SoundPEATS Air3 Pro 35db ANC QCC3046 Low Latency TWS
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Model: SoundPEATS Air3 Pro
Price: MSRP Approx $55
Review Reference: RC073
Manufacturer Specification:
1 x Pair Wireless Earbuds
1 x USB Type-C Charge Case
1 x USB Type-C Charge Cable
1 x User Manual: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese
3 x Pairs Eartips
YouTube Review:
Real Life Experience
Welcome to the @regancipher review of the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro. SoundPEATS have followed the path of Apple, FIIL and 1More by taking their popular semi-in-earbud and making a 'Pro' version, albeit now with in-ear style tips. Like with the other aforementioned brands, this has enabled them to add Active Noise Cancellation due to the presence of those flappy bits of silicone, and have added sufficient features to render it a very engaging proposition, especially for those who enjoyed the original Air3 - one of the most popular and highly-rated 'airpod-style' design buds of recent times (although soon to be superseded by the Air3 Deluxe - I told you this market stands still for no man!)
I'll be taking you through the unboxing experience, case and battery life, ergonomics and build, ANC performance, sound signature and key features, comparing to the original Air3 and some of their main competitors in this space - notable, the Tronsmart Onyx Apex and Omthing Airfree 2.
Unboxing - 7/10
Like with most SoundPEATS releases, the unboxing is a pretty standard affair. It's neither cheap- nor premium-feeling - it sits somewhere in the middle, with a compact box detailing most of the key parameters on the sides, and the front giving a visual representation on a bloke with a chiseled jaw having a stand-up nap, whilst the back shows an extreme close-up of the side of the bud with the three headline features along the bottom - the use of the Qualcomm QCC3046 chipset, Hybrid ANC and Qualcomm Aptx-Adaptive codec support.
They also proudly display their VGP 2022 awards in the top left corner. Whilst Visual Grand Prix awards are not quite the Oscars, SoundPEATS have won many such awards over the years, and it's no co-incidence - they offer very strong products at a competitive price. The Air3 Pro is no different - a compelling release that will definitely prove popular once again.
Even so, your small investment isn't going to give you a gift-box-style presentation. You get small and large tips in a baggie, as well as a USB A-C charge cable. The manual is in seven different languages - most of the major European languages plus Chinese and Japanese, and it's great to see SoundPEATS keeping that winning formula of visuals and text making it very clear how to use, control and maintain the buds (see my YouTube Review for more details). The spare tips, at least, are a jump in quality from the tips of yesteryear, offering more comfort and flexibility than the junk manufacturers were including a few years ago.
The Case - 8/10
As with the Mini Pro, SoundPEATS have given the successor to the Air3 Pro a rubberised texture that offers the promise of improved longevity over the scratch-magnet that was the Air3 case. Proportionally quite similar to the Mini Pro, it also gives a more premium feel to the release, and I really hope SoundPEATS retain these big improvements on all releases going forward.
Whilst the image above doesn't capture it, the dip in the centre of the lip is where the LED battery indicator is located. SoundPEATS have a consistent lighting schema - green denotes 50-100% charge, amber is 10-49% and red is below 10%.. This consistency is really useful - some vendors (ahem Soundcore) have an annoying habit of adjusting how they display battery life - with SoundPEATS their H series have multiple LED's, everything else is Green/Amber/Red - nice and easy for reviewers like me.
The case is around 6cm wide, 4.5cm high and 2.4cm in depth - so proportionally quite similar to the Mini Pro. Even with the stems, it still retains the ideal portability for commuters. Yes, you have to swivel the buds around when you remove them as the stems sit back-to-back in the case - but trust me, compared to the alternative (The Elevoc Clear, Baseus S2 or Omthing Airfree2, for example) it makes them far easier to remove and reinsert.
The reset button is located at the back, as opposed to the front this time. Holding down for a few seconds sends the device into pairing mode, for 10 seconds or longer you get a red flash, and that clears the memory.
The portability of the case is enhanced further, with a lightweight design at even less than the Mini Pro - 35.95g fully loaded. Like with the Mini Pro, this makes them trouser-pocket friendly - I popped them in my shorts whilst out cycling and they were practically unnoticeable.
