TIME Magazine has once again turned its spotlight toward Cupertino, honoring Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 as one of the “Best Inventions of 2025.” The annual list features groundbreaking technologies and clever innovations that have reshaped how we live, and Apple’s latest earbuds made the cut for good reason. 
The third-generation AirPods Pro go far beyond simple audio excellence – they blur the boundaries between sound, health, and artificial intelligence in a way that feels distinctly next-gen.
At first glance, they look familiar, but Apple’s engineers have reworked nearly everything inside. Noise cancellation has been drastically improved – Apple says ambient sound is now suppressed twice as effectively as before. The difference is immediately noticeable: background chatter and traffic noise fade away faster, allowing music and voices to feel more intimate and defined. Audio fidelity also received a serious tune-up, delivering richer bass and more balanced highs for a cleaner, more natural soundstage.
But the real story lies in the bold new features that redefine what wireless earbuds can do. The live translation feature is the star attraction, turning your ears into a real-time interpreter. Conversations between English, Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese speakers flow seamlessly, and Apple plans to expand support for Italian, Korean, Japanese, and both Mandarin and Cantonese by the end of the year. It’s a feature that could genuinely transform travel and international business communication – all handled privately within your ears.
Equally fascinating is the built-in heart rate sensor. Using photoplethysmography (PPG), the AirPods Pro 3 passively track your pulse while you jog, commute, or even nap. The readings sync with the Health app, offering subtle fitness insights without needing to glance at your wrist. With this move, Apple edges further into the territory once dominated by fitness bands, integrating health awareness into a device most people already use daily.
The AirPods Pro 3 also function as a lightweight hearing aid, subtly amplifying conversations in noisy environments. This enhancement leans on Apple’s new AI system, Apple Intelligence, which adapts dynamically to different soundscapes, learning how you prefer to hear the world. However, not all is perfect: teardown experts have criticized the earbuds for being nearly impossible to repair, underscoring Apple’s ongoing tension between sleek design and serviceability.
In the Consumer Electronics category, Apple’s earbuds share recognition with creative gadgets like the 70mai Dash Cam 4K Omni, the Antigravity A1 drive-camera, and Belkin’s PowerGrip accessory lineup. TIME also offered a nod to another Apple product – the Apple Watch Series 11 – which earned a special mention thanks to its FDA-cleared blood pressure detection feature. The watch’s new optical sensor system can detect hypertension risks early, signaling Apple’s deepening focus on preventive health technologies.
Together, these acknowledgments highlight Apple’s expanding ecosystem, where wearables are not just companions but active participants in personal health, communication, and AI-enhanced living. With the AirPods Pro 3, Apple isn’t just selling earbuds – it’s pitching a glimpse of a future where tech understands you as much as it entertains you. Whether this represents a genuine leap or a polished evolution depends on perspective, but one thing is clear: the bar for what “smart audio” means has just been raised again.
2 comments
imagine using these on vacation, instant translator in your ear!
AirPods are getting smarter than some people I know 😆