Loi Dunk

Airpods Pro 3: First Impressions

Barbara & Teja Arboleda Episode 81

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0:00 | 28:32

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Barbara and Teja test out the brand-new AirPods Pro 3 to see if Apple’s latest earbuds live up to the hype. Teja is especially curious about the improved background noise handling, because who doesn’t want to actually hear everyone spill the tea in a crowded café?

As for the new live translation feature, it’s still a little clunky, but give it some time. Maybe they'll even eventually add Klingon.

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#airpodspro3 #airpodspro #techreview

SPEAKER_00

We're recording. I said we're recording. I said we're rec we're recording.

SPEAKER_02

You're boring?

SPEAKER_00

What we are recording. Recording.

SPEAKER_02

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

We're recording.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes, we are.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks a lot.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, we're recording. A show about the new AirPods. What a show, we're anyway. Hi folks. Hi. We are record we are we're doing we are reviewing AirPod Pro 3.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

I used for many years one of the earliest versions of AirPods. For many years. I think it was some some years ago.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, right, because she upgraded.

SPEAKER_00

She upgraded. And again, this is a year.

SPEAKER_02

She upgraded before you did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I bought it from her for not much.

SPEAKER_02

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00

And um I had been using that. Now I have some hearing loss. And what we also recognized some years ago is that I've always had hearing issues. We didn't know that I did until later on in life. Yeah. That I've always had uh certain frequencies that that I couldn't hear, and also a hearing cognition.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's difficult for you to pick out the conversation in background noise.

SPEAKER_00

So and also to if it's if it's a complex situation that I have to de-scramble what I'm hearing. So it's partly an ADD. It's connected to ADD, that kind of thing. So um the the AirPods I was using were really good, but there was often very ex a lot of extraneous sound that was coming in, and it was difficult for me to hear a lot of things, especially if I'm watching Netflix while I'm at the gym.

SPEAKER_02

Right, because it didn't have the sound cancellation features.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And then I got the AirPods Pro 2.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Two Parter. Um Two Parter. Um what's the reference? Jim, you gotta know the reference. You gotta know the reference. You have to know the reference.

SPEAKER_00

Two Parter. I think it does it something like that. Two Parter. Two Parter.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, anyway. Um comment below if you know the reference. Um yes, oh, and I was giving, I I just gotten them and I was giving a talk at New England Conservatory, and I was leaving the building and I would put them in, and I'm like, oh, this is great, you know, turn on the the noise cancellation, and I walked outside. And and New England Conservatory is in the middle of Boston, it's got all those city sounds, you know, and I'm like, okay, I was looking for something on my phone. And then for one, and then for some reason I took one of them out.

SPEAKER_00

Uh huh.

SPEAKER_02

I had not realized how noisy it was. Like I was I was floored by how quiet it was here, and I was just listening to like some music or something, and then when I took it out, and it's like that's city sound? That's city sound.

SPEAKER_00

I want to record you doing that. I want to use it as city sound.

SPEAKER_02

It's copyrighted. Patented by me.

SPEAKER_00

Barbara does really, really good city sounds. Here, listen to her. I've recorded it. Oh, wait, I can't.

SPEAKER_02

No.

SPEAKER_00

It's copyrighted. I can't play it back.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um and and I I I need, especially now that I've been told that I need, but I need a way to isolate voice, especially in a crowded room, restaurant, things like that, fight club, whatever it is I'm attending. Oh, right. Okay. I won't bring it up.

SPEAKER_02

No. You don't talk about fight club. Yeah. So we got super excited, is what we're trying to say.

SPEAKER_00

AirPod Pro 3 came out because not only does it have the features that you were talking about, yes, but it also has a couple of added things that are kind of cool.

SPEAKER_02

They are.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00

Including with the new iOS, now you need to upgrade to iOS 26.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

And any of you who are asking iOS 26, like, when did that happen?

SPEAKER_02

Well, because it happened 18. So it goes straight from iOS 18 to iO8 26, because that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00

Well, no, because next year's 2026.

SPEAKER_02

And this year was 2018.

SPEAKER_00

I I I know, but they're just like with cars. They're they're stepping six months ahead. Like if you buy a 2026 Toyota now.