When you insert the buds you get a 'Power On' then 'Connected' alert. This all happens super fast. There is hall-switch mode, so you can start the pairing as soon as you open the case, and the friction hinge - another huge improvement over the original - allows you to do that with the case propped on the desk - again, this is a massive plus in my book.
Due to the low-power chipset, they can afford to drop down the battery mAh capacity whilst retaining the three additional charges. There is no quick charge, and no wireless charging. USB-C is located on the base.
Battery Life - 8/10
Battery life is a solid 5/6 hours on paper, going up to 20/24 hours with the case. In my tests I achieved between 4 and 4.5 hours with periodic calls (slightly more efficient on IOS than Android). With ANC off I consistently got between 5 hours and 5 hours 14 minutes, so you pretty much know what you're getting on that front.
Unfortunately the absence of quick charge means a 90 minute charge cycle for the case and buds. Removing warp charge is pretty inconvenient in all honesty, and something I would rather SoundPEATS didn't skimp out on. Even so, good to see the figures mapping closely enough to those advertised, and pleasing to see that they have essentially retained the battery life from the original Air3 despite adding ANC.
Ergonomics - 8.5/10
From an aesthetics-perspective, SoundPEATS have retained the essence of the original design, staying true to the simplistic, matte-black finish with shiny buttons and a slender stem that suited the predecessor so well.
One of the biggest benefits of the Air3 was the weight displacement and overall ergonomic design that facilitated a very stable fit, especially for buds of that form factor. They've managed to take those special ingredients and work a similar recipe for the Air3 Pro, which matches the original for stability, and offers excellent passive noise isolation at the same time.
The stem length is slightly longer (although it doesn't appear so in the comparison image) but that is mainly due to the more bulbous neck. However, this doesn't detract from the comfort, and also improves one major bug-bear of the original - the temperamental touch controls. On the Pro, you have a far wider area of 'non-touch-controlliness' above the sensor. This removes one of the gripes with the original and is a welcome upgrade.
On the inside, visible on YouTube but difficult to capture above, is an opening with a pressure release chamber and pickup mic for ambient sound, covered by a protective mesh. The battery connectors are located at the base, and again, mitigate direct contact with the skin - useful for those with nickel allergies.
The depth of 23.2mm is in that 'Goldilocks Zone' of not being too invasive, but giving sufficient room to mould around your ear. The nozzle sits back in the opening to your ear canal, preferring to fill the chamber around it rather than invade it. This makes it a super comfy option for prolonged use.
The weight of 4.4g is lighter than the T3 and H2, and this helps with the comfort. Similarly-lightweight buds like the QCY T13 and G1 are also super comfy, so good job from SoundPEATS on reducing the weight but retaining the stability.
As a result of these well-thought-out parameters, the Air3 Pro sit very nicely in your ears. If you don't like silicone-tipped buds (I don't especially), the Air3 Pro are a good adjunct.
A look at how SoundPEATS have designed the buds alongside some of the competition reveals there is nothing especially revolutionary going on here, but protruding far less than the Tronsmart Onyx Apex, Baseus S2 and 'shoulder-pad'-style Omthing Airfree 2 demonstrates they've clearly looked at what doesn't work, and have tried to get close to what does. By adding a little more girth over something like the OnePlus Buds Pro, they've achieved improved stability, but with less than the Baseus, they've ensured they don't stick out too much. It's a happy medium that they've done well to achieve - giving a rare combination of both stability and comfort, that only the Edifier NeoBuds Pro also does with such consummate ease.
ANC – 7/10
ANC is a big improvement from the T3, and almost as good as the T2 could be with the right tips. Sure, it's not up there with the Edifier NeoBuds Pro or OnePlus Buds Pro, but at the price point only the QCY HT03 comes close.
Like most earbuds, the Achilles heel is in the mid to high frequencies, but the Air3 Pro does a stellar job at reducing low frequency rumbles. I can sit with my office window open and whilst traffic is audible with no music playing, it is reduced to a distant, higher pitched sound as opposed to the usual frustrating roar that accompanies life on a main road.
