I have this happen outside of flights. Cupping your finger over the ANC mic is enough to trigger it.
The new tips (that’s my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in. I think the latter is partially caused by the “reduce loud noises” feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud noise.
I’m glad I’m apparently not the only one experiencing these issues. I hope they’re software fixable. I filed a bug report, but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my daily drivers. And I’ve been through three pair of the third gen, so it’s not a one-off issue.
I have been able to trigger it when fumbling around with adjusting the fit. If I run my finger over the top of the body I can get a brief squeal out of them. Happened just a few seconds ago. I also have noticed on multiple occasions that if I take them both out of my ears and cup them in the same hand, they squeal audibly enough to hear faintly from a couple feet away. The skin contact sensor is very sensitive.
However, unlike a lot of other commenters in this thread, I feel like the APP3 are a huge leap forward from the APP2 and have had zero regrets with the upgrade (other than the forced iOS 26 upgrade, but I feel like that's inevitable anyway.) They stay in much better, the fit is more comfortable, the battery life is better, the ANC probably drops background noise another 10db subjectively, and most of all, the sound quality is absolutely stellar. I have owned several midrange headphones and a portable DAC and I find myself preferring the AirPods over them. I haven't worn my Sennheisers since I got the APP3.
Just curious, which Sennheisers did you give up on in favor of APP3?
I have over-the-ear Momentum 3 and love it, but if APP3 provides better sound quality and better ANC I might consider switching as Momentum 3, while I love it, is bulky, heavy, and started to wear off and break down.
I've been able to get this same issue when I am laying in bed and lay on my side where my APP rub against the pillow. I've been able to reliably make the screeching sound by putting one airpod in my hand and tumbling it around or opening and closing my hands.
I still love my APP3, and still have my APP2, but have not made a change back to them. I think they feel so much better in my hear with the new tips, and sound way better.
The horrible thumping is purely a fit issue. The solution to the thumping when running is to either size down the tips or to slightly dislodge the tips from your ear.
It’s not ideal, I’ll grant you that.
While we may have some overlap in issues, I would say that the Airpods Pro 3 are incredible. I’ve ditched my Airpods Max entirely. The noise cancellation works too well, the sleep detection is a godsend, and the battery life is so good. I use my airpods to sleep. before, i’d always wake up to dead airpods. now, they have like 70% batteries when i wake up, because the sleep detection kicks in.
Seems odd to call it a fit issue when the solution is to make the fit worse by dislodging them from your ear. If it's a fit issue then improving the fit should make it go away!
I’ve tried with every set of tips except for the xs, same thumping with all of them. Zero issues running almost daily with the second gens for several years. I think it’s more than fit—either oversensitive ANC or something with the composition of the tips themselves. Oddly enough, it’s not present in both ears every time. Sometimes both, sometimes just one, rarely neither. I’ve stopped gathering data because I switched to a different set of headphones.
I’ll grant you that the ANC in the third gen is fantastic. I just felt like the second gen fit themselves into my routine, whereas I have to fiddle and futz with the third gen to get them just-so so that they don’t inhibit my routine.
It’s hard to argue with you about that. I think you’re right about the tip composition being the issue. Also, there’s definitely an alien feel to APP3.
I frequently use my AirPods Pro when working in my shop. Previously the APP2 did a great job of reducing loud tool noise and I could mostly still listen to music or podcasts at reasonable levels.
With the APP3, they are largely the same except with the louder tools (circular saw, cordless grinder) they produce a horrific feedback instead of canceling the noise. So much so that I switched back to my APP2 (which do not have this issue in back-to-back testing).
This REALLY irks me, as the APP3 are what forced the upgrade to iOS 26 (which is terribly misguided and under-baked), so I'm stuck with all of Apple's foibles and none of their wins.
Feel like I got punched in the gut and my lunch money stolen. Not a good feeling Apple.
I'll say, I recommend my Honeywell sync earmuffs for the workshop. They block more noise, have a physical volume knob and accessible buttons, and best of all, the microphone is also noise cancelling directly, meaning you can usually have a conversation with someone while using a power tool or mowing the lawn without much issue. APP2 or 3 for me has never been able to displace these.
Anecdotally, my APP3 have worked much better then expected when I worked with a drill and jigsaw this weekend. No weird noises and much more NC than the 2 had.
Might be worth trying different ear tips or asking for a replacement if software updates don’t improve it.
100% agree with the required update to 26, I was hugely bummed when I discovered I had to update my devices to pair them.
I've had the opposite experience with noise cancelling though, the APP3 feel like magic when I'm working with power tools - better than any other (passive) ear protection I've tried in Noise Cancellation mode, and still enough protection in Transparency mode that I can use my circular saw without any discomfort. I did experience a little of what you're mentioning the other day, but only when my Airpods (and head) were close to the tool. I thought it might be back EMF.
I have no complaints with my APP3 other than the forced iOS upgrade. I feel like they fit much better than the APP2, I have had far fewer incidences of them working their way out. And sound quality is a huge leap forward IMO. Best IEMs I have ever heard.
> 100% agree with the required update to 26, I was hugely bummed when I discovered I had to update my devices to pair them.
Interesting, I had no issue pairing despite not being on iOS 26. The only things I noticed was that they didn't show up in the Find My app (which is pretty bad) and that I didn't get the shortcut to the airpods settings on the main setting page and had to go through the bluetooth menu instead, otherwise I could pair and do everything I normally did. Tbh, I didn't even notice an issue until I read online about the two things I mentioned...
Huh, that's a good counter point. Perhaps something has changed between APP2 and APP3 that make them more susceptible to EMF, or maybe I have a bad pair. I'll attempt a replacement and see where we land.
I feel a bit the same. I rushed out to upgrade for the better noise cancelling, apparently better mic quality and live translation feature.
All three have been a miss. Noise cancelling is much the same and seems to leak higher pitch noises more. Mic is more or less still bad and the live translation only works in doors in a quiet room.
And I resent the upgrade to 26 and all of the bugs like phantom notifications.
They’re still good ear buds and the noise cancelling is valuable but I shouldn’t have made the upgrade from the 2 pros.
Ahh lastly, it seems the case battery depletes much faster now too.
Apple has done some really shady marketing about live translation because it's also supported on the AirPods Pro 2. It's clear they don't want people to know that to drive the upgrade to the 3s.
A wild guess as to what is happening. I haven’t actually tested this hypothesis so I could be completely wrong.
In feedback systems, the gain is a function of frequency, and typically decreases when going from low frequency to high frequency. This is often accompanied by a phase delay.