SPEAKER_02

And this year is 2018.

SPEAKER_00

This year is 2025.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so why isn't this year the why isn't it? Because they just started that.

SPEAKER_00

No, they just adopted that new naming convention.

SPEAKER_02

I see.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

So they're only going they are going to send out one operating system per year.

SPEAKER_00

That is right. That is that that's the that's the goal. And then to name it the year that it's going to be taking taking most of its presence. So the 2020 2020 iOS 26, which just came out.

SPEAKER_02

Just came out.

SPEAKER_00

Just came out.

SPEAKER_02

I like the glossy button look. I don't know. I know. I turned that off. No! Oh yeah. Oh my gosh, I love the glossy button. Oh, I love it. It looks like glasses, shimmery. But then again, I like shiny.

SPEAKER_00

True, you do. But anyway, so some of these new features are kind of cool. One is instant language translation for certain languages. Right now it's limited to like instant.

SPEAKER_02

Not instant, but it's but we'll we'll we'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and then the other cool feature is uh the ability to um do like uh really change the features of noise cancellation and focusing on uh a voice, and you can even design it so that as you're moving your head, it will like focus on what the intention is.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, what's in front of you so that it knows which um which voice to focus in on in a conversation.

SPEAKER_00

It even does an audiogram test.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

On both ears. Just like if you go to the audiologist and they do that test where they, you know, the different sounds, and then you have to like say you know, point your finger up or whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which is really fascinating because it it'll turn on the noise cancellation and then you just you take that test, and I I mean, I kind of feel bad for audiologist.

SPEAKER_00

True, true. Um I do too. I think that there are a lot of things. Well, there's also it also like it'll take your blood pressure and your pulse. Oh, your pulse.

SPEAKER_02

Not your butt. No, you can't take your blood pressure from the page.

SPEAKER_00

It'll take your pulse through the airpods. So you don't even need a uh an Apple Watch. It'll like do it through here.

SPEAKER_02

For your pulse.

SPEAKER_00

For your pulse. It's pretty cool. So if you're exercising, it'll like tell you what your pulse is. That's pretty cool. I've already tested it. It's pretty cool. Oh, good. So opening it, open it. I always love this feature. When you open it, like it pops up here on the phone and it shows you uh that the battery is um 100%. That's the other problem that I had with the older AirPods.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, it never told you where you were.

SPEAKER_00

Uh no, it did, but the battery lasted only an hour and ten minutes.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, well.

SPEAKER_00

So this is was really good. So I'm gonna put these on. And Okay. There you go. So right now it's on the feature is set where it's closed. Like I can I can't hear much. Yes, that's so currently I'm on listening mode transparency.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

If I turn off transparency.

SPEAKER_02

Wait, no, you just turned on transparency.

SPEAKER_00

There you go.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, noise cancellation. No, wait, you well, now can you hear me?

SPEAKER_00

Barely.

SPEAKER_02

Barely. Right, which is except when you talk.

SPEAKER_00

Then it turns on.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it's not on adaptive right now.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I huh. Now it's really quiet and and I start talking and it turns on again.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, because you turned on conversational awareness.

SPEAKER_00

Conversational awareness. Which is really cool. So I can set it for noise cancellation and it gets really, really quiet. All I can hear is my heartbeat, and my thoughts, and my and my and my my innermost desires.

SPEAKER_02

Can you can you hear your soul?

SPEAKER_00

I can hear my soul squirming about. Oh. Wondering how long will 2025 last.

SPEAKER_02

So why don't you I thought you had to put adaptive on in order to for it to do the conversation thing.

SPEAKER_00

If I turn off conversation awareness.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_00

Now I turned off most uh conversation awareness, and now I I can't hear much at all.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. So the thing with cut with what was interesting about conversation awareness, they had adaptive for a while, and I didn't find it useful. It would it would turn off the noise cancellation when I was talking, and then the other person would start talking back, and it would go back to noise cancellation. So it's like, I when I'm talking to someone, I don't really, I mean, I need to hear myself, but not the same way that I need to hear the person I'm talking to. So this was actually a really good.