Like many buds at this price point, higher pitched or higher frequency sounds are dealt with less effectively - nearby chatter and keyboard taps, especially if you use blue switches like me, are still fairly prominent, however this isn't really out of the ordinary - competitors like the Omthing Airfree 2 are far less effective, and the Baseus S2 don't even come close. Only the Edifier NeoBuds Pro and Airpods Pro handle these types of sound with any great strength.
Transparency mode, initiated by holding down the MFB for a second, was far less accentuated than some of their previous models on the Mini Pro, which made for a more natural experience, but they've gone too far with the Air3 Pro, and discerning conversations can sometimes be a little difficult - there's no great difference between ANC off and Transparency, which is unfortunate. In stereo mode, you can toggle through ANC on/off and ambient, but unfortunately this is not possible in single mode - not a problem for me, but I have seen this registered as a bug-bear to others.
Audio & Sound Signature
The Air3 Pro use the Qualcomm QCC3046 chipset, promoting the use of the aptX-adaptive codec, but they also support aptX, AAC and SBC. On Android, it defaulted immediately to aptX-adaptive, and on iOS, I assume, AAC.
The Air3 Pro have a less dynamic, mid-centric sound than many of SoundPEATS previous releases, and this will come as a bit of a surprise to some. Lower frequencies emphasise the subbass, but there is a dip around 200Hz that detracts from the linearity. Spiking at around 500Hz, this has the benefit of bringing a more atmospheric midrange, emphasising vocals and acoustic guitars, but can result in a slightly muddy mid-bass response on more complex tracks. Trebles are pretty well handled - there is less extension, but better resolution. The highs you have sound good, albeit a shade rolled off - this is perfect for long, marathon music sessions, but less good for analytical bursts.
Soundstage has the perception of more breadth than most in-ear releases due to those elevated mids. However instrument separation isn't always easy to discern, and the problem of trying to create openness when you have no physical room to do so, without using dual-armature drivers, like is the case with the H1 and H2, which capture the essence of those tracks very well, is quite evident here - SoundPEATS have gone for a non-fatiguing, non-offensive sound that is less bright or lively than their usual sound signature, but that plays into styles like melodic techno, which have a gentle atmospheric-feel, conveying vocals and pianos without sibilance, whilst retaining a gentle thump on the drops.
Overall, for the price, it’s a fair audio performance without hitting the heights of the H series. I’ve found on many occasions that ANC usually impacts quite harshly on audio performance but that isn’t the case here - ANC without a doubt improves performance. Regardless, you are sacrificing sound for ANC compared with the H1 and H2, so if audio clarity and detail is your primary concern, stick with the H series. By the same token, sound is better than the T2 and T3 - pick your poison!
Call Quality - Indoors - 7/10, Outdoors – 7/10
Indoors the Air3 Pro performs well. Your voice is very crisp and clear, with a nice naturalness to it. There's a minor lisp to your voice, but you're perfectly coherent on calls.
Introduce mild ambient sound and that starts to wain a little. Your voice is still elevated, but background noise is not removed altogether.
Outdoors, it's actually pretty good. It seems to handle a variety of ambient sounds better than isolated ones. I tested both in Central London and at the beach, and sure, other sounds still infiltrated your call, but your voice remained overpowering to the point everything was pretty coherent. It's not on the level of OnePlus Buds Pro or Edifier NeoBuds Pro, which are both very strong in removing those external sounds, but it's a happy medium and strong for this price bracket.
You can hear the mic performance in my YouTube review, and there's some comparisons of over 30 TWS models in my comparison from earlier in the year here:
Connectivity, Controls and other Interactive Features - 8/10
The Air3 Pro use what Qualcomm describe as a 'mid-range' SoC - the QCC3046 chip. This differs from the QCC3040 in that the flash memory is removed from the processor overhead, allowing vendors to run applications via external memory if they see fit. In terms of connectivity, it hasn't really changed much - I got my usual 10m line of sight, with obstructions reducing that. I did suffer an occasional single-bud drop out until resetting them, and have had no problems since. Connectivity is lightning-fast.
