This is the biggest reason to upgrade to the AirPods Pro 3

It’s no secret that getting a good fit is the single most important part of any pair of wireless earbuds. It affects comfort, sound quality, and how well noise canceling works. So when Apple just announced they’re changing things up with the new AirPods Pro 3, it got my attention.

For the first time, the company is including what they call “foam-infused” silicone ear tips in five different sizes instead of the usual three. Considering how many people, some of us at SoundGuys included, buy third-party foam tips for AirPods already, this could be one of the biggest upgrades Apple has made to its earbuds and potentially eliminate the need for third-party ear tips.

Why fit matters for earbuds

If your earbuds don’t fit properly, you’re in for a frustrating time. You lose bass response, noise canceling takes a hit, and comfort goes out the window during longer listening sessions. In short, a poor seal can make even the best earbuds sound thin, while a good seal unlocks their full potential. For many people, that’s been the main drawback with the AirPods Pro 2. Not everyone is a fan of the silicone tips, which often leaves them buying the AirPods 4 instead. Those don’t use ear tips, and because of the unsealed design, they can’t deliver the same bass response, passive isolation, or noise canceling. That makes them fine for casual listening, but less capable earbuds overall.

What’s new with AirPods Pro 3 ear tips

Apple says the new tips combine a silicone outer layer infused with foam, which should provide the comfort and seal of foam without losing the durability of silicone. The idea is that they compress slightly to fill the ear canal, which in theory should improve both comfort and stability during long listening sessions. For reference, Sony already includes foam-style tips with its WF-1000XM5 earbuds, so Apple isn’t first here, but it is the first to use a hybrid silicone and foam design.

The company is also adding five tip sizes instead of three, including extra-small and extra-large. That sounds like good news for anyone who’s struggled to get a proper seal with previous AirPods Pro. On paper, it’s Apple’s most flexible fit yet.

Of course, we’ll need to test them to see if these changes actually affect daily use.

Do you still need third-party foam tips?

Since its release, plenty of AirPods Pro owners have turned to third-party foam tips from companies like Comply ($19 at Amazon) to get a better fit. The trade-off is that they wear out faster, sizing isn’t always consistent, and they’re not designed with Apple’s tuning in mind.

With the AirPods Pro 3, Apple is clearly trying to bring that same comfort and seal into its own design. Foam-infused tips should, in theory, make third-party options less necessary while keeping the sound profile closer to what Apple intended. Whether Apple actually pulled it off is another question, and one we’ll have to answer once we test them.

Will the AirPods Pro 3 ear tips actually make a difference?

On paper, Apple’s new tips check a lot of boxes. Foam should help with comfort and seal, and five sizes give users more ways to get a secure fit. Add in the slightly new shape of the earbuds, which Apple says is based on 10,000 3D ear scans and 300 million data points, and this could be the most universal AirPods Pro design yet.

But claims only go so far. Foam can break down faster than silicone, comfort can vary a lot from person to person, and even the best design still needs to deliver consistent sound and noise canceling.

We’ll need to test the AirPods Pro 3 in the real world before we know if Apple’s new tips are a genuine upgrade or just another option in the box.