So if the overall gain of the system is high enough, there will be some high frequency where the gain is 1, and the phase is 180 degrees. This would result in positive feedback, amplifying noise at that frequency.
Maybe that’s what’s happening in the latest AirPods? If Apple is aggressive cranking up the gain of the noise cancellation system, there’s some high frequency where the noise gets amplified rather than suppressed.
The solution would be to either reduce the gain (which reduces the noise cancellation), or to add some differential gain in the system which pushes out the unity gain frequency to higher frequencies.
"if A is the gain of the amplifying element in the circuit and β(jω) is the transfer function of the feedback path, so βA is the loop gain around the feedback loop of the circuit, the circuit will sustain steady-state oscillations only at frequencies for which:
1: The loop gain is equal to unity in absolute magnitude, that is, |βA|=1, and
2: the phase shift around the loop is zero or an integer multiple of 2π: ∠βA=2πn,n∈{0,1,2,…}"
I just had a thought, it's possible to completely disable ANC in settings, turning them into "dumb" bluetooth headphones. (Enable "Off Listening Mode" in Airpods Settings and the option will become available in Control Center.) If some of us who are able to replicate this effect consistently could try turning ANC off and seeing if the effect still occurs, that would narrow it down to being feedback related from Transparency/ANC or being something external like back EMF.
I just tested this myself and the two ways that I am able to get consistent squealing (stroking the upper body when in-ear and cupping them in the hand) both fail to replicate when ANC is off. So this does point to a feedback issue.
My other thought is that the APP3 may have microphones located next to the drivers in the ear canal, both for measuring fit, and for the new "own voice amplification" feature that appears in hearing control center if you enable Hearing Assistance. Maybe vibration is leaking through the body to the inner microphone.
Something interesting occurs to me. Many of the anecdotes about the squealing on flights says the noise goes away when yawning. Yawning lifts the soft palate and equalizes ambient pressure behind the eardrum in the sinuses. Air pressure is lower in a pressurized airplane cabin than on the ground and is usually more dynamic as well. I wonder if an air pressure gradient forms in the ear canal when in the air that exacerbates the ANC feedback issues that users (myself included) are experiencing on the ground. I feel like there must be some interaction between the multiple microphones due to vibration transmitted through the body of the Airpods.
Since it seems to be an ANC issue it should be fixable in software.
I discovered another way to remove this problem - Initiate a screen recording and it's gone. I was doing this to report a TestFlight app bug on a flight I was experiencing and wow did the ANC improve so much.
Interesting. I have roughly 50,000 flight miles on the new AirPods Pro 3, and while I do prefer them to the 2s, I too have some annoyances with the left AirPod. In my case it never feels like it fits my ear canal quite right, to the point that I thought I might want different size tips - after trying all the tips, that's not it. The seal is in fact good, but the different feel is noticeable.
The noise cancellation also feels a bit more variable - when it's good it's significantly better, but sometimes I get cycles or loops where the algo doesn't seem to be working right.
I was mulling over getting custom tips, but it's a good reminder it might just be easier to downgrade.
I feel like I'm in-between sizes or something. The medium Apple eartips are more comfortable but tend to sit farther out of my ear canal and feel like they're working their way out. The small eartips stay in more securely, but sit uncomfortably far into my ear canal and lose seal when talking or putting my head in certain positions. I eventually settled on the mediums and have become accustomed to the feeling of them "falling out" even when they're not.
But yes, odd to hear that other people also have issues with the left ear fit, because they must be identical shapes. I wonder if human physiology averages to the left ear being smaller or something. Although I feel like the right ear falls out more easily if I switch to the small tips...
I had a fit issue with Airpods Pro 2 in my left ear. It would always pop out after 20 minutes of rowing. I tried different ear tips, but none of them really worked. ANC is only medium-important to me, so I'm using Airpods 4 with ANC.
Concurring with sibling, AZLA does make good aftermarket tips. I have my Airpods Pro 2 in my work bag and still use their "crystal" tips.
I've never had in-ears that use the same size tips. I always just assumed I was the oddball with weirdly mis-sized ears, but I'm pretty sure everyone has it to some degree and just always accept one subpar fit rather than use differently sized tips.
Wow you fly a lot! These things are out what, 2 months? :O
Doesn't that get exhausting? I used to have a job where I'd be on a plane every week and I couldn't hack it. It's supposed to be liberating to travel but basically just seeing the inside of a plane, taxi, meeting room and hotel room every day it was more like a moving prison. Sometimes I'd sneak out to walk through these strange places. But often I'd be forced to attend boring business dinners.
My last business flight was in 2018 and I don't miss it at all :) I even cancelled my corporate amex since I never use it anymore. And these guys keep asking for copies of ID and stuff for tax records or something (completely stupid because yes I'm still the same person duhhh) so in the end I just rolled my eyes and told them to stuff it where the sun don't shine :P
It can be tiring - and I don’t do it all the time. The reason to travel at all for work is fundamentally relational; I find if I am happy with the relationships the travel on balance is a net positive: it lets me work on what I want to and meet and befriend super interesting people.
That slight difference in agency and relational availability turns into a giant gap in feelings though, I agree. I’ve done the kind of travel you describe in my younger days and found it a mix of masochistically engaging and depression inducing.
To be fair I had like 300 flight miles July-September, but us PE guys occasionally do work for a living! I currently have deals in Japan and UK and family in the west coast of the US so it’s a realistic number.
None of the Apple tips work for me, they all leak outside noise and slip out of my ears. I've tried nearly every 3rd party tip on the market, the AZLA ones are the best but with caveats. The Xelastic tips [0] provide the best comfort, noise cancellation and stay in your ears perfectly, but they wear out and become too soft quickly - like every two to three months. The Max tips [1] are durable, stay in properly, and are so comfortable it's easy to forget you have ear buds in. They're not so great at the noise cancellation though so I tend to use these as my every day tips and swap them for the Xelastics when I'm going on a flight or somewhere where the ANC is more important. I haven't tried the Crystal ones yet.
Edit: I didn't know the Crystal ones existed until posting this, so ordering some now to see if they're the best of both worlds. If I remember, I'll report back.
I buy Comply 600 Core Series (size medium), tear the comply foam off the plastic tube, then place the foam around the Apple silicone tips (size large).
None of the Apple tips on their own seal correctly, nor do any of the numerous third-party tips that I've tried, including hybrid silicone/foam tips.
I get about 6 months out of the foam and they fit in the charging case modified like this.
I had to return my AirPods Pro 3. I upgraded from AirPods 4 with ANC and they were worse in every department I could see. I assume battery life is better, but I've never ran out of battery anyway.