Controls are excellent with SoundPEATS – single tap is always volume (left = down, right = up), double tap plays or pauses (or answers a call), triple tap left and you have gaming mode, triple tap right and you have voice assistant, and holding down the left bud toggles ANC. Strangely, you can hold the right bud in order to skip to the next track, but you can’t go backwards, and there are no control mapping options from the app, which doesn’t currently support this model, although I understand it will soon. Indeed, if you try and run the SoundPEATS app it tries to update the firmware then fails, so it can't be long before this is remedied. Note - you don't get any tones for any selections other than pause, changing the volume and progressing the tracks does not give any audible recognition. ANC modes and gaming mode are denoted with spoken word.
The main features here include Gaming Mode, activated with a triple-left-tap, which offers very low latency - amongst the best I've tested. I'm no gamer, but a quick blast of Roblox with my daughters and I was experiencing no discernible delay at all. Videos are similarly well-synchronised. The other is the support of the AptX-Adaptive codec, which is inherent to the use of the Qualcomm chip, providing up to 420k audio delivery.
There’s no wireless charging and no quick charge, and these are features I would have liked to have seen, as I think that’s reflective of what we come to expect now from our TWS.
Final Comments
The Air3 Pro are a worthy addition to the portfolio, showing it IS possible to convert a successful semi-in-ear concept into more mainstream in-ear designs, even if you're not Apple! SoundPEATS have done just enough to improve in all the key areas to justify the release of the product, and I'd expect anyone looking for ANC in stem-based buds at around the $50 mark to strongly consider the Air3 Pro.
With subtle sound, great comfort and good battery life, they are positioned at those consumers who spend the day with their buds frequently for fairly long periods - which makes the absence of quick charge even more baffling. Even so, the Air3 Pro do the basics very well and have certainly not let the Air3 name down. The ultra low-latency is another major feather in the cap for this release, delivering surprisingly good results with gaming mode.
SoundPEATS' churn of releases at that sub-$60 price point make them a consistently wise option - and the Air3 Pro is no exception. You're not getting everything you could want, but you're getting almost everything at a very smart price, knowing you can upgrade in the future without major reinvestment. Another great job with this very decent mid-tier release.
Price Weighted Score: 82%
Raw Score: 80%
SoundPEATS Review Inventory:
SoundPEATS Mini Pro
SoundPEATS H2
SoundPEATS T3
SoundPEATS Mini
SoundPEATS Air3
SoundPEATS TrueAir2+
SoundPEATS TrueAir 2
SoundPEATS H1
SoundPEATS T2
SoundPEATS Sonic
About SoundPEATS:
SoundPEATS seem to have become an overnight sensation, wiping up a large portion of budget TWS earbud market share with a business model that has served them (and Anker before them) exceptionally well - good distribution channels (via Amazon), good support, a catchy name and product that performs well at a very competitive price point. In reality, they have been around a long time - whilst Shenzhen SoundSOUL IT Co LTD is a different trading name to Ginto E-Commerce, they share the same business address (including room number) as them - you may know their brand name better as Dudios. With Dudios not sounding quite so cool as Soundpeats, maybe the brand transition has been instrumental in their success, but having been around since 2010 and patents in Bluetooth tech stretching back to 2015, they are not the plucky upstarts that some may think - they know their stuff, have a great network of contacts, and now a very solid brand in Europe, and deservedly so.
The thing that sets SoundPEATS apart from other vendors, and makes them my favourite budget earbud vendor, is that they are completely transparent over their components. Whether they use Realtek, Qualcomm or Airoha chips in their buds, they are totally open about it, and as a reviewer this really helps, because whilst I have, and do, dismantle buds to check the way that certain things have been implemented (such as the power management, mems mics, etc) and I really don't like having to do it with every set of earbuds, because they then become unusable.
