Notice: Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Notice: Big Spring Sale Deal: The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless has dropped by 45% on Amazon.com. See all Headphones Big Spring Sale deals.
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Apple EarPods vs Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple EarPods
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:00 PM
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comTested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 17, 2025 08:32 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeEarbuds
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Variants
- EarPods (White)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (Lightning Charging Case - White)
- AirPods (3rd generation) (White)
Our Verdict
Apple EarPods
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
The Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless are better for most purposes than the Apple EarPods. The AirPods are truly wireless earbuds with better build quality, a more stable fit, and an IPX4 rating for water resistance. They also come with a more compact, sturdier case and have more extra features for Apple users, like virtual surround sound and head tracking. However, some may prefer the EarPods’ wired design. They have volume controls, unlike the AirPods, and their mic has a much better overall performance.
Check Price
White
EarPods
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comWhite
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
EarPods
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comLightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
EarPods
SEARCH
B&HWhite
EarPods
SEARCH
Walmart.comNotice:
Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable.
Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our
headphones test methodology.
Read more
Main Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
6.8
7.1
Bass Accuracy
5.0
6.3
Treble Accuracy
8.6
7.5
Imaging
7.9
9.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Earbuds
Earbuds
Enclosure
Open-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
No
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.03 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
N/A
Controls
6.5
5.5
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
iOS
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Decent
Great
Feedback
Decent
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
No
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.6
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.4 °C
Portability
9.3
9.7
Portability Picture
L
1.9" (4.8 cm)
1.2" (3.1 cm)
W
1.8" (4.4 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
H
0.8" (1.9 cm)
0.6" (1.6 cm)
Volume
2.47 in³ (40.48 cm³)
0.62 in³ (10.20 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
7.0
8.5
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.4" (6.2 cm)
2.1" (5.4 cm)
W
2.4" (6.2 cm)
1.8" (4.6 cm)
H
0.8" (1.9 cm)
0.8" (2.1 cm)
Volume
4.47 in³ (73.25 cm³)
3.28 in³ (53.80 cm³)
Build Quality
6.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
5.5
6.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,200 Hz
Bass Amount
-8.63 dB
-5.1 dB
Treble Amount
-1.09 dB
-2.3 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
5.9
7.5
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.97 dB
0.5 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
5.0
6.3
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
7.8 dB
7.8 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
87.24 Hz
40.02 Hz
Low Bass
-16 dB
-10.47 dB
Mid Bass
-2.99 dB
-1.36 dB
High Bass
1.47 dB
-0.53 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
9.0
9.0
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.4 dB
1.13 dB
Low Mid
0.3 dB
-0.09 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.46 dB
-1.29 dB
High Mid
1.03 dB
1.06 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
8.6
7.5
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.14 dB
2.9 dB
Low Treble
-0.41 dB
-1.79 dB
Mid Treble
1.8 dB
-2.93 dB
High Treble
-8.59 dB
-9.72 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.9
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
2.29 dB
1.39 dB
Dips
1.05 dB
2.08 dB
Imaging
7.9
9.2
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.28
0.25
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.51
1.69
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.58
0.24
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.83
1.18
Passive Soundstage
2.8
2.9
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
9.5
9.3
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.1
3.4
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
No App
Spatial Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.9
7.6
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.102
0.405
WHD @ 100
0.054
0.127
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
6F21.
Power
Passive
On
Connection
Wired
Bluetooth
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
No EQ
Adaptive EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
In-line
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
1.2
1.7
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-2.94 dB
-3.75 dB
Isolation Audio
Bass
0 dB
-0.02 dB
Mid
1 dB
-0.95 dB
Treble
-9.53 dB
-11.36 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
1.9
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-3.32 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-3.35 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-3.57 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
Leakage
7.3
7.0
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.72 dB
39.46 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
Yes
In-Line
Yes
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.1
6.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
285.09 Hz
67.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.54 dB
3.25 dB
HFE
12,716.62 Hz
1,659.96 Hz
Weighted THD
0.401
3.887
Gain
16 dB
18.34 dB
Noise Handling
6.9
5.5
SpNR
14.42 dB
12.16 dB
Noise Gate
No
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
0.0
7.2
Battery Type
No Battery
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
6.8 hrs
Additional Charges
N/A
5.0
Total Battery Life
N/A
40.8 hrs
Charge Time
N/A
0.8 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
No
Charging Port
None
Lightning
App Support
0.0
5.0
App Picture
App Name
No App
iOS Interface
iOS
No
Yes
Android
No
No
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.0
0.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
3.73 ft (1.14 m)
N/A
Connector
1/8" TRRS
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
Latency - USB
0 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
7.2
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
5.0+H1 chip
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
205.05 ft (62.50 m)
Latency - SBC
N/A
184 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
2.2
Type
No Base/Dock
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
Yes
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
Lightning
Check Price
White
EarPods
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.comWhite
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
EarPods
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comLightning Charging Case - White
AirPods (3rd generation)
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
EarPods
SEARCH
B&HWhite
EarPods
SEARCH
Walmart.com
Apple EarPods
Apple AirPods (3rd generation) Truly Wireless
Comments
Apple EarPods vs Apple AirPods (3rd generation): Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.