I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips, and these were no different to any I've tried, despite reviews stating they were super comfortable.
My left ear is also worse to get it fitting right than my right ear. I have tried every size provided, none seem right. A grimace in the gym is enough to unseat even the most secure fit/seal, in either ear.
My main gripes specifically with AirPods Pro 3, which I've not seen in any other review;
- Because the rubber tips vary in size, the case has to accommodate the largest. This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection.
- The case is substantially bigger than AirPods 4 with ANC. I would say ~40%.
- The volume swipe on the stalk action is very tricky to trigger.
- Any stalk action is a bad idea when it's so easy to unseat them. I skip songs with a double press regularly, and nearly every time I had to push in and rotate after.
That's a shame since it's literally impossible to get that deep sub bass or punchy mid bass without a seal. But if you're not into genres that sound better with that, then you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
> This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection.
I've used many headphones - probably upwards of 10 pairs cross 5 brands - in my day with rubber tips that can accommodate multiple sizes. This has never been a problem for me with any brand. I've switched to open ear headphones (over-ear for flights) since last year so my knowledge base is aging.
Is the magnetic action in Apple's case not strong enough, maybe?
I've flown twice with my new AirPods Pro 3, and both times I had this exact experience; high pitched and loud feedback. They were properly cleaned, and had a "good seal" according to the settings wizard.
Glad to see I'm not the only one at least, and hopefully this will be possible to fix as a software update, rather than having to replace the AirPods.
Does it matter which side of the plane you are on or how close to the wing (engines) you are? I could imagine an audio difference between left and right if you were sitting at a window near an engine.
with buds, whichever connects first (usually right) is the master, and the other bud connects to that one as the slave, instead of connecting directly to the source device. probably has something to do with that
I've been on ~4-5 flights since upgrading to the Airpods Pro 3 from the 2 and haven't experienced this, though I had occasionally experienced a similar whine on my Pro 2 that seemed to have been resolved in a software update sometime back.
I am surprised by the general negative sentiment for the 3s in this thread. They've felt like a straight and clear upgrade to me. Better fit, better ANC, and much improved battery life. I typically wear mine almost all day so comfort is hugely important to me.
I think the general neagtivity might be from a $250 set of headphones that aren’t great in all situations.
It’s not just an apple problem, but expensive tech just doesn’t seem to work well. generally apple were kinda the gold standard, now they’re having issues like a lot of tech.
I'm surprised of the general positivity of the previous version, also $250. When the Airpods Pro 2 had been out, it seemed like there was non-stop complaining about how every firmware update made the ANC worse, the sound quality was worse than Sony, continual clicks and rattles, and how they were designed for battery failure.
Just goes to show how negative opinions travel fast.
Not every expensive device works well, but the tech products that typically work best tend to not be the cheapest ones. There is plenty of subpar expensive tech, but much less top-tier inexpensive stuff.
Of course, that doesn't mean it can't suffice for the average user.
Same. I've been on a number of long haul flights since getting my 3's and they have been great. They do fit very different than the 2's, and took me a few hours to get used to them.
I understand though that not everyone wins the ear hole lottery. For some the 2s may fit better than the 3's and vice versa. It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit change without considering 2's are simply better for some people fit wise.
> It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit change without considering 2's are simply better for some people fit wise.
I immediately ran out and bought aftermarket foam tips for my 2's since the silicone ones never stayed in. Apple is likely trying to fix that kind of problem (and may have done so on average entirely successfully) but now you're seeing the people that it doesn't work for show up in these comments. This comment section is going to be biased towards complaining about the 3's so you can't really judge if what they did was effective or not on average, only that clearly it wasn't perfect.
Same here, and I wonder if this is down to shifting pressure in the ear-nose-throat axis. The fact that yawning seems to remediate the issue, and also is a way to equalize pressure, makes me suspicious.
Is it the noise cancellation making a feedback sound, or is it the pressure differential in the ear canal pulling the ear drum back to produce a white noise?
He said that it goes away when he yawns, so I'm thinking it might be the pressure differential.
Yawning alters the conformation of the external auditory canal by displacing the mandible, which articulates with the tympanic plate of the temporal bone adjacent to the canal.
The seal might be so good that a small pressure differential happens as cabin pressure drops, which causes some issue with the microphone or speaker. Yawning might break that seal, or otherwise cause pressure equalization. Why only the left one? Apple might put some kind of special signal diagnostics or sensors in that side that bugs out under those conditions, or maybe human anatomy on the left side is consistently subtley different in a set of people.
Because this doesn't happen to everybody it could be some kind of "instrument effect" where the particular shape of someone's ear canal, and the interaction with their ear drum and the speakers and sensors in the app creates this tone, likely assisted by the constant driving signal of air cabin white noise.
> The seal might be so good that a small pressure differential happens as cabin pressure drops
That's my guess. I'm very sensitive to pressure changes and I know that cabin pressure on most planes is not constant even when cruising. It's in a range that most people won't notice but it definitely fluctuates near constantly within that band.
I bought the airpod pro 3 and returned it after a couple of days. It would make a loud crunching sound every time I move my mouth, probably due to the memory foam moving inside my ear canal. Never experienced anything similar on pro 1 or pro 2.
This entire cycle of Apple releases is riddled with puzzling defects - the super scratchable iPhone Pros, the condensation issues on the Air lenses, the Airpod fit and weird noise cancelling issues. I don't recall this level of weird basic defects since the first unibody macs or the butterfly keyboard debacle. Wonder what caused it...
I don't think it was ever common, since earphones weren't that popular until people started calling them "earbuds", but the term was historically used in at least some circles in the U.S. The 1988 Radio Shack catalog [1] seems to mention "earphone" 57 times, including two mono earphone products.
That’s interesting, although that seems to be a different usage than OP mentioned. It seems to be used interchangeably with headphones as it’s also being used to describe cables and jacks.
I'm reasonably certain that I am about as old if not slightly older than the invention of in-ear headphones. I'm also reasonably certain that I have always used "headphones" to refer to any small portable speaker designed to inject sound directly into the ears. I'm absolutely certain I have never used the term "earphones", although "ear buds" was/is a common synonym for in-ear headphones.
I am surprised that Apple did not test in a way that revealed these problems (testing around a variety of loud noises, and especially testing on airplanes, where the product is used a lot).
And I am surprised that, if they did do the testing, they shipped anyway.
But I am becoming less and less surprised via-à-vis Apple problems, because they seem to be occurring with increasing frequency.