SPEAKER_00

Currently I have it on adaptive.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So right now it's listening in and it's wondering, you know, where this is gonna go.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. You know, but isn't so adaptive isn't the same thing though.

SPEAKER_00

It it is machine learning. It's not AI, but it's machine learning, and it is it is listening for the ways in which I am responding and speaking and so on adaptive you can hear me still too. I I can, but it's brought it's it's reduced some of the extraneous ambient noise.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, see, that's the thing. So if you go to a restaurant and you turn on adaptive, then it then you can hear the people you're talking to like at the table without necessarily hearing all the other stuff.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. And if I turn on the spatial audio, that also helps because it gives me a sense of where it's coming from.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, right. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00

Because that was also one of my uh when I was a professor, one of my students would ask a question and I would have to look around the room. I would always tell them first in class, laser. Yeah, so I know who's talking because otherwise I have to read lips often, and if I don't know who's talking, I won't know where to go to see what they're saying. And sometimes I would say that's an interesting question, and I would say, can you repeat it again? And be like, Well, how would you know it's an interesting question, Professor Abortable?

SPEAKER_02

They caught you there. I know because they always you were faking it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, but this is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02

It is good, it is good. No, I I think that's gonna be super helpful for you. And we tested it out at the coffee shop yesterday. You said it was working pretty well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, pretty good, pretty good.

SPEAKER_02

You know, you turned to face me and you could hear me talking to you, and then you turned your head away so it was facing somewhere else, and then you couldn't really hear me as much because I was to the side. So, like again, if you're talking to somebody in at a party and you want to look like a tech bro, you just put these in and uh is that how tech bros walk around? Look confident.

SPEAKER_00

What's if the hand? Oh, wait, I can't go to the piano reads, yeah, Muppet hands. But it it when I see people with AirPods in and they're with other people talking, until I put these in, these particular ones in, I always thought that's pretty rude of someone to be sitting there and just not really listening. Now I'm understanding that in fact they may be using them as hearing aids like I do.

SPEAKER_02

Well, not quite hearing aids, because it's not quite doing the same thing, but it's filtering, which is something that a lot of the the more expensive hearing aids do now. They like they do they filter that and you can change it. I think that's a little more adaptive because they do have like this the an app where you can have different settings. Yeah, but hopefully this will have it someday. I would imagine it it how could it not? Like, this is just the beginning, right? Just like with the translation stuff, the translation stuff was fun. You have to download the language onto your app, and then and it only has what right now it has English and Spanish and Portuguese and German and French.

SPEAKER_00

Now the reason why we can't, the reason why we can't uh use the translation features on these new AirPod Pro 3s with my iPhone is because my iPhone is a 13 Pro. You're using the 16. And the 13 Pro.

SPEAKER_02

Mine we're we're we're you know doing the video with. So we cannot demonstrate this at this moment. But if you decide to do cutaways later, we can demonstrate it.

SPEAKER_00

We certainly can. Cutaways. What's a cutaway?

unknown

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know, but as we demonstrate with cutaways. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Sounds so sexy.

SPEAKER_02

Cutaways.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, then what happens is you put you you open up the translate app, you have to download the language into the app, and then you have to have the app open. I did not know this at first. Okay, so you have the app open, and then you you have it start to do the translation, and then it it was translating you. Because you were you you taught you spoke German to me a little bit.

SPEAKER_00

I I said, Did you sleep well last night?

SPEAKER_02

Yep, and it did, and it it it speaks it in an artificial voice in the AirPods, but then it also puts it on the screen, the translation, so that you can see it.

SPEAKER_00

Right, and then you hold that screen toward the one you're speaking to.

SPEAKER_02

Right, because I can talk back and then it will translate it back into German and I can read it.

SPEAKER_00

Because obviously, if you can't read German, it wouldn't make sense, or if it's spoken to your ear, you wouldn't be able to repeat what you're hearing.

SPEAKER_02

Right, exactly, exactly. So that way you can have a two-way conversation. Uh, where where I can think of this is that sometimes we've had people at the hospital, they'll like come in before the interpreter arrives, and maybe you know, we want to say, Oh, okay, I will get you checked in and you know, have a seat out there. We'll we'll begin once the interpreter is ready. But how am I supposed to do that? Right now.

