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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Apple EarPods vs Beats urBeats3 Earphones

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Apple EarPods
Beats urBeats3 Earphones

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated May 05, 2025 07:18 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Oct 25, 2021 04:41 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Apple EarPods Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Picture
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Earbuds For Phone Calls

Variants

  • EarPods (White)
  • urBeats3 (Black)
  • urBeats3 (Black/Red)
  • urBeats3 (Blue)
  • urBeats3 (Gray)

Our Verdict

Apple EarPods

Beats urBeats3 Earphones

The Beats urBeats3 Earphones are better-mixed usage headphones than the Apple EarPods thanks to their great passive isolation. The Beats closed-back design blocks noticeably more ambient noise than the open-ear Apple, which makes them the better option for commuting and offers more bass. On the other hand, the Apple's one-size-fits-all design is fairly more comfortable. The stability fins of the Beats could help you find a better fit for sports activities.

0 

Check Price

Black/Red
urBeats3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
EarPods
B&H
Blue
urBeats3
Amazon.com
White
EarPods
Walmart.com
Read more

Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

6.4
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Apple EarPods Design Picture 2
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Design Picture 2

Type  

Earbuds
In-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

8.0
6.5

Comfort Picture  

Apple EarPods Comfort Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.03 lbs
0.04 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

6.5
6.8

Controls Picture  

Apple EarPods Controls Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

iOS
iOS

Ease Of Use  

Decent
Good

Feedback  

Decent
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

9.6
9.1

Breathability After Picture  

Apple EarPods Breathability After Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

0.4 °C
0.9 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

9.3
9.0

Portability Picture  

Apple EarPods Portability Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Portability Picture

 

1.9" (4.8 cm)
2"

 

1.8" (4.4 cm)
2"

 

0.8" (1.9 cm)
1"

Volume  

2.47 in³ (40.48 cm³)
4 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

7.0
6.5

Case Picture  

Apple EarPods Case Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Pouch

 

2.4" (6.2 cm)
N/A

 

2.4" (6.2 cm)
N/A

 

0.8" (1.9 cm)
N/A

Volume  

4.47 in³ (73.25 cm³)
N/A
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

6.5
7.0

Build Quality Picture  

Apple EarPods Build Quality Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

5.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Apple EarPods Stability Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Apple EarPods Angled Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Apple EarPods Side Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Apple EarPods Front Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Apple EarPods Rear Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Apple EarPods Top Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Apple EarPods In The Box Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-8.63 dB
3.56 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.09 dB
-0.96 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.9
9.4

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.97 dB
0.13 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

5.0
7.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

7.8 dB
3.5 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

87.24 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-16 dB
4.83 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-2.99 dB
3.72 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.47 dB
3.3 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.0
8.7

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.4 dB
1.74 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.3 dB
0.65 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-1.46 dB
-2.53 dB

High-Mid 
 

1.03 dB
-0.05 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.6
8.6

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.14 dB
1.91 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-0.41 dB
0.53 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

1.8 dB
-0.74 dB

High-Treble 
 

-8.59 dB
-4.34 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.9
8.5

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

2.29 dB
0.9 dB

Dips 
 

1.05 dB
1.08 dB

Imaging 
 

7.9
9.0

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.28
0.12

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

3.51
1.18

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.58
0.66

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.83
1.51
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

2.8
0.8

PRTF  

Apple EarPods PRTF
Beats urBeats3 Earphones 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
2.1

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

3.1
1.3
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Apple EarPods Virtual Soundstage
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.9
8.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.102
0.118

WHD @ 100 
 

0.054
0.065

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

In-line
In-line
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

1.2
7.9

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-2.94 dB
-22.55 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0 dB
-10.7 dB

Mid 
 

1 dB
-21.69 dB

Treble 
 

-9.53 dB
-36.31 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.3
8.9

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.72 dB
27.89 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

Yes
Yes

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

8.1
8.1

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

285.09 Hz
269.09 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.54 dB
3.67 dB

HFE 
 

12,716.62 Hz
14,905.89 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

0.401
0.54

Gain 
 

16 dB
26.29 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

6.9
6.1

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

14.42 dB
13.58 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

7.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None
Show Text 

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

Apple EarPods App Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

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
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.0
9.0

Cable Picture  

Apple EarPods Cable Picture
Beats urBeats3 Earphones Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

No
No

Length  

3.73 ft (1.14 m)
3.8 ft

Connection 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show Text 

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black/Red
urBeats3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
EarPods
B&H
Blue
urBeats3
Amazon.com
White
EarPods
Walmart.com

Apple EarPods

Beats urBeats3 Earphones

Comments

  1. Comparison

Apple EarPods vs Beats urBeats3 Earphones: Main Discussion

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