Anecdotal, one of my colleagues was sounding surprisingly clear on one of the calls, and I had to ask him what is he using. Turns out whose were AirPods Pro 3, so my first impression with their microphone is quite amazing. Comparable to "studio mics from MBP" from a generation or two ago. He shared noise cancellation is also great.
It might also be because newer Bluetooth codecs being used. I think Apple doesn't publish a lot of documentation about it (or it isn't obvious, at least...)
Could be the case, but it is very obvious if someone is using Pros 1 or 2, the audio is really bad. This was honestly such a jump that I somehow wish my Pros 1 to break so I can get new ones :D Can't upgrade from a perfectly working set of headphones, although they are more than four years old and probably my 2nd most used device after the phone.
I had something similar happen after sleeping a few times with my first-gen airpods pro. I think something must have gotten filled with earwax or something, because the noise cancelling got more and more broken and had more sudden sharp sounds until they were unusable
But since then I've had two pairs of airpods pro 2 and bought the 3s on the first day, and I've had no such issues with any of them, including sleeping, and flying twice with the 3's so far. YMMV
Something happened today as I was closing my car door, where I had the Airpods (Pro 3 as well) make this low but extremely loud rumble-like sound. Something related to pressure and seal, perhaps?
I could replicate it immediately at will. ANC on, nothing playing, sat on the driver seat and closed my door with a little bit of force.
This just sounds like the fallacy of ignoring corner / minority use cases.
A minority of users might encounter a flaw in a corner case, but if that's an important corner case, it's a defect: IE, Airpods might only be used on flights 1% of the time, but for the people who use them on flights, it's a very important (and hyper-critical) use case.
I suspect this is fixable in firmware. What I heard on a long haul flight was the faint sound of the plane's engines traveling back and forth down a paper towel tube; a hollow, cavernous sound. It must be so tricky to nail these algorithms, but with the data of millions, it should be easier to triangulate and address.
i disagree here - having a feedback loop that makes loud noise instead of cancelling is fundamental failure of their ANC algorithm. There's basically no protection mechanism incase of divergence.
:( I recently lost my APP1 and was going to buy new airpods this week. I guess I'm going to look elsewhere until Apple improves their quality. I'm one of the few that are bothered by ANC, so I don't use it. But I also don't want to buy/support a subpar product release.
If you don't use ANC, then why is an ANC issue that only appears on flights a reason for you to not buy a product? If someone said they have weird ears and the AirPods Pro 3 simply doesn't fit their ears, would that be a reason for you to not buy it even though it fits yours?
This is not an ad, just personal experience, but I went through two pairs of AirPod Pro 2s in the last couple of years and both developed problems outside of warranty. I bought a pair of Earfuns from Amazon and they’re honestly pretty great. 95% of the sound quality and functionality of AirPod pros for about 25% of the price.
> This entry was written at 33,000 feet while flying over the Canadian Rockies.
Respect the commitment to the craft!
Also useful / timely knowledge for me, thank you. I have a big international trip with multiple longhaul flights coming up and was debating if I should upgrade my airpods or consider something else (e.g. overear headphones). Do folks have overear recommendations?
Anecdotal, but recently gave up on AirPods and moved over to Beats Fit Pro to get similar feature parity with my iPhone. Thus far, the Beats fit way better than either my AirPod 2 or AirPod Pro 1's ever did. ANC and the lack of an extra mic are ever so slightly worse, but the battery life and fit are so much better. My $250 AirPod Pros had to be exchanged for a battery defect within 3 months and were regularly falling out during runs... I don't think I will be buying AirPods again, but anyone struggling with them should scope the Beats line.
I've not noticed them feeding back while listening but it happens whenever I put them in the case together for a split second. I also get a drop-out every time I walk past certain spots in my apartment building hallway because of what I'm guessing are ultrasonic sensors on fragrance dispensers or light fixtures. Definitely buggier than the previous version but the improvements in sonic accuracy and noise cancellation are well worth the inconvenience IMO.
I've noticed a big problem with AirPods Pro 3 on the NYC subway. Maybe my fit isn't right, but Adaptive/Transparent mode is a lot less "transparent" with really loud background noise - I can tell I'm listening to a processed signal rather than the natural muted sound of the AirPods Pro 2.
I have this issue intermittently just when walking around, at sea level! I can make them start screaming just by holding them even - The Airpods 2 do not have the same issue.
I became fed up with my airpods (and bluetooth earbuds in general) and switched to some great (albeit definitely not new and definitely not high end) IEMs and couldn't be happier. I was worried about losing the noise canceling but it turns out to not matter in the slightest with IEMs with proper tips on them, the isolation is unbelievable. Not dealing with battery life and charging issues anymore is worth it alone. The absurd price difference is a great bonus too.
Yup, it's pretty impressive how good IEMs can be at isolating you from sounds with good fitting tips. I am fond of the SpinFit W1 tips, they were much better than whatever stock tips came with mine and they seal really well.
"In-ear monitor", fancy buzzword for earbud afaict (I am definitely not a part of the audiophile scene and am not sure if there is actually a difference there, except maybe they insert very deep in the ear canal and have excellent isolation).
They're musicians' tools. Playing live music is absolutely destructive to your hearing, and ear protection is required. IEMs are a combination of protective equipment (many are designed the same way as concert earplugs) and earphone, so you can hear a clear signal from the mixing board at a safe volume, while shutting out the house speakers' insane noise levels.
Before IEMs were common, the norm was (hopefully) ear plugs and having monitoring speakers pointed at the musicians from the floor.
IEMs can be made in the concert earplug style, which is usually a center pair with 3-4 layers of rubber domes like typical earbuds. Or you can pay more and have custom molds made of your ears, so ones can be made to perfectly fit.
"Monitor" also has certain implications in audio. Usually something designed for monitoring will have a flat frequency response, while most consumer gear has aggressive EQ curves that do things like boosting bass. (Most people will think monitors "sound bad," while the lack of sound tampering is essential for performance and mixing.)
"In Ear Monitor". Its named for its use by musicians to listen to the mix while they perform, but now it just refers to the style of isolation via mechanical means (foam or silicon seal) and the way the cable folds back over the top of the ear.
Other other brands dynamically do this, so you don't need to do any recalibration manually. Bose Ultra headphones, for instance, seem to do this dynamically all the time. You can tell this happens since the ANC slowly ramps up as you get a better seal on your ears.
Wonder if it's humidity related. Besides the lower pressure, commercial aircraft are usually single digit % humidity due to use of dry bleed air to pressurize the cabin. Besides the effect on sealing, I wonder if there's an effect on acoustics that the ANC has to contend with. It would possibly explain some of the other people facing the same issues at home.
