AirPods Ultra · Hardware

A new H3 chip is coming, though nobody has said which model gets it first

Apple is building a new H3 chip for its earbuds. Gurman did not say which AirPods get it first. Putting it in this model is our guess.

1 min readUpdated Sep 22, 2026

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What to know

What to know

Apple is building a new H3 chip for its earbuds, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter in October 2025. The chip is meant to bring better sound and less lag.

Gurman did not say which AirPods get it first. 9to5Mac and Tom's Guide have since said they expect the H3 to power the camera features on Apple's next high-end AirPods.

Apple has not announced the chip or said which model will use it.

How we know this

How we know this

What changed, newest first.

Aug 20, 2026Tom's GuideA new H3 chip would power the camera and Visual Intelligence work
Apr 28, 20269to5MacSuggests the H3 could debut to power camera capabilities
Oct 12, 2025Mark Gurman, Bloomberg via Cult of MacReports H3 development for the next iteration of AirPods Pro
Reported

Frequently asked

Frequently asked

What does the H3 chip do?
Gurman says it is meant for better sound and less lag. Some reports expect it to handle the new cameras too. Apple has not announced it.

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