Apple AirPods Pro 3 Expert Review

The Apple AirPods Pro 3 is a budget-priced OTC hearing aid ($250) that earns a B grade with a SoundScore of 3.38/5 in HearAdvisor's lab testing. This visible-in-ear device offers rechargeable batteries and streaming compatibility with both iPhone and Android.

In our testing, the AirPods Pro 3 demonstrates notable strengths in music streaming, scoring 4.3/5—a strong result that sits 2.43 points above the OTC category average. Speech understanding also performs well, with speech in quiet reaching 3.5/5 (+0.85 vs. category average) and speech in noise at 2.7/5 (+1.50 vs. category average). While the speech-in-noise score is above average for the category, it remains mixed in absolute terms. Feedback handling is excellent at 5.0/5.

The primary limitation is own-voice comfort, which scores 1.9/5—a low result that falls 0.60 points below the category average. Users who are sensitive to hearing their own voice may find this less comfortable during extended wear.

The AirPods Pro 3 shows significant improvement with tuning, jumping from a normalized Initial Score of 3.1/5 to a Tuned Score of 4.4/5. This 1.3-point gain suggests that users willing to spend time adjusting settings will be rewarded with notably better speech performance. This device is best suited for those prioritizing music streaming quality and willing to invest in proper setup, though buyers sensitive to own-voice occlusion should consider alternatives.