Love my APP3, upgraded from APP2 and have only one regret... no Comply Foam tips available yet. Why does Apple not go all-in on memory foam, I dunno, but at least the APP2 version was so much better it's not even funny.
With the Apple XS tips, which otherwise fit well for me, any yawn means the APP3 fall out.
I use these at night, sleeping with them on. I experienced this screeching intermittently for like a week, and then it went away almost completely. Now, it only happens if I lay down in a very specific way. It's probably related to the strength of the seal in my case, and maybe at higher altitudes and different pressures the seal is affected in a similar way.
The seal might have improved for me the more I used the same eartips
Now I wonder, what could "cleverness-shaped ears" possibly look like? Also funny: my ears can't hold earphones, they just eject them every time I change my facial expression or talk or what-not.
Glad to hear it's not just me. Happened repeatedly on my flights I took last week. I have had all 3 generations of the Pros, this is the first time experiencing this. Also left AirPod only.
This high pitched noise issue happened to me last week using noise cancellation on a flight, but I was using Airpods 4 (not Pro). I think this problem isn't only limited to the Pro models
I've had this exact same issue as described but only on longer runs where I've had them in my ears for longer than 3 or 4 hours. When I figured out I could just turn off the pass through or noise cancellations and it'd go away I was relieved but it doesn't seem reserved for pressurized plane cabins. Never had this issue on previous generations.
There's already [edit: multiple] comments here that are blaming human anatomy, despite the competition not having this issue. No need for Apple to claim it.
It amazes me what people are willing to suffer merely because Apple makes it. Flights are one of the core ANC competencies, it boggles the mind that this wasn't found during testing.
Pro 3 is a step backwards, there are these ANC noise issues not only on flights but also during heal-strikes when running down a hill, a staticky thump rather than high-pitched.
I've also had other more rare feedback issues. The Pro2s basically never had feedback issues unless you actually rubbed the outside of them.
put the APP3 through a washing machine recently by accident and they had the high pitched feedback if NC was used until they were fully dry after a couple of days. Have also put APP2 through washing machine before but never had this
I have the samsung buds pros and I've noticed a high pitched screech when I put the buds in and I figured it's related to how noise cancelling works. I bet basicappleguy wouldn't hear the noise if the ANC is turned off as a test.
The Airpods 2 have a whistle problem for me. Any time someone whistles or anything makes a loud noise I would feel a pressure on my ear that was quite unpleasant and stemming from the airpod. Haven’t tried the 3 but I wonder if it is related.
Without playing any music the ANC is stellar, but this bug means the buds are basically unusable as they require reseating in the ear, or toggling to transparency and back to ANC, after a few seconds of listening (if in an environment which has any sort of constant low freq noise)
- I can't jog with the APP3: the new tips transmit too much of the impact vibration into my ear, creating a painful noise sensation that can not be healthy. Same for walking sometimes! It makes me walk carefully and weirdly.
- Certain type of noise, like strongly vibrating idioit cars and idiot motorbikes also create some very painful feedback noise that makes me take them out when I need them most.
- I too experienced this horrible screeching, but I wasn't doing anything specialy. Cupping them made it worse, taking the out and in again did not help. I put them back in the case and a few hours later this issue disappeared.
To me, the APP3 feel half broken and dangerous, I regret buying them, I wish I would have bought just another set of APP2.
It was one of the most anticipated Apple upgrades of all times and they dropped the ball.
I tried AP Pro 3 but decided to return them in favor of my v2. The v2 felt more comfortable in my ear and were good enough. I was also disappointed the heartbeat monitor only works while exercising.
Sidenote from an observer since I don't use AirPods (or any other Apple device, for that matter). I've been seeing more "Apple design problem" articles around the latest release cycle. It seems out of line for a company whose main advantage is attention to detail and UX (which you pay dearly for).
I'm always reminded of dystopian stories by Doctorow et al. when the frequency of brand name usage exceeds a certain threshold, and this article certainly did that.
AirPods Pro 2 was already perfect. I don't know why Apple chose to "upgrade" it whereas AirPods Max, AirTags, and the Studio Display are all over due for an upgrade.
Of course you do. If they do not constantly upgrade, there are no new sales. Charts must go up, not stay flat. As an example, the venerable Technics 1200 turntable only had a few version releases for fairly minor cosmetic usability items. The core functionality did not change since it was designed. Those versions came with years in between. You buy a pair of those, and you only replaced them when they were stolen. If something broke, you repaired it. Apple's share holders will not be happy with buy once keep forever items.
I don't think it is as simple as saying the demand for constant growth is the reason for this.
Even if a manufacturer was a non-profit, if they make a product that never upgrades and can be repaired indefinitely, eventually the demand for new products will drop enough that they simply can't afford to keep making new ones. You can't maintain a manufacturing pipeline for small amounts of product, because there are fixed costs that can't be reduced with reduced production.
I get this in every day life, but it comes whenever I have to adjust the pods in my ears. But frankly I kinda expected these to pretty much suck until someone comes out with fully foam tips, at which point my problem will be completely solved as I no longer will have a need to adjust them
I use them mainly for running, and after I accidentally put my Pro 2s through a washer/dryer cycle, I ordered the Pro 3s, but I've noticed they feel heavier in the ears and make this annoying loud thumping sound every time my foot hits the ground, making them almost unusable for my primary purpose
Also sometimes I fall asleep in bed with them while listening to a podcast, and have experienced the same painfully loud screeching as described by the article when the microphones brush against the pillow
I experienced the same thing first time I took them onboard a plane. The APP has so far been a disappointment for me. They do have much better NC, but at the cost of issues like this and worse sound quality
Just one data point, but I was on a flight this weekend and AirPods Pro 3 worked fine for me with ANC. No feedback or other noises, just a slight bit of wind noise when the overhead air duct was directed straight at my head (so I angled the duct slightly away from me).
> surprised it took author this long to realize it
I don't think "realize" is the right word here. "Realize" would require them to have been affected by this issue but unaware. Instead, they were not affected with their previous models, only with the new ones.
Use normal ass headphones that cost $5, problem solved even better. I think wireless earbuds are the dumbest product ever made. They are worse than normal headphones in every way.
I have 1tb of data on icloud, including all my photos. Moving to a different platform is literally not an option (I was a happy Dropbox paid user until they decided to shut down the photos app, and Google Photos is a huge no no for multiple reason). The only alternative I can think of is self-hosting, which on itself is a nightmare, or a home NAS (not an option for me specifically). The lock-in is real.
