Apple Releases New Beta Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4

Not remotely tempted, battery life on the Pro 3s is crazy good

and again no firmware for older AirPods even Max

Why would there be? The firmware upgrade is for the H2 chip only.

Wonder of they Fixed all the Sound issues that Linus and other reviewers ( and sound guys ) have destroyed them over.

"Linus criticized the AirPods Pro (3rd generation) for their significantly altered "V-shaped" audio signature, which emphasizes bass and treble at the expense of midrange frequencies, a change attributed to the brand's acquisition beats rather than an improvement in sound quality. He described the sound as "aggressively scooped" and unpleasant, with vocals and guitars becoming unclear and recessed, similar to the undesirable qualities of some Beats headphones but amplified"

I would expect a little bit of tweaking to the soundstage, given the reaction, but it think it will be minor. Tweaking, not a radically different sound. Slightly less bass.

Rather than saying reviewers "destroyed" APP3, it think it would be far more accurate to say the reviews have been extremely mixed. Some have been negative overall, some have been positive overall. What that means to me personally is that I'd have to try them myself, as the only reviewer consensus is that the soundstage has changed, and the bass might be a little heavy, but there are not enough positive or negative reviews to base purchasing based only on those reviews.


That said, while other reviewers / YouTubers made valid criticism of the change in sound quality ( many pointing out it was a change in sound quality, which some people won't like but other people think is an improvement), Linus embarrassed himself with how he "delivered" his critique - it was painful to watch, and way too far over the line into "manbaby tantrum" territory. All the "Linus is right, Linus is wrong" slop that it generated might have been good for hits, clicks and YouTuber presence, but as a review, it was a s******w. Someone should have flagged it before it was released publcially, and it would have been a hell of a lot better if they had just reshot it, with the same criticisms, but without the , um, ... "emotion".

TL:DR: He embarrassed himself a bit. Or a hell of a lot. It should have been reined in by the editors.

I find it suspicious that the "review" was so melodramatic, and I wonder if that was connected to 1) LTT's viewer numbers tanking and significantly more complaints from users about their content, which wouldn't help keep the Vision Directors vision in a happy place, 2) LTT / Short Circuit gave EXTREMELY positive reviews to all the new iPhones and may have thought "We have to give Apple a kicking somehow, because we're saying too many nice things about their other releases, and we've lots of "Apple-haters" as regular viewers "and, 3) possibly most importantly "Apple don't send us free stuff but they send other YouTubers free stuff. 'Snot fair. Waaaah"

Beta firmware version for Pro 3 is 8b14c.

As for the sound - it’s not dissimilar to the Pro 2 in my opinion and I find the quality is better and the ANC is a ton better.

I don’t find at all that it exaggerates bass and treble over the mid range at all. Guitars and vocals are not “unclear and recessed” in the slightest.

Clowns on YouTube (generally pulling moronic faces in the preview thumbnail) simply complain to seek attention and their opinion is best taken with a very large pinch of salt…or completely ignored.

At this stage all the YouTube drama over this has made me ignore all and any reviews. I want to try them for myself and I am interested in hearing the opinion of actual users (not influencers) who are using them in real life, before I decide to buy or not.

So thank you. Real opinions from real users are useful.

Beta firmware version for Pro 3 is 8b14c.

As for the sound - it’s not dissimilar to the Pro 2 in my opinion and I find the quality is better and the ANC is a ton better.

I don’t find at all that it exaggerates bass and treble over the mid range at all. Guitars and vocals are not “unclear and recessed” in the slightest.

Clowns on YouTube (generally pulling moronic faces in the preview thumbnail) simply complain to seek attention and their opinion is best taken with a very large pinch of salt…or completely ignored.

Who's the mentalist who puts beta firmware on their AirPods?

I want to meet them

Me