AirPods 3 price and release date revealed with Spatial Audio

Apple revealed AirPods 3 (or AirPods 3rd Generation) today with features that set the new earbuds apart from their predecessors. Apple's own Susmita Dutta spoke about the next generation in AirPods from the company, starting with Spatial Audio enabled by default. These new AirPods look effectively like the AirPods Pro – without the earbud tips.

With AirPods 3, Apple announced new sweat and water resistance. They also included a new low distortion driver that'll assist in handling high end and low end noises. This newest set of earbuds, AirPods 3, will work with real-time audio tuning.

Battery life was quoted by Apple as lasting 6 hours – that's "6 hours of listening." They'll also give the user a full hour of use from approximately 5 minutes of charge. The battery case (wireless charging battery case, mind you) can deliver four full charges to AirPods 3.

AirPods 3 are on pre-order today. The release date for AirPods 3 is the week of October 25, 2021 – likely the 29th of October, 2021. AirPods 3rd Generation will cost $179 USD right out the gate. You'll be able to buy AirPods 2nd Generation for $129 USD, AirPods Pro for $249, and AirPods Max for $549.

Apple also introduced a new subscription tier for Apple Music called the Voice Plan. This plan is $4.99 per month and is made to be used via your voice, with Siri. It'll be available for one person only, on all Apple devices, in a variety of countries.

Apple also introduced new colors for the HomePod Mini. This device is effectively identical to the HomePod Mini we've seen before, but with new color options like Orange, Yellow, and Blue. It should be clear, here – Apple Music's Voice Plan is made to work with HomePod devices. The new HomePod Mini colors will be sold for the same $99 price, available starting in November of 2021.