Dropbox recently broke (accidentally or intentionally) hosted images/thumbnails from their Paper docs product (which they're quietly but noncommittally killing off) and that was a good wakeup for me to stop trusting hosted storage. And I'm saying this as a former Dropbox engineer of ~6 years who has plenty of free Dropbox storage for life. The brain drain and profitability crunch is real.
Recently bought a 14TB HDD and downloaded my entire Dropbox, Google Photos, and Lightroom photos. Planning to set up an off-site copy as well, and will probably build out a proper NAS within a few years.
Dropbox is just hard to trust. I used to pay for it, until they suddenly decided to shut down the photos app. Then the password app, recently. I don’t expect Apple to shut down Photos any time soon, so I find it easier to trust them with my data
Name me one service outside of Google and Apple that’s seamlessly tied to your devices. Once you buy into the system you’re basically stuck. Apple is quickly becoming Oracle.
which alternative platform exists? Onedrive is absolutely awful (it gets stuck in sync and crashes on Mac frequently), Google Drive/Photos doesn't respect your privacy and actually changes the resolution of your photos. The only alternative is Dropbox, which doesn't have a photos app anymore, or a bunch of disjointed small apps that together would cost multiples of what I pay for iCloud.
Not sure what the OP meant but I too feel locked into them. I dislike both the company and in some cases the product, but they currently provide the least bad option - almost certainly for laptops and probably for phones.
I feel like a provider having the 'lest bad option' is a LOT different than 'locked in'. Locked in means that you are forced to keep using an inferior product even if a better option exists because you can't move your data; not having a better option is something else.
Lock-in usually just refers to a situation where switching costs are (perceived to be) higher than the net benefit, within some reasonable payoff period. It can include things like high cost to extract data, but it can also include things like network/social effects.
The latter is a huge reason companies strive to establish "platforms" and suites of connected apps - even if competition is cheaper/better in a vacuum, it still may not be worth the effort to switch if you're already established within an ecosystem. The goal is vendor lock-in even if they're not holding your data hostage (though they might do that too).
Yeah, I agree with that. I didn’t mean to imply that it had to be impossible to move your data.
However, I do think that it has to mean something besides “there are no other good providers of a service”. Integrations, platforms, etc make sense as being “locked in”, but not “no one else provides the service”
To me, the key would be, “if you were starting from scratch and weren’t using any service at all, would you choose a different one than what you actually currently use?”
If the answer is “I would still choose the one I am using”, then I don’t think that is locked in.
it means that the cost of moving from X is too high (be it in terms of time, cost or lack of suitable alternatives).
In the case of iCloud, for most people, it's probably a combination of convenience (no other tool is so well integrated with the OS) and cost (you can sorta replicate the combo of photos + files + vpn + fake emails, but it'll be more expensive and complex to maintain)
Is it optional? When there is basically Apple and Android? If you add family to the mix then you’re basically stuck with Apple ecosystem. It’s actually nice until something goes wrong and you realize their customer service is awful. They’ve gotten too big. It’s basically a big black box and you’re trapped.
The new tips (that’s my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in. I think the latter is partially caused by the “reduce loud noises” feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud noise.
I’m glad I’m apparently not the only one experiencing these issues. I hope they’re software fixable. I filed a bug report, but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my daily drivers. And I’ve been through three pair of the third gen, so it’s not a one-off issue.
However, unlike a lot of other commenters in this thread, I feel like the APP3 are a huge leap forward from the APP2 and have had zero regrets with the upgrade (other than the forced iOS 26 upgrade, but I feel like that's inevitable anyway.) They stay in much better, the fit is more comfortable, the battery life is better, the ANC probably drops background noise another 10db subjectively, and most of all, the sound quality is absolutely stellar. I have owned several midrange headphones and a portable DAC and I find myself preferring the AirPods over them. I haven't worn my Sennheisers since I got the APP3.
I have over-the-ear Momentum 3 and love it, but if APP3 provides better sound quality and better ANC I might consider switching as Momentum 3, while I love it, is bulky, heavy, and started to wear off and break down.
I still love my APP3, and still have my APP2, but have not made a change back to them. I think they feel so much better in my hear with the new tips, and sound way better.
It’s not ideal, I’ll grant you that.
While we may have some overlap in issues, I would say that the Airpods Pro 3 are incredible. I’ve ditched my Airpods Max entirely. The noise cancellation works too well, the sleep detection is a godsend, and the battery life is so good. I use my airpods to sleep. before, i’d always wake up to dead airpods. now, they have like 70% batteries when i wake up, because the sleep detection kicks in.
I’ll grant you that the ANC in the third gen is fantastic. I just felt like the second gen fit themselves into my routine, whereas I have to fiddle and futz with the third gen to get them just-so so that they don’t inhibit my routine.
You should be thankful you get a free reminder to stop heel striking
/uj figured a little running BS hear could be fun
With the APP3, they are largely the same except with the louder tools (circular saw, cordless grinder) they produce a horrific feedback instead of canceling the noise. So much so that I switched back to my APP2 (which do not have this issue in back-to-back testing).
This REALLY irks me, as the APP3 are what forced the upgrade to iOS 26 (which is terribly misguided and under-baked), so I'm stuck with all of Apple's foibles and none of their wins.
Feel like I got punched in the gut and my lunch money stolen. Not a good feeling Apple.
I know about destructive interference in theory, but was always curious about the perceptual vs real SPL.
Whenever I’ve tried ANC (Bose) it’s always hurt my ears, even when quiet.
Might be worth trying different ear tips or asking for a replacement if software updates don’t improve it.
I've had the opposite experience with noise cancelling though, the APP3 feel like magic when I'm working with power tools - better than any other (passive) ear protection I've tried in Noise Cancellation mode, and still enough protection in Transparency mode that I can use my circular saw without any discomfort. I did experience a little of what you're mentioning the other day, but only when my Airpods (and head) were close to the tool. I thought it might be back EMF.
I have no complaints with my APP3 other than the forced iOS upgrade. I feel like they fit much better than the APP2, I have had far fewer incidences of them working their way out. And sound quality is a huge leap forward IMO. Best IEMs I have ever heard.
Interesting, I had no issue pairing despite not being on iOS 26. The only things I noticed was that they didn't show up in the Find My app (which is pretty bad) and that I didn't get the shortcut to the airpods settings on the main setting page and had to go through the bluetooth menu instead, otherwise I could pair and do everything I normally did. Tbh, I didn't even notice an issue until I read online about the two things I mentioned...
All three have been a miss. Noise cancelling is much the same and seems to leak higher pitch noises more. Mic is more or less still bad and the live translation only works in doors in a quiet room.