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Socials: Biolink
Model: SoundPEATS Air3 Pro
Price: MSRP Approx $55
Review Reference: RC073
Manufacturer Specification:
- Brand: SoundPEATS
- Model: Air3 Pro
- Driver: 12mm Bio-Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Chipset: Qualcomm QCC3046
- Mic: Uses cVc 8.0 noise reduction
- ANC: Yes, up to 35dB
- Codecs: AptX-Adaptive, AptX, AAC, SBC
- App Support: Not Currently
- Volume Control: Yes
- Gaming Mode: Yes
- Earbud Weight: 4.4g
- Earbud Dimensions: 33mm height, 23.7mm depth with nozzle
- Gross Case & Buds Weight: 35.95g
- Case Dimensions: 60.6mm (width) x 44.9mm (height) x 24.1mm (depth)
- Case Charge Capacity: 280mAh
- Quick Charge: No
- Wireless Charging: No
- Single Use Playtime: Up to 6 hours (ANC off), 5 hours (ANC on)
- Playtime with Charge Case: Up to 20/24 hours
- Bluetooth Range: 10m advertised
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.2
- Bluetooth Protocols: HFP 1.7/ A2DP 1.3/ AVRCP 1.5
- Water Resistance: IPX5 (not stated on box)
1 x Pair Wireless Earbuds
1 x USB Type-C Charge Case
1 x USB Type-C Charge Cable
1 x User Manual: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese
3 x Pairs Eartips
YouTube Review:
Real Life Experience
Welcome to the @regancipher review of the SoundPEATS Air3 Pro. SoundPEATS have followed the path of Apple, FIIL and 1More by taking their popular semi-in-earbud and making a 'Pro' version, albeit now with in-ear style tips. Like with the other aforementioned brands, this has enabled them to add Active Noise Cancellation due to the presence of those flappy bits of silicone, and have added sufficient features to render it a very engaging proposition, especially for those who enjoyed the original Air3 - one of the most popular and highly-rated 'airpod-style' design buds of recent times (although soon to be superseded by the Air3 Deluxe - I told you this market stands still for no man!)
I'll be taking you through the unboxing experience, case and battery life, ergonomics and build, ANC performance, sound signature and key features, comparing to the original Air3 and some of their main competitors in this space - notable, the Tronsmart Onyx Apex and Omthing Airfree 2.
Unboxing - 7/10
Like with most SoundPEATS releases, the unboxing is a pretty standard affair. It's neither cheap- nor premium-feeling - it sits somewhere in the middle, with a compact box detailing most of the key parameters on the sides, and the front giving a visual representation on a bloke with a chiseled jaw having a stand-up nap, whilst the back shows an extreme close-up of the side of the bud with the three headline features along the bottom - the use of the Qualcomm QCC3046 chipset, Hybrid ANC and Qualcomm Aptx-Adaptive codec support.
They also proudly display their VGP 2022 awards in the top left corner. Whilst Visual Grand Prix awards are not quite the Oscars, SoundPEATS have won many such awards over the years, and it's no co-incidence - they offer very strong products at a competitive price. The Air3 Pro is no different - a compelling release that will definitely prove popular once again.
Even so, your small investment isn't going to give you a gift-box-style presentation. You get small and large tips in a baggie, as well as a USB A-C charge cable. The manual is in seven different languages - most of the major European languages plus Chinese and Japanese, and it's great to see SoundPEATS keeping that winning formula of visuals and text making it very clear how to use, control and maintain the buds (see my YouTube Review for more details). The spare tips, at least, are a jump in quality from the tips of yesteryear, offering more comfort and flexibility than the junk manufacturers were including a few years ago.
The Case - 8/10
As with the Mini Pro, SoundPEATS have given the successor to the Air3 Pro a rubberised texture that offers the promise of improved longevity over the scratch-magnet that was the Air3 case. Proportionally quite similar to the Mini Pro, it also gives a more premium feel to the release, and I really hope SoundPEATS retain these big improvements on all releases going forward.
Whilst the image above doesn't capture it, the dip in the centre of the lip is where the LED battery indicator is located. SoundPEATS have a consistent lighting schema - green denotes 50-100% charge, amber is 10-49% and red is below 10%.. This consistency is really useful - some vendors (ahem Soundcore) have an annoying habit of adjusting how they display battery life - with SoundPEATS their H series have multiple LED's, everything else is Green/Amber/Red - nice and easy for reviewers like me.
The case is around 6cm wide, 4.5cm high and 2.4cm in depth - so proportionally quite similar to the Mini Pro. Even with the stems, it still retains the ideal portability for commuters. Yes, you have to swivel the buds around when you remove them as the stems sit back-to-back in the case - but trust me, compared to the alternative (The Elevoc Clear, Baseus S2 or Omthing Airfree2, for example) it makes them far easier to remove and reinsert.
