the price of AirPods 3?
AirPods 3 are offered at the official price of 199 euros. This is the price charged on Apple’s online store as well as at certain merchants where they are pre-ordered. But, as we can already see, the fight promises to be tough and some merchants are already cutting back a few euros on the official price. Without a doubt, the AirPods of 3e generation will be the subject of multiple promotions and discounts over the coming weeks, especially during Black Friday at the end of November. There is therefore a good chance of seeing their price planed by several tens of euros during special operations. In addition, the arrival of AirPods 3 does not signal the end of second-generation models, which remain in the catalog and in stores, at least for a while. Even better, AirPods 2 see their official price drop to 149 euros. Enough to achieve good business, especially since merchants are already promoting them and, if they are in principle less efficient than the new ones, they remain excellent wireless headphones, as attested by numerous tests since their release. This should please all those who hesitated to afford these luxurious fashionable models.
What are the technical characteristics of AirPods 3?
Apple obviously didn’t just change the vintage of its famous headphones, and the AirPods 3 benefit from several notable improvements. First, the AirPods 3 benefit from a design and functions inherited from the AirPods Pro, including shortened stems and the same pressure sensor used for touch controls to control music playback and phone calls. The headphones themselves benefit from a new profile that is supposed to keep them more stable and comfortable in the hollow of the ears, which is essential for “open”, non-in-ear models – the AirPods do not fit. in the ear canal and therefore have no silicone tips. On the other hand, no choice of color: like the previous models, the AirPods 3 are only available in white. Still on the physical level, the AirPods of 3e generation use the Apple H1 chip which is responsible for audio processing, and benefit from new transducers intended to improve their audio quality. Of course, Apple is raving about it, talking about “unsurpassed sound quality”, but AirPods have a pretty good reputation in this area, although true audiophiles will always have reservations.
Regardless, Apple has incorporated several technologies into its new headphones and the AirPods 3 are compatible with both Dolby Atmos and spatial audio recently implemented by the firm at Apple. Two technologies which make it possible to simulate a more “immersive” “three-dimensional” sound, at least with the contents which have been treated in this sense, as is the case for titles from the Apple Music catalog. A new trend, which, while waiting to be really artistically exploited, gives surprising and convincing enough results which contribute to the pleasure of listening. We just have to hope that the spectacular side of these very fashionable processes does not outweigh the essence of the music, but that’s another debate … Better yet, the AirPods 3 take advantage of motion tracking, by doing so automatically. vary the position of multiple sound sources to follow the movements of the head. Also in the technological register, the new AirPods exploit a so-called adaptive equalization, supposed to improve the quality of listening by adjusting in real time the bass and treble according to the position of the headphones in the ears to faithfully transcribe what the artist has recorded. To see in practice… Side sound capture, the AirPods 3 use an AAC-ELD encoding supposed to make the voice clearer and more natural during FaceTime communication. Their microphones are further covered with a mesh-type acoustic fabric reducing wind noise, to improve speech intelligibility during phone calls.
On a more pragmatic note, the AirPods 3 see their maximum autonomy increased to six hours of listening to music (and four hours of phone conversation) between two charges, an hour more than the AirPods 2, which is very appreciable. Taking advantage of a design inherited from the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 3 case is compatible with Qi wireless charging technology (induction) but also with Apple’s MagSafe magnetic system. It offers four additional charges, bringing the total runtime to 30 hours. Best of all, within five minutes of charging the AirPods 3 will recover around an hour of battery life. In addition, the AirPods 3 and their case being IPX42 certified, they are resistant to water and sweat.
Still on a practical level, the procedure for pairing AirPods with other Apple devices has been made as easy as possible with automatic configuration. And with the audio sharing feature, two pairs of AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max can receive the same audio stream from an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple TV. Well seen ! And like the previous models, thanks to their skin sensor, the AirPods 3 detect when they are placed in the ear and automatically stop playing when they are removed.
As you can imagine, the AirPods 3 are optimized for use in an Apple environment. So in a group FaceTime call, with spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, voices seem to be coming from where the participants appear on the screen, making it seem like they are in the same room. In addition, a voice announcement feature allows Siri to read urgent notifications, including alerts from Messages, Reminders and Calendar apps, calls, and compatible third-party apps. Finally, recently, AirPods are part of the Find My Network – made up of hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads and Macs around the world – which makes it easy to find them when you lose them. Apple specifies, however, that these advanced functions require a device running iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1 or macOS Monterey: operating systems that have not yet been deployed but will be offered as free updates in the week of October 25, i.e. at the time of the effective release of the new headphones.