And I resent the upgrade to 26 and all of the bugs like phantom notifications.
They’re still good ear buds and the noise cancelling is valuable but I shouldn’t have made the upgrade from the 2 pros.
Ahh lastly, it seems the case battery depletes much faster now too.
In feedback systems, the gain is a function of frequency, and typically decreases when going from low frequency to high frequency. This is often accompanied by a phase delay.
So if the overall gain of the system is high enough, there will be some high frequency where the gain is 1, and the phase is 180 degrees. This would result in positive feedback, amplifying noise at that frequency.
Maybe that’s what’s happening in the latest AirPods? If Apple is aggressive cranking up the gain of the noise cancellation system, there’s some high frequency where the noise gets amplified rather than suppressed.
The solution would be to either reduce the gain (which reduces the noise cancellation), or to add some differential gain in the system which pushes out the unity gain frequency to higher frequencies.
"if A is the gain of the amplifying element in the circuit and β(jω) is the transfer function of the feedback path, so βA is the loop gain around the feedback loop of the circuit, the circuit will sustain steady-state oscillations only at frequencies for which:
1: The loop gain is equal to unity in absolute magnitude, that is, |βA|=1, and 2: the phase shift around the loop is zero or an integer multiple of 2π: ∠βA=2πn,n∈{0,1,2,…}"
I just tested this myself and the two ways that I am able to get consistent squealing (stroking the upper body when in-ear and cupping them in the hand) both fail to replicate when ANC is off. So this does point to a feedback issue.
My other thought is that the APP3 may have microphones located next to the drivers in the ear canal, both for measuring fit, and for the new "own voice amplification" feature that appears in hearing control center if you enable Hearing Assistance. Maybe vibration is leaking through the body to the inner microphone.
Since it seems to be an ANC issue it should be fixable in software.
The noise cancellation also feels a bit more variable - when it's good it's significantly better, but sometimes I get cycles or loops where the algo doesn't seem to be working right.
I was mulling over getting custom tips, but it's a good reminder it might just be easier to downgrade.
But yes, odd to hear that other people also have issues with the left ear fit, because they must be identical shapes. I wonder if human physiology averages to the left ear being smaller or something. Although I feel like the right ear falls out more easily if I switch to the small tips...
Concurring with sibling, AZLA does make good aftermarket tips. I have my Airpods Pro 2 in my work bag and still use their "crystal" tips.
Doesn't that get exhausting? I used to have a job where I'd be on a plane every week and I couldn't hack it. It's supposed to be liberating to travel but basically just seeing the inside of a plane, taxi, meeting room and hotel room every day it was more like a moving prison. Sometimes I'd sneak out to walk through these strange places. But often I'd be forced to attend boring business dinners.
My last business flight was in 2018 and I don't miss it at all :) I even cancelled my corporate amex since I never use it anymore. And these guys keep asking for copies of ID and stuff for tax records or something (completely stupid because yes I'm still the same person duhhh) so in the end I just rolled my eyes and told them to stuff it where the sun don't shine :P
That slight difference in agency and relational availability turns into a giant gap in feelings though, I agree. I’ve done the kind of travel you describe in my younger days and found it a mix of masochistically engaging and depression inducing.
Edit: Or an exaggeration I hope! The guy looks to be in private equity.
[0] https://store.azla.co.kr/collections/sednaearfit-series/prod...
[1] https://store.azla.co.kr/collections/airpod-pro-ear-tips/pro...
Edit: I didn't know the Crystal ones existed until posting this, so ordering some now to see if they're the best of both worlds. If I remember, I'll report back.
I buy Comply 600 Core Series (size medium), tear the comply foam off the plastic tube, then place the foam around the Apple silicone tips (size large).
None of the Apple tips on their own seal correctly, nor do any of the numerous third-party tips that I've tried, including hybrid silicone/foam tips.
I get about 6 months out of the foam and they fit in the charging case modified like this.
I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips, and these were no different to any I've tried, despite reviews stating they were super comfortable.
My left ear is also worse to get it fitting right than my right ear. I have tried every size provided, none seem right. A grimace in the gym is enough to unseat even the most secure fit/seal, in either ear.
My main gripes specifically with AirPods Pro 3, which I've not seen in any other review;
- Because the rubber tips vary in size, the case has to accommodate the largest. This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection.
- The case is substantially bigger than AirPods 4 with ANC. I would say ~40%.
- The volume swipe on the stalk action is very tricky to trigger.
- Any stalk action is a bad idea when it's so easy to unseat them. I skip songs with a double press regularly, and nearly every time I had to push in and rotate after.
That's a shame since it's literally impossible to get that deep sub bass or punchy mid bass without a seal. But if you're not into genres that sound better with that, then you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
I've used many headphones - probably upwards of 10 pairs cross 5 brands - in my day with rubber tips that can accommodate multiple sizes. This has never been a problem for me with any brand. I've switched to open ear headphones (over-ear for flights) since last year so my knowledge base is aging.
Is the magnetic action in Apple's case not strong enough, maybe?
Glad to see I'm not the only one at least, and hopefully this will be possible to fix as a software update, rather than having to replace the AirPods.
I am surprised by the general negative sentiment for the 3s in this thread. They've felt like a straight and clear upgrade to me. Better fit, better ANC, and much improved battery life. I typically wear mine almost all day so comfort is hugely important to me.
It’s not just an apple problem, but expensive tech just doesn’t seem to work well. generally apple were kinda the gold standard, now they’re having issues like a lot of tech.
Just goes to show how negative opinions travel fast.
Of course, that doesn't mean it can't suffice for the average user.
I understand though that not everyone wins the ear hole lottery. For some the 2s may fit better than the 3's and vice versa. It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit change without considering 2's are simply better for some people fit wise.
I immediately ran out and bought aftermarket foam tips for my 2's since the silicone ones never stayed in. Apple is likely trying to fix that kind of problem (and may have done so on average entirely successfully) but now you're seeing the people that it doesn't work for show up in these comments. This comment section is going to be biased towards complaining about the 3's so you can't really judge if what they did was effective or not on average, only that clearly it wasn't perfect.
He said that it goes away when he yawns, so I'm thinking it might be the pressure differential.
The seal might be so good that a small pressure differential happens as cabin pressure drops, which causes some issue with the microphone or speaker. Yawning might break that seal, or otherwise cause pressure equalization. Why only the left one? Apple might put some kind of special signal diagnostics or sensors in that side that bugs out under those conditions, or maybe human anatomy on the left side is consistently subtley different in a set of people.