The reset button is located at the back, as opposed to the front this time. Holding down for a few seconds sends the device into pairing mode, for 10 seconds or longer you get a red flash, and that clears the memory.
The portability of the case is enhanced further, with a lightweight design at even less than the Mini Pro - 35.95g fully loaded. Like with the Mini Pro, this makes them trouser-pocket friendly - I popped them in my shorts whilst out cycling and they were practically unnoticeable.
When you insert the buds you get a 'Power On' then 'Connected' alert. This all happens super fast. There is hall-switch mode, so you can start the pairing as soon as you open the case, and the friction hinge - another huge improvement over the original - allows you to do that with the case propped on the desk - again, this is a massive plus in my book.
Due to the low-power chipset, they can afford to drop down the battery mAh capacity whilst retaining the three additional charges. There is no quick charge, and no wireless charging. USB-C is located on the base.
Battery Life - 8/10
Battery life is a solid 5/6 hours on paper, going up to 20/24 hours with the case. In my tests I achieved between 4 and 4.5 hours with periodic calls (slightly more efficient on IOS than Android). With ANC off I consistently got between 5 hours and 5 hours 14 minutes, so you pretty much know what you're getting on that front.
Unfortunately the absence of quick charge means a 90 minute charge cycle for the case and buds. Removing warp charge is pretty inconvenient in all honesty, and something I would rather SoundPEATS didn't skimp out on. Even so, good to see the figures mapping closely enough to those advertised, and pleasing to see that they have essentially retained the battery life from the original Air3 despite adding ANC.
Ergonomics - 8.5/10
From an aesthetics-perspective, SoundPEATS have retained the essence of the original design, staying true to the simplistic, matte-black finish with shiny buttons and a slender stem that suited the predecessor so well.
One of the biggest benefits of the Air3 was the weight displacement and overall ergonomic design that facilitated a very stable fit, especially for buds of that form factor. They've managed to take those special ingredients and work a similar recipe for the Air3 Pro, which matches the original for stability, and offers excellent passive noise isolation at the same time.
The stem length is slightly longer (although it doesn't appear so in the comparison image) but that is mainly due to the more bulbous neck. However, this doesn't detract from the comfort, and also improves one major bug-bear of the original - the temperamental touch controls. On the Pro, you have a far wider area of 'non-touch-controlliness' above the sensor. This removes one of the gripes with the original and is a welcome upgrade.
On the inside, visible on YouTube but difficult to capture above, is an opening with a pressure release chamber and pickup mic for ambient sound, covered by a protective mesh. The battery connectors are located at the base, and again, mitigate direct contact with the skin - useful for those with nickel allergies.
The depth of 23.2mm is in that 'Goldilocks Zone' of not being too invasive, but giving sufficient room to mould around your ear. The nozzle sits back in the opening to your ear canal, preferring to fill the chamber around it rather than invade it. This makes it a super comfy option for prolonged use.
The weight of 4.4g is lighter than the T3 and H2, and this helps with the comfort. Similarly-lightweight buds like the QCY T13 and G1 are also super comfy, so good job from SoundPEATS on reducing the weight but retaining the stability.
As a result of these well-thought-out parameters, the Air3 Pro sit very nicely in your ears. If you don't like silicone-tipped buds (I don't especially), the Air3 Pro are a good adjunct.
A look at how SoundPEATS have designed the buds alongside some of the competition reveals there is nothing especially revolutionary going on here, but protruding far less than the Tronsmart Onyx Apex, Baseus S2 and 'shoulder-pad'-style Omthing Airfree 2 demonstrates they've clearly looked at what doesn't work, and have tried to get close to what does. By adding a little more girth over something like the OnePlus Buds Pro, they've achieved improved stability, but with less than the Baseus, they've ensured they don't stick out too much. It's a happy medium that they've done well to achieve - giving a rare combination of both stability and comfort, that only the Edifier NeoBuds Pro also does with such consummate ease.
