Do AirPods Pro 3 have lossless audio?

AirPods Pro 3 deliver outstanding wireless sound quality, but they do not play true lossless audio in the strict, technical sense.

Lossless audio means the music file is transmitted and reproduced without any data loss compared to the studio master. That requires high bandwidth and bit-perfect transfer.

Since AirPods Pro 3 rely on Bluetooth, the audio is always encoded through a codec (like AAC on Apple devices) before reaching the earbuds. This step introduces compression, so the stream is no longer “lossless” by definition.

However, Apple’s ecosystem optimizes this process very well — adaptive EQ, new drivers, and the updated H3 chip ensure the final sound is clean, detailed, and immersive.

If you subscribe to Apple Music Lossless, you can still benefit from higher-quality source files, but the last hop to AirPods Pro 3 will be compressed.

For true, bit-perfect lossless listening, you would need to use a wired connection with compatible headphones or an external DAC.

AirPods Pro 3 do not deliver pure lossless audio, but they offer one of the most refined wireless listening experiences available, with sound quality that most people find indistinguishable from lossless in everyday use.