SPEAKER_00

But with with Google Translate, and maybe this it works that way as well, you can press on the speaker button and it'll it'll speak what it what it's written.

SPEAKER_02

Ah, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00

So you like if you're if you don't know how to say a word in a certain language and you look at, you also may want to know how to say it. But no, and it'll like play it back.

SPEAKER_02

But that means if you use the Apple Translate app, though, I I think it does that as well. I think it does. Then you can have your first thing say there, and then turn on the little translate thing, and when they speak to you, then you can hear what it says. That's right. And then you can go back, you know. So for something simple like that. I think the downside right now is that it really has to function exactly like you would with an interpreter, like a medical interpreter. Right. Not the simultaneous UN interpreters who like are like yeah, they have a high potential intellectual leg, right from the other crossing video streams here. Don't cross the stream! Don't cross the stream! Where's that one from?

SPEAKER_00

Come on, you need to come on.

SPEAKER_02

They know that one, they must know that. Don't cross the streams.

SPEAKER_00

If you don't know, you should not be watching this episode or any other of our technology episodes. If you do watch. It's very simple. Just type it into Google.

SPEAKER_02

And listen. Um, right, exactly. But um These are AirPods. Right. No, so you can't cross conversational lines, it gets very confused. So it has to be that the person says something to you, and then it will speak, it will speak it and write and write it down on the phone, and then you say something back, and then it writes down on the phone and you show it to them, and then they speak. Like it has to be very organized, like that. It it loses track, so it doesn't have voice awareness in the sense that it can't tell that two different people are talking, right? And so it gets all confused.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we don't like confusion.

SPEAKER_02

We don't like confusion. Because yeah, we tried that with a we pulled up a Spanish video, like a telenovela or something, on YouTube, and we're like, okay, let's give this a try. So it was like some telenovela scene, and tried to have it do it, it was a complete fail. I mean, not a complete fail. It it would come up with the words, but they were all jumbled up because like you couldn't tell one person from the other. Well, yes.

SPEAKER_00

And there's usually music behind it.

SPEAKER_02

And generally speaking, one thing I learned in school was that people who speak Spanish use a higher syllable per minute frequency than English speakers in in general.

SPEAKER_00

In general, wow.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So what is it like a?

SPEAKER_00

Is it because words are longer or is it Again, it's syllables per second.

SPEAKER_02

So when I say average syllables per second for English, so it's got a broad range, but it average is about four to five syllables per second. Um, right.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then Japanese. Oh, Japanese is often cited as the fastest at 7.84 syllables per second.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think that's a good one.

SPEAKER_02

But then what's although I never really thought about it, but and then Spanish average this is AI overview, so results may vary. Um, but it says Spanish is seven to eight syllables. So again, it's it's fairly the same as as Japanese then. So I think that that that will that will make you different.

SPEAKER_00

Do you think that the translator is it wasn't keeping up because of the speed?

SPEAKER_02

No, no, no. I think it it wasn't keeping up because it's designed for a statement, translate.

SPEAKER_00

Ah, right.

SPEAKER_02

A statement back, translate.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_02

It's not meant for conversation. We are not yet at Star Trek's universal translator. Not yet. Close. Not so so close. Not make up oh not yet. Wow. Vicious.

SPEAKER_00

It almost went up my nose.

SPEAKER_02

No, I was out here.

SPEAKER_00

I was out here. I've got a long nose.

SPEAKER_02

What are you, Pinocchio? But yes. No universal translator yet.

SPEAKER_00

Not yet. At some point when we do reach. Were you just crying? Some point when we when we that would be so weird too if we had like it would have to be able to translate not just uh languages by adults, but if it could translate like child language. Like, you know how when you say to a child, I I don't understand what what can you try to explain it in a different way what you need? You know? And then it translates crying or yelling or mumbling or you know nonsensical stuff. You know?

SPEAKER_02

Mm-hmm. Nonsensical stuff. It would translate nonsensical.

SPEAKER_00

That would be awesome, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_02

That would be very difficult. However, I am absolutely shocked.

SPEAKER_00

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02

Shocked that the first set of languages did not include Klingon.

