Noise canceling improved again! 😲 AirPods Pro 3 Firmware 8B41
So Apple just released Firmware 8B41. This is probably one of the last updates before the iOS27 launches, after which we’ll get the 3-band graphic EQ that was announced. I’m now testing that in beta, but for all of you who prefer to wait for the official update, and are wondering whether 8B41 inadvertently changed anything about the Pro 3’s performance, keep reading!
Microphone Quality
In terms of microphone pickup, it hasn’t really changed on both iOS and Android. Voice filtering on my iPhone with voice isolation is still too aggressive, maybe even a bit more aggressive, that it cuts into my voice. And on Android, the pickup quality in both quiet and noisy conditions is still the same.
Active Noise Cancelling
In terms of active noise canceling, noise canceling was improved on the previous firmware, but now it’s improved even more. It may not seem that way from this frequency sweep, in fact they look pretty identical, but the AirPods Pro 3 now seems to react more quickly, and more forcefully against midrange noise. This means the best earbuds for noise canceling are now even better.
👉🏻 Have a listen to the ANC quality samples
Transparency Mode
In terms of transparency, it seems like there is a little less brightness in the ambience and this can be due to this pulling back in the upper mids region around 1khz to 4khz. Transparency was already quite clear to begin with so for some people, voices and higher pitched sounds might feel a bit darker, but for most people who just use this feature casually, it’s going to be as clear and crisp as before.
Sound Quality
For sound quality, previously, there was a bump up in the bass, but now it seems like it’s pulled back again, with the lower midrange seeing a small boosting, so it’s now somewhere between how 8B39 and 8B41 sounded, which should please everybody because some people were complaining about too much bass from 8B40, or too little bass from 8B39.
👉🏻 Have a listen to the sound quality samples
So that’s how the AirPods Pro 3’s new firmware 8B41 compares to 8B40. Comment below if you have also spotted any differences not mentioned in this article!
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