Apple AirPods Pro 3 vs JBL Live Beam 4

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AirPods Pro 3 compared with Live Beam 4

	AppleAirPods Pro 3	JBLLive Beam 4
Overview
Released
Released	September 2025	May 2026
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	In-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	–	10 mm
Impedance
Impedance	–	16 ohms
Spatial audio with head tracking
Spatial audio with head tracking	Yes	–
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC and AAC	LDAC
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	No	–
Chip
Chip	H2	–
Drivers
Drivers	Custom high-excursion Apple driver and custom high dynamic range amplifier	10 mm dynamic; 20 Hz–40 kHz frequency response and 98 dB SPL sensitivity at 1 kHz
Chip
Chip	H2 in each AirPod; second-generation Ultra Wideband chip in the MagSafe Charging Case	–
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Active Noise Cancellation with Adaptive Audio, Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness and Loud Sound Reduction; foam-infused ear tips for passive isolation	True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0, Smart Ambient, TalkThru and Smart Talk speech detection
Audio features
Audio features	Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking; Adaptive EQ; Personalised Volume; Voice Isolation; studio-quality audio recording; Live Translation; lossless audio when paired with Apple Vision Pro	Spatial Sound, Personi-Fi 3.0 and app EQ; LDAC confirmed by TechRadar and Les Numériques; LE Audio and Auracast maker-confirmed
Hearing health
Hearing health	Hearing Test, Hearing Aid (with automatic Conversation Boost) and Hearing Protection	Personalised hearing profile through Personi-Fi 3.0
Health sensors
Health sensors	Heart rate sensor for workouts	–
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 8 hours	Up to 10 hours
With the case
With the case	Up to 24 hours	Up to 48 hours
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 7.5 hours with Spatial Audio and head tracking on; 6.5 hours with heart rate sensing during workouts; 10 hours in Transparency using the Hearing Aid feature	Up to 12 hours with ANC off, ten with standard ANC or eight with True Adaptive ANC; advertised 48 hours including the case is with ANC off. Each bud has a 65 mAh, 3.85 V battery; two-hour charging; calls up to 6.5 hours without ANC or six with it
Charging case
Charging case	MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C) with speaker for Find My and lanyard loop; charges with MagSafe, Apple Watch or Qi-certified chargers or a USB-C cable	Touchscreen Smart Charging Case; 680 mAh, 3.8 V battery; USB-C and Qi charging; up to 36 additional hours with ANC off
Fast charging
Fast charging	5 minutes in the case gives around 1 hour of listening	Ten minutes supplies up to four hours; current UK hours label denotes listening rather than charging duration
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	5.55 g	4.85 g (better)
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IP57	IP55
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	6.0
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	–	Yes
Controls
Controls	Force sensor with volume swipe on the stems (press to play, pause, answer calls and skip; press and hold to switch listening modes; swipe up or down for volume); camera remote; “Hey Siri” or just “Siri”; Siri Interactions	Customisable touch controls and touchscreen case controls for volume, tracks, sound modes and EQ
Microphones
Microphones	Dual beamforming microphones and an inward-facing microphone; speech-detecting accelerometer	Six beamforming microphones across the pair; Perfect Calls 2.0 and call-effect settings
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Foam-infused silicone ear tips in five sizes (XXS, XS, S, M, L)	Sealed stemmed in-ear fit with four sizes of eartips
Case weight
Case weight	43.99 g	73 g
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP57 (IEC 60529) for the AirPods Pro and charging case	IP55 earbuds; Les Numériques finds no published case IP rating
Works with
Works with	Full features with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro on the latest software; works as Bluetooth headphones with other devices, with limited features	Two Bluetooth devices, Google Finder and Audio Switch; LE Audio unicast and Auracast via the JBL Headphones app
Colours
Colours	White	Black, Blue, Green, Silver, Orange, Purple and Sand
In the box
In the box	AirPods Pro 3, MagSafe Charging Case (USB-C) with speaker and lanyard loop, silicone ear tips (XXS, XS, S, M, L), documentation; USB-C cable sold separately	Earbuds, charging case, four tip sizes, warranty and quick-start guide; no charging cable. Maker May 2026 rollout corroborated by Les Numériques' actual May availability. Current UK RRP £149.99 differs from the £179.99 launch price