Because this doesn't happen to everybody it could be some kind of "instrument effect" where the particular shape of someone's ear canal, and the interaction with their ear drum and the speakers and sensors in the app creates this tone, likely assisted by the constant driving signal of air cabin white noise.
That's my guess. I'm very sensitive to pressure changes and I know that cabin pressure on most planes is not constant even when cruising. It's in a range that most people won't notice but it definitely fluctuates near constantly within that band.
This entire cycle of Apple releases is riddled with puzzling defects - the super scratchable iPhone Pros, the condensation issues on the Air lenses, the Airpod fit and weird noise cancelling issues. I don't recall this level of weird basic defects since the first unibody macs or the butterfly keyboard debacle. Wonder what caused it...
Headphones are the cans that cup your ears and strap around or over the head. Hence their name.
Whereas earphones go inside your ear.
[1] https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Radio-Sha...
And I am surprised that, if they did do the testing, they shipped anyway.
But I am becoming less and less surprised via-à-vis Apple problems, because they seem to be occurring with increasing frequency.
Apple, take note.
But since then I've had two pairs of airpods pro 2 and bought the 3s on the first day, and I've had no such issues with any of them, including sleeping, and flying twice with the 3's so far. YMMV
I could replicate it immediately at will. ANC on, nothing playing, sat on the driver seat and closed my door with a little bit of force.
A minority of users might encounter a flaw in a corner case, but if that's an important corner case, it's a defect: IE, Airpods might only be used on flights 1% of the time, but for the people who use them on flights, it's a very important (and hyper-critical) use case.
Respect the commitment to the craft!
Also useful / timely knowledge for me, thank you. I have a big international trip with multiple longhaul flights coming up and was debating if I should upgrade my airpods or consider something else (e.g. overear headphones). Do folks have overear recommendations?
So perhaps sealing your ears does not allow your ears to "pop" from the cabin pressure changes?
Before IEMs were common, the norm was (hopefully) ear plugs and having monitoring speakers pointed at the musicians from the floor.
IEMs can be made in the concert earplug style, which is usually a center pair with 3-4 layers of rubber domes like typical earbuds. Or you can pay more and have custom molds made of your ears, so ones can be made to perfectly fit.
"Monitor" also has certain implications in audio. Usually something designed for monitoring will have a flat frequency response, while most consumer gear has aggressive EQ curves that do things like boosting bass. (Most people will think monitors "sound bad," while the lack of sound tampering is essential for performance and mixing.)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor
https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP00...
With the Apple XS tips, which otherwise fit well for me, any yawn means the APP3 fall out.
The seal might have improved for me the more I used the same eartips
Now I wonder, what could "cleverness-shaped ears" possibly look like? Also funny: my ears can't hold earphones, they just eject them every time I change my facial expression or talk or what-not.
It amazes me what people are willing to suffer merely because Apple makes it. Flights are one of the core ANC competencies, it boggles the mind that this wasn't found during testing.
Pro 3 is a step backwards, there are these ANC noise issues not only on flights but also during heal-strikes when running down a hill, a staticky thump rather than high-pitched.
I've also had other more rare feedback issues. The Pro2s basically never had feedback issues unless you actually rubbed the outside of them.
Without playing any music the ANC is stellar, but this bug means the buds are basically unusable as they require reseating in the ear, or toggling to transparency and back to ANC, after a few seconds of listening (if in an environment which has any sort of constant low freq noise)
- Certain type of noise, like strongly vibrating idioit cars and idiot motorbikes also create some very painful feedback noise that makes me take them out when I need them most.
- I too experienced this horrible screeching, but I wasn't doing anything specialy. Cupping them made it worse, taking the out and in again did not help. I put them back in the case and a few hours later this issue disappeared.
To me, the APP3 feel half broken and dangerous, I regret buying them, I wish I would have bought just another set of APP2.
It was one of the most anticipated Apple upgrades of all times and they dropped the ball.
I'm always reminded of dystopian stories by Doctorow et al. when the frequency of brand name usage exceeds a certain threshold, and this article certainly did that.
AirPods Pro 2 was already perfect. I don't know why Apple chose to "upgrade" it whereas AirPods Max, AirTags, and the Studio Display are all over due for an upgrade.
Of course you do. If they do not constantly upgrade, there are no new sales. Charts must go up, not stay flat. As an example, the venerable Technics 1200 turntable only had a few version releases for fairly minor cosmetic usability items. The core functionality did not change since it was designed. Those versions came with years in between. You buy a pair of those, and you only replaced them when they were stolen. If something broke, you repaired it. Apple's share holders will not be happy with buy once keep forever items.
Even if a manufacturer was a non-profit, if they make a product that never upgrades and can be repaired indefinitely, eventually the demand for new products will drop enough that they simply can't afford to keep making new ones. You can't maintain a manufacturing pipeline for small amounts of product, because there are fixed costs that can't be reduced with reduced production.
I use them mainly for running, and after I accidentally put my Pro 2s through a washer/dryer cycle, I ordered the Pro 3s, but I've noticed they feel heavier in the ears and make this annoying loud thumping sound every time my foot hits the ground, making them almost unusable for my primary purpose
Also sometimes I fall asleep in bed with them while listening to a podcast, and have experienced the same painfully loud screeching as described by the article when the microphones brush against the pillow
You screwed up by trying so hard to make fundamentally anti-ear designs with the pros.
I don't think "realize" is the right word here. "Realize" would require them to have been affected by this issue but unaware. Instead, they were not affected with their previous models, only with the new ones.
Recently bought a 14TB HDD and downloaded my entire Dropbox, Google Photos, and Lightroom photos. Planning to set up an off-site copy as well, and will probably build out a proper NAS within a few years.
If you don't want to self host (which has actually become quite simple with immich), you could switch providers (even if you want to avoid google).
The latter is a huge reason companies strive to establish "platforms" and suites of connected apps - even if competition is cheaper/better in a vacuum, it still may not be worth the effort to switch if you're already established within an ecosystem. The goal is vendor lock-in even if they're not holding your data hostage (though they might do that too).
However, I do think that it has to mean something besides “there are no other good providers of a service”. Integrations, platforms, etc make sense as being “locked in”, but not “no one else provides the service”
To me, the key would be, “if you were starting from scratch and weren’t using any service at all, would you choose a different one than what you actually currently use?”
If the answer is “I would still choose the one I am using”, then I don’t think that is locked in.
In the case of iCloud, for most people, it's probably a combination of convenience (no other tool is so well integrated with the OS) and cost (you can sorta replicate the combo of photos + files + vpn + fake emails, but it'll be more expensive and complex to maintain)