ANC – 7/10
ANC is a big improvement from the T3, and almost as good as the T2 could be with the right tips. Sure, it's not up there with the Edifier NeoBuds Pro or OnePlus Buds Pro, but at the price point only the QCY HT03 comes close.
Like most earbuds, the Achilles heel is in the mid to high frequencies, but the Air3 Pro does a stellar job at reducing low frequency rumbles. I can sit with my office window open and whilst traffic is audible with no music playing, it is reduced to a distant, higher pitched sound as opposed to the usual frustrating roar that accompanies life on a main road.
Like many buds at this price point, higher pitched or higher frequency sounds are dealt with less effectively - nearby chatter and keyboard taps, especially if you use blue switches like me, are still fairly prominent, however this isn't really out of the ordinary - competitors like the Omthing Airfree 2 are far less effective, and the Baseus S2 don't even come close. Only the Edifier NeoBuds Pro and Airpods Pro handle these types of sound with any great strength.
Transparency mode, initiated by holding down the MFB for a second, was far less accentuated than some of their previous models on the Mini Pro, which made for a more natural experience, but they've gone too far with the Air3 Pro, and discerning conversations can sometimes be a little difficult - there's no great difference between ANC off and Transparency, which is unfortunate. In stereo mode, you can toggle through ANC on/off and ambient, but unfortunately this is not possible in single mode - not a problem for me, but I have seen this registered as a bug-bear to others.
Audio & Sound Signature
The Air3 Pro use the Qualcomm QCC3046 chipset, promoting the use of the aptX-adaptive codec, but they also support aptX, AAC and SBC. On Android, it defaulted immediately to aptX-adaptive, and on iOS, I assume, AAC.
The Air3 Pro have a less dynamic, mid-centric sound than many of SoundPEATS previous releases, and this will come as a bit of a surprise to some. Lower frequencies emphasise the subbass, but there is a dip around 200Hz that detracts from the linearity. Spiking at around 500Hz, this has the benefit of bringing a more atmospheric midrange, emphasising vocals and acoustic guitars, but can result in a slightly muddy mid-bass response on more complex tracks. Trebles are pretty well handled - there is less extension, but better resolution. The highs you have sound good, albeit a shade rolled off - this is perfect for long, marathon music sessions, but less good for analytical bursts.
Soundstage has the perception of more breadth than most in-ear releases due to those elevated mids. However instrument separation isn't always easy to discern, and the problem of trying to create openness when you have no physical room to do so, without using dual-armature drivers, like is the case with the H1 and H2, which capture the essence of those tracks very well, is quite evident here - SoundPEATS have gone for a non-fatiguing, non-offensive sound that is less bright or lively than their usual sound signature, but that plays into styles like melodic techno, which have a gentle atmospheric-feel, conveying vocals and pianos without sibilance, whilst retaining a gentle thump on the drops.
Overall, for the price, it’s a fair audio performance without hitting the heights of the H series. I’ve found on many occasions that ANC usually impacts quite harshly on audio performance but that isn’t the case here - ANC without a doubt improves performance. Regardless, you are sacrificing sound for ANC compared with the H1 and H2, so if audio clarity and detail is your primary concern, stick with the H series. By the same token, sound is better than the T2 and T3 - pick your poison!
Call Quality - Indoors - 7/10, Outdoors – 7/10
Indoors the Air3 Pro performs well. Your voice is very crisp and clear, with a nice naturalness to it. There's a minor lisp to your voice, but you're perfectly coherent on calls.
Introduce mild ambient sound and that starts to wain a little. Your voice is still elevated, but background noise is not removed altogether.
Outdoors, it's actually pretty good. It seems to handle a variety of ambient sounds better than isolated ones. I tested both in Central London and at the beach, and sure, other sounds still infiltrated your call, but your voice remained overpowering to the point everything was pretty coherent. It's not on the level of OnePlus Buds Pro or Edifier NeoBuds Pro, which are both very strong in removing those external sounds, but it's a happy medium and strong for this price bracket.
