Here's a fight that stays in the family: Apple owns Beats, so the Beats Fit Pro and the AirPods Pro are effectively siblings, both built on Apple silicon. The Fit Pro run the older H1 chip; the AirPods Pro 2 and Pro 3 use the newer H2. So which Apple earbud is right for you? The honest answer isn't ‘whichever is newest’ — it depends on your ears, your phone, and your budget.
The shared DNA
Both give you active noise cancellation, transparency mode, head-tracked Spatial Audio, one-tap pairing, automatic switching, and Find My on Apple devices. If you're inside Apple's ecosystem, either feels seamless. The differences are physical and generational.
Fit
This is the real dividing line. The Fit Pro use a flexible wingtip that tucks into your ear and stays put through workouts, with no stem hanging down. The AirPods Pro hang from a stem and rely on ear-tip seal alone — lighter and more discreet, and the Pro 3's new foam-hybrid tips fit more securely than before, but still not gym-locked like the Fit Pro. Want stability? Fit Pro. Want minimal and light? AirPods Pro.
ANC and sound
No contest on the newest model: the AirPods Pro 3 have dramatically better noise cancellation than the Fit Pro, roughly double the Pro 2's and among the best in any earbud. The Fit Pro's ANC is solid but a clear generation behind. Sound is closer — both are well-tuned and bass-friendly — but the Pro 3 edge ahead.
Features and price
The Pro 3 pile on extras the Fit Pro simply don't have: a heart-rate sensor, hearing-health features, Live Translation, and IP57 sweat resistance. But the Fit Pro answer with two things of their own — they work genuinely well on Android via the Beats app, and they're cheaper, listing at $199.99 and often selling below $160. The AirPods Pro 3 are $249; the AirPods Pro 2 now sit in between as the value H2 option. (Full disclosure: the Beats Fit Pro are a personal favorite of SIGNAL’s author, so weigh our enthusiasm here accordingly.)
Buy the Beats Fit Pro if you want a secure workout fit, you use Android at all, or you want to save money — they deliver most of the AirPods experience for less.
Buy the AirPods Pro 3 if you're all-in on iPhone and want the best ANC, calls, and health features, fit and price be damned.
Buy the AirPods Pro 2 if you want the stem design and H2 ANC but not the Pro 3 premium.
There's no single winner here — just the right sibling for your priorities.