SPEAKER_00

Oh no, no, no, no, no. You mean in the uh the translator app?

SPEAKER_02

In in the AirPods.

SPEAKER_00

The translator app? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Why we're talking about geeks here. We are talking about computer people. I'm not sure. There is no excuse for not having Klingons.

SPEAKER_00

I'm freezing here. I'm frozen. Uh because do I need to explain this? I was gonna say that Klingons aren't real, but I'm not a total nutcase. Objection. What's the phrase? Relevance.

SPEAKER_02

What's the uh I'm not a total I'm not a total nutcase.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not a total nutcase. What's that from?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not a total nutcase. It's real. I knew it. What's it from?

SPEAKER_02

What's it from?

SPEAKER_00

It's literally one of the best written uh sci-fi movies.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Yep. Yeah, we love it. But they didn't include Klingon.

SPEAKER_00

Oh well, that's too bad. That is that is.

SPEAKER_02

I was sad they didn't include Japanese.

SPEAKER_00

Well, they will, but Japanese is is not based on this the algorithm would have to be.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I mean it's kind of so different. Really surprised they didn't include Chinese in the first rollout. Just because I would imagine that there might be a lot of demand for that. I just saw a screen.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I was just gonna say that the nuances between sounds in Chinese are they're so close.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, and there's involved.

SPEAKER_00

A lot of pitch, and if you're not completely accurate, it could come out sounding uh.

SPEAKER_02

Well, no, but it would be uh no, it would be the person speaking to you so that you would understand.

SPEAKER_00

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But um I saw a list of the most used languages at our hospital for the interpreter services. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Is it not English and Spanish?

SPEAKER_02

Well, Spanish was one of them. I mean, but the interpret we generally don't call interpreter services for people who speak English, generally speaking.

SPEAKER_00

Generally speaking, yes.

SPEAKER_02

But yes, it was um Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese.

SPEAKER_00

Is it Brazilian Portuguese or Portugal Portuguese, European Portuguese?

SPEAKER_02

Most of the people I see are Brazilian.

SPEAKER_00

Probably, okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um and then the fourth one. What do you think the fourth one is? Russian. I would have thought that too. And it used to be when I worked there about 25 years ago, 20 years ago. Um it was there were a lot of Russian-speaking people that came, but it was not. It is not.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Um I saw a map a couple months ago showing the most prominent um uh ethnic groups in Massachusetts.

SPEAKER_01

I gotta get it, I gotta get it.

SPEAKER_00

I remember seeing Russian, so it's not but are you saying it's not Russian?

SPEAKER_01

Not Russian.

SPEAKER_00

What do they speak in the Ukraine?

SPEAKER_01

Never get it. Ukrainese.

SPEAKER_00

I mean I could I would say French, but it's not French because you would be you wouldn't be like jumping around like a.

SPEAKER_02

Although surprisingly it might have some elements of it.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, okay, so it would be um Haitian Haitian Creole. Yeah, Haitian Creole. Oh, okay, Massachusetts. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Haitian Creole, got it. All right, very cool. Excellent. Well, I'm sure they'll come out with you know updates every month.

SPEAKER_02

Everyone's gonna be a little bit. Japanese will be there at some point.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so so overall, would you say you are happy that you got the upgrade?

SPEAKER_00

I am very happy that I got the new AirPod Pro 3. Um, it the batteries last a long time. They they fit really well, they cut out all the noise, they they isolate certain sounds. Uh it's got some other cool features that uh um do not require me to have an Apple Watch. Like I don't want an Apple Watch, but I love being able to, let's say, um uh see where my heartbeat is at, my heart rate.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

It's awesome stuff.

SPEAKER_02

All right, cool. Well, that's our I'm keeping my twos for now.

SPEAKER_00

That's very good.

SPEAKER_02

Um but I've got my bling case.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Because as mentioned previously, I like shiny things.

SPEAKER_00

Clearly, I like things that are smooth and look like eggshell.

SPEAKER_02

Mmm, very nice. Nice little eggshell.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, that looked condescending the way you did that.

SPEAKER_01

Aww.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks a lot.

SPEAKER_01

You're welcome.