The AirPods Pro 3 have the best noise canceling of any earbuds

In our AirPods Pro 3 review, we put the latest earbuds from Apple through our SoundGuys testing lab. Our testing circuit includes objective measurements of all metrics, such as sound quality and battery life. That said, there was one area where the AirPods Pro 3 really stand out–their noise canceling. As you’ll see in the measurements below, these aren’t just a step up from past earbuds; these are a new benchmark that leaves all competitors in the dust.

The AirPods Pro 3 noise canceling measurements are top-tier

During their keynote presentation announcing the new AirPods Pro 3, Apple claimed that these earbuds had 2X the noise canceling of the AirPods Pro 2, and 4X the noise canceling of the first-generation AirPods Pro. They also boldly claimed that these were the best noise canceling earbuds on the market. With claims like that, the earbuds had better hold up to testing. Here are our measurements that we got in our testing lab:

In the chart above, the purple line shows how much noise the AirPods Pro 3 block out from the ear tips alone, while the blue line shows how much noise they block out with ANC turned on. The higher the lines, the more noise is blocked out. The left side of the chart represents low frequencies, such as the rumble of an airplane engine, while the right side of the chart represents high frequencies, such as the sound of pots and pans clanging. Across the board, the AirPods Pro 3 reduce the loudness of external noise by about 40dB. This is equal to an average reduction in loudness of external noise by 90%.

Leaving competitors behind

Wondering how that 90% reduction in noise stacks up to other wireless earbuds? It’s really impressive. In fact, it’s the best noise canceling performance we’ve ever measured in any earbuds. For comparison, the AirPods Pro 2 only managed a 83% reduction in the loudness of external noise. Here’s how the charts compare:

Across all frequencies of audible sound, the AirPods Pro 3 block out about 10dB more noise than the AirPods Pro 2. The way that human ears interpret sound, every 10dB sounds about twice as loud, thus Apple’s claim that the earbuds block out 2X as much noise as before. That said, the AirPods Pro 2 were already so good at blocking out noise that the difference isn’t extremely noticeable in most situations.

Let’s look at a comparison to other popular wireless earbuds, such as the Sony WF-1000XM5:

While the Sony WF-1000XM5 have foam ear tips that passively block out a lot of noise, the ANC performance is not up to that of the AirPods Pro 3. Our measurements show that the Sony WF-1000XM5 reduce the loudness of external noise by 87%, a bit short of the 90% reduction in noise of the AirPods Pro 3.

What about Bose?

While Bose has made their name in noise canceling headphones, their latest flagship earbuds fall short of the AirPods Pro 3. Our testing shows that the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) only reduce the loudness of external noise by 85%.

I could go on with more comparisons to the 300 other earbuds we’ve tested in our lab, but the story is always the same–the AirPods Pro 3 reign supreme when it comes to noise cancelling.

Does this surprise you? Let us know in the comments down below.