AirPods 5 cost $129 and AirPods Pro 3 cost $249, and for the first time both have Active Noise Cancellation. The $120 saving is real, but so is the list of features Apple keeps for the Pro model: heart-rate sensing, hearing health tools, an IP57 rating and up to 8 hours of battery with ANC on.
What has changed today is the size of that list. A year ago, the cheapest AirPods with ANC were the $179 AirPods 4 with ANC. Now, according to Apple’s press release, the $129 model removes up to 50 percent more noise than that product did.
What you give up with AirPods 5 instead of AirPods Pro 3
The biggest functional gap is health. AirPods Pro 3 have a custom PPG heart-rate sensor that feeds the Fitness app for more than 50 workout types, and they offer Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features, with Hearing Protection in the EU and UK. Apple’s AirPods 5 release mentions none of these.
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Battery is the next gap. Apple rates AirPods Pro 3 at up to 8 hours with ANC on and up to 10 hours in Transparency mode, against up to 5 hours for AirPods 5. With the case, it is 24 hours versus 22 hours.
- Heart-rate sensing during workouts
- Hearing Test, Hearing Aid and Hearing Protection features
- IP57 dust and water resistance; AirPods 5 have an improved but unrated design
- A sealed in-ear fit with five sizes of foam-infused tips, including XXS
- Three extra hours per charge with ANC on
- A MagSafe charging case; AirPods 5 need the $149 model for wireless charging
- Stem volume control on the $129 model; only the $149 AirPods 5 have swipe control
Noise cancellation itself is harder to rank. Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 claim is up to twice the noise removal of the previous AirPods Pro, while the AirPods 5 claim is measured against AirPods 4 with ANC. Apple has not published a direct AirPods 5 to AirPods Pro 3 comparison, and a sealed fit blocks sound before ANC starts.
| AirPods 5 | AirPods Pro 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 ($149 with Wireless Charging Case) | $249 |
| ANC | Yes | Yes |
| Transparency, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness | Yes | Yes |
| Personalized Spatial Audio | Yes | Yes |
| Live Translation | Yes | Yes |
| Head-gesture replies | Yes | Yes |
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 5 hours | Up to 8 hours |
| Heart-rate sensing | No | Yes |
| Hearing features | Not mentioned | Yes |
| IP rating | Not published | IP57 |
| Chip | Not published | H2 |
What you do not give up
The listening modes are the same on paper. Transparency, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Adaptive EQ and Personalized Spatial Audio are all in the AirPods 5 release, and Apple credits the ANC to a multiport acoustic architecture inspired by AirPods Pro 3.
The newer software features are on both too. Live Translation, head-gesture replies and hands-free Siri AI, which needs iOS 27 and an Apple Intelligence iPhone, all appear in the AirPods 5 feature list. Apple has not said whether any of them behave differently on the cheaper model.
AirPods 5 also keep the open-ear design, which is a preference rather than a downgrade. Anyone who finds ear tips uncomfortable, or who wants to hear more of their surroundings by default, gets that only from the open-ear models.
Who should still pay $249 for AirPods Pro 3
Buy AirPods Pro 3 if you want heart-rate data without a watch, need the hearing features, spend long days in ANC or want a confirmed IP57 rating. Buy AirPods 5 if you want the listening modes at half the price and prefer an open fit.
AirPods 5 pre-orders opened today, September 9, and stores stock them Friday, September 18. Our AirPods 5 rumor round-up shows what was expected before the keynote, and our Apple event live blog covers the rest of John Ternus’s first keynote as CEO.
