AirPods Pro 3 bring upgrades but repairability is 0/10

Apple this month introduced its AirPods Pro 3, a redesigned pair of true wireless earbuds that add features such as an in‑ear heart rate sensor, improved active noise cancellation and longer single‑charge battery life, but a teardown by repair specialists found the new model to be effectively unrepairable. The earbuds carry a $249 list price and were unveiled alongside new iPhones and other devices; the followup analysis highlights a tension between hardware advances and durability concerns.

Apple says the AirPods Pro 3 include a range of upgrades: a refreshed earbud shape with foam‑infused tips, a new acoustic architecture powered by the H2 audio chip, enhanced noise cancellation and transparency modes, and water and dust resistance rated to IP57. Apple also promotes built‑in heart rate tracking for workouts, Live Translation features tied to its operating system, and battery life of about eight hours per earbud with active noise cancellation engaged, with the charging case extending total listening time to roughly 24 hours. The new case uses USB‑C and includes an updated ultra wideband chip for more precise locating.

Repair specialists who disassembled the AirPods Pro 3...