Apple announced the AirPods Pro 3 at its recent “Awe Dropping” September event, alongside new iPhones and Apple Watches. While the latest earbuds are intriguing, you may want to hold off on purchasing them now.
One of their standout features, Live Translation, isn’t entirely exclusive to AirPods Pro 3. It is currently live in AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC).
This feature allows users to have real-time conversations in several languages, a major example of on-device AI. However, it needs an iPhone 15 Pro or later, so upgrading your earbuds alone won’t be enough.
If Live Translation isn’t their major reason for upgrading and users are more interested in the heart rate monitor and enhanced ANC, it's worth waiting.
While the Pro 3 will retail for $249, prices could decline to nearly $220 by October or November, and potentially under $200 by January.
Unless your current AirPods are failing, waiting for some weeks could save you a small amount of money.
If you want to buy a new AirPods now and want Live Translation, consider buying AirPods Pro 2 for $199 or AirPods 4 with ANC for $169.