The AirPods 3 case may look the same as the AirPods Pro's, but there are 2 big differences
The AirPods 3 case is water-resistant and offers longer battery life.
The AirPods 3 with their charging case.
The $179 AirPods 3 look a lot more like the AirPods Pro than previous AirPods, and that holds true for both the earbuds and their case. Despite these similarities, there are some important discrepancies between the MagSafe charging case for the AirPods 3 and the one that comes with the AirPods Pro.
The most significant difference is that the new AirPods 3 charging case offers slightly longer battery life than the AirPods Pro's charging case. The third-generation AirPods case should offer up to 30 hours of additional listening time, whereas the case for the AirPods Pro offers more than 24 hours of listening time.
The other major change is that the AirPods 3 case is water-resistant just like the earbuds themselves. While the AirPods Pro were Apple's first water-resistant earbuds, that charging case doesn't have the same water and sweat resistance rating.
Otherwise, the differences between the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro cases are mostly cosmetic. The AirPods 3 case is a bit taller and narrower than the AirPods Pro case, making it look like a hybrid between the cases for the standard AirPods and AirPods Pro. It's also lighter than the AirPods Pro case at 1.34 ounces versus 1.61 ounces. Both cases can be charged via Qi wireless charging, Apple MagSafe wireless charging or the company's Lightning cable.
The AirPods Pro case is shorter and wider and isn't water-resistant.
Apple announced its third-generation AirPods on Oct. 18 alongside redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops and its new M1 Pro and M1 Max desktop chips. The new AirPods have a slew of upgrades that bridge the gap between the second-generation AirPods and the AirPods Pro, including spatial audio support, a new design with shorter stems and Adaptive EQ for automatically optimizing sound. Active noise cancellation is still exclusive to the pricier $249 AirPods Pro.
The cost might make the AirPods 3 difficult to justify buying over the AirPods Pro since Apple's noise canceling earbuds can often be found a similar discounted price. But the AirPods 3 are still among the best open wireless earbuds you can find, as my colleague David Carnoy wrote in his review.
Check out the table below to learn more about the differences between the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro.
AirPods 3 vs. AirPods Pro
| AirPods 3 | AirPods Pro | |
| Weight | 0.15 ounce | 0.19 ounce |
| Audio features | Spatial audio, adaptive EQ | Spatial audio, adaptive EQ, active noise cancellation, transparency mode |
| Wireless charging/MagSafe | Yes | Yes |
| Durability | Sweat- and water-resistant | Sweat- and water-resistant |
| Customizable fit | No | Yes |
| Chip | Apple H1 | Apple H1 |
| Battery life (earbuds) | 6 hours of listening time | 4.5 hours of listening time (with ANC enabled) |
| Battery life (case) | Up to 30 hours of listening time | More than 24 hours of listening time |
| Microphones | Dual beamforming microphones; inward-facing microphone | Dual beamforming microphones; inward-facing microphone |
| Sensors | Skin-detect sensor, motion-detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor | Dual optical sensors, motion-detecting accelerometer, speech-detecting accelerometer, Force sensor |
| Price (USD) | $179 | $249 |
| Price (GBP) | £169 | £239 |
| Price (AUD) | AU$279 | AU$399 |