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

Updated my AirPods Pro 3. Hopefully, this isn’t a placebo effect, but I can tell that the conversation awareness is much faster, and the noise cancellation is much better/stronger. Not sure how to describe this, but I can definitely tell a difference sitting in a room with a fan going or an air purifier. Would love to hear from others what it’s like on an airplane with the engines going.

This feels more like a bug fix update to improve speed and stability rather than new features. This is a welcomed firmware update that was needed.

AirPods Pro 1 deadass or what?

ANC is the exact same, and still worse than AirPods Pro 2, sound quality is the exact same

If your ANC is worse than on the AirPods Pro 2, it’s almost definitely the fit. Try adjusting how you insert the Pro 3s or switch to different tips.

When I first got them at launch, I was underwhelmed too. It took a couple of weeks and some tip swapping to get used to them and figure out the right placement. Now the difference is almost night and day, I’ve never had earbuds with ANC this good.

I freaking hate the airpod firmware updates. Would it kill Apple to put an update button somewhere in iOS/macOS? No, you have to use the force and just hope that it updates. So as usual my pods (now Pro 3) and my phone are both plugged into power, sitting next to each other, BT and wifi on, and nothing happens for 2 hours or more until hopefully they randomly feel like updating, and I just keep checking and wasting my time. :rolleyes:

Anybody with Pro 2's (usb-c) have their case update? My pods updated to 8B21 but my case is still on 8A358

It was a full 24 hours for the case update to have registered after the AirPods themselves had registered (AP4ANC) - all you can do is be patient.

From what I understand, much of the H2 design is indeed for improving performance of the Airpod's small drivers, but the H1 chip doesn't have the H2's Adaptive Audio or Conversation Awareness functions, and it might deliver slightly better Active Noise Cancellation to Airpods Max (though it's already pretty good).

Yes.

Realistically Apple update chips to the current versions as much as they can, because it lowers their costs.

An iPad Air doesn’t really leverage the extra power of a M3 chip over an M2 chip, despite the marketing claims, because the software really doesn’t make use of it, except in a very few specific casters ( Eg FCP). The reason Apple shifted from M2 to M3 in the iPad Air is that they don’t want the extra cost of making M2 and M3 chips, and want to save costs by discontinuing M2 and only make larger quantities of M3. Economies of scale.

Going by that logic, it is very highly likely they tried using a H2 chip in AirPod max, but didn’t decide to totally discontinue the H1 chip, and make both the H1 and H2 chips, even though that has a higher production cost overall.

And the most obvious reason for that is that the H2 chip didn’t work as well with the APM internals. The H2 chip was only designed for driving earbud internals.

The argument that they’re only using H1 chips is because they have a huge stockpile of them also doesn’t make sense, as the “Cook makes Apple far more profitable” change came from introducing a very aggressive “Just in Time” production and logistics strategy - they don’t keep large stockpiles of components, especially chips.

So it’s not an accident or Apple being spiteful why the APM never got a chip update to H2, and the most obvious reason would be that the H2 chip does not work as well with the larger drivers or the other internals of the APM as the H1 does.

The H2 chip was specifically designed only for AirPod earbuds.