You can hear the mic performance in my YouTube review, and there's some comparisons of over 30 TWS models in my comparison from earlier in the year here:
Connectivity, Controls and other Interactive Features - 8/10
The Air3 Pro use what Qualcomm describe as a 'mid-range' SoC - the QCC3046 chip. This differs from the QCC3040 in that the flash memory is removed from the processor overhead, allowing vendors to run applications via external memory if they see fit. In terms of connectivity, it hasn't really changed much - I got my usual 10m line of sight, with obstructions reducing that. I did suffer an occasional single-bud drop out until resetting them, and have had no problems since. Connectivity is lightning-fast.
Controls are excellent with SoundPEATS – single tap is always volume (left = down, right = up), double tap plays or pauses (or answers a call), triple tap left and you have gaming mode, triple tap right and you have voice assistant, and holding down the left bud toggles ANC. Strangely, you can hold the right bud in order to skip to the next track, but you can’t go backwards, and there are no control mapping options from the app, which doesn’t currently support this model, although I understand it will soon. Indeed, if you try and run the SoundPEATS app it tries to update the firmware then fails, so it can't be long before this is remedied. Note - you don't get any tones for any selections other than pause, changing the volume and progressing the tracks does not give any audible recognition. ANC modes and gaming mode are denoted with spoken word.
The main features here include Gaming Mode, activated with a triple-left-tap, which offers very low latency - amongst the best I've tested. I'm no gamer, but a quick blast of Roblox with my daughters and I was experiencing no discernible delay at all. Videos are similarly well-synchronised. The other is the support of the AptX-Adaptive codec, which is inherent to the use of the Qualcomm chip, providing up to 420k audio delivery.
There’s no wireless charging and no quick charge, and these are features I would have liked to have seen, as I think that’s reflective of what we come to expect now from our TWS.
Final Comments
The Air3 Pro are a worthy addition to the portfolio, showing it IS possible to convert a successful semi-in-ear concept into more mainstream in-ear designs, even if you're not Apple! SoundPEATS have done just enough to improve in all the key areas to justify the release of the product, and I'd expect anyone looking for ANC in stem-based buds at around the $50 mark to strongly consider the Air3 Pro.
With subtle sound, great comfort and good battery life, they are positioned at those consumers who spend the day with their buds frequently for fairly long periods - which makes the absence of quick charge even more baffling. Even so, the Air3 Pro do the basics very well and have certainly not let the Air3 name down. The ultra low-latency is another major feather in the cap for this release, delivering surprisingly good results with gaming mode.
SoundPEATS' churn of releases at that sub-$60 price point make them a consistently wise option - and the Air3 Pro is no exception. You're not getting everything you could want, but you're getting almost everything at a very smart price, knowing you can upgrade in the future without major reinvestment. Another great job with this very decent mid-tier release.
Price Weighted Score: 82%
Raw Score: 80%
SoundPEATS Review Inventory:
SoundPEATS Mini Pro
SoundPEATS H2
SoundPEATS T3
SoundPEATS Mini
SoundPEATS Air3
SoundPEATS TrueAir2+
SoundPEATS TrueAir 2
SoundPEATS H1
SoundPEATS T2
SoundPEATS Sonic
About SoundPEATS:
SoundPEATS seem to have become an overnight sensation, wiping up a large portion of budget TWS earbud market share with a business model that has served them (and Anker before them) exceptionally well - good distribution channels (via Amazon), good support, a catchy name and product that performs well at a very competitive price point. In reality, they have been around a long time - whilst Shenzhen SoundSOUL IT Co LTD is a different trading name to Ginto E-Commerce, they share the same business address (including room number) as them - you may know their brand name better as Dudios. With Dudios not sounding quite so cool as Soundpeats, maybe the brand transition has been instrumental in their success, but having been around since 2010 and patents in Bluetooth tech stretching back to 2015, they are not the plucky upstarts that some may think - they know their stuff, have a great network of contacts, and now a very solid brand in Europe, and deservedly so.
The thing that sets SoundPEATS apart from other vendors, and makes them my favourite budget earbud vendor, is that they are completely transparent over their components. Whether they use Realtek, Qualcomm or Airoha chips in their buds, they are totally open about it, and as a reviewer this really helps, because whilst I have, and do, dismantle buds to check the way that certain things have been implemented (such as the power management, mems mics, etc) and I really don't like having to do it with every set of earbuds, because they then become unusable.
