JBL Tour Pro 3 review: meet the future of wireless earphones

Introduction

The Tour Pro 3 doesn’t know the meaning of FOMO. JBL’s latest flagship wireless earbuds are practically bursting at the seams with features, including some that won’t become industry standards for at least another year or two. An updated take on the firm’s clever touchscreen charging case is just the tip of the iceberg.

They build on last year’s JBL Tour Pro 2 with dual drivers, improved hi-res streaming support, longer battery life, and the ability to retransmit audio from just about any other gadget. Active noise cancelling, spatial audio and a comprehensive companion app all return, too. But then at £280, you’d hope as much. With JBL’s own Live 3 series earbuds adding screen-equipped cases of their own – for considerably less cash – what’s to be gained by going high-end?

Design & build: case in point

With matching styling and similar choice of colours, you don’t have to look very hard to spot the family ties between the Tour Pro 3 and its predecessor – especially in the black colours of my review unit. This new pair is also available in a golden Latte hue, which is a little more muted than the Tour Pro 2’s silver-like Champagne finish. Whichever you go for there’s plenty of polished metal trim on show.

The case still flips its lid to reveal the buds stashed inside, and its base is still lined with rubber to keep it stationary on smooth surfaces. JBL has managed to shrink the case dimensions down a bit, but this remains one of the portliest cases around.

It needed to be, to accommodate a touchscreen that has grown by a substantial 30% from the previous version. I found it a lot less fiddly to hit icons and read small text as a result. There’s less glossy plastic on show to pick up fingerprints, too. You’ll still want to keep it in a separate pocket from any keys, to avoid unsightly scratches.

The buds themselves use the same stem-style design as last year’s model – if you want in-ear or open-style listening as well as a clever case, you’ll have to step down to JBL’s Live 3 range. The driver housings are a little bigger this time out, to make room for a second speaker, and they have an extra microphone grille to help make phone calls clearer. An IP55 rating is a small but welcome improvement over the Tour Pro 2’s IPX5 resistance, but I’m less bothered about JBL bringing back the tiny blue activity LEDs. At least they switch off once you’re paired and wearing the buds.

I wondered whether the larger size would mean I struggled to get a good fit, but the Tour Pro 3 is sculpted so that they burrow snugly into your outer ear. A generous five different silicone ear tips, including XS and XL sizes for the first time, should mean everyone can wear these comfortably with a bit of experimenting. There’s also a pair of memory foam tips that give better background noise isolation, though I didn’t find them quite as comfortable for long listening sessions.

Features: future proof

JBL has taken the Tour Pro 2’s basic concept – putting features and settings directly on the charging case so you don’t have to reach for your phone – and run with it for the sequel. There are so many screens to swipe through it can be a little overwhelming at first, but you can disable the ones you don’t use on the regular.

Want to swap EQ presets, find a missing earbud, dial down the noise cancellation or hear a bit more of your own voice when making phone calls? It’s all here, with just a few taps and swipes. ID3 tag support means it can now show what’s playing from a paired phone – something the older model missed out on. It definitely cut down on how often I’d reach for my phone when listening to Spotify playlists, though I’d still like to see album art and a playback scrubber added at some point.

The lock screen shows the time, connection status and remaining battery life, for each bud and the case itself. You can upload your own background pic or choose from a few presets to add a splash of colour, and it’s great to see JBL making a start on smartwatch-style widgets with a basic timer. A schedule that pulls from your calendar or a weather forecast would be neat additions later down the line.

Incoming calls flash up onscreen as before, letting you answer or reject directly on the case, and notifications form other apps are a bit more useful now a swipe from the top of the screen shows you the last few to come through, in case you missed them when they were first displayed.

The screen is just half the story, too. The Tour Pro 3 ships with two extra cables beyond the usual USB-A to USB-C for charging: you also get a USB-C to USB-C, and a USB-C to 3.5mm. Plugging either into another gadget lets the case act as an audio transmitter, for wireless listening even if the device doesn’t have Bluetooth. Gym equipment and airline infotainment systems spring to mind, but it worked flawlessly with my Steam Deck gaming handheld.

It uses the new LC3+ codec to do it, which is massively better than other Bluetooth codecs for voice calls; colleagues instantly noticed the difference on my weekly Teams virtual meetings. It supports Auracast broadcasting, too, which will be handy once the tech takes off and more devices can accept a signal.

Battery life: long lasting

What continues to impress me is how the Tour Pro 3 manages to do all that and still keep plenty of battery life in reserve for the earbuds. It can supply three full top-ups before needing to refuel itself, either wirelessly on a Qi pad or over USB-C, where ten minutes is enough for another five or so hours of listening.

The buds themselves typically managed between seven and eight hours in my testing with ANC enabled, then nudging north of ten hours with noise cancelling disabled – roughly an hour longer than the previous generation could manage, and on par with the class best.

Interface: extensive selection

When hooked up to a wired audio source, the Tour Pro 3 is fully dependent on the smart case – but swap back to Bluetooth and you’ll be able to get stuck in through the smartphone companion app. It has all the goodies I’ve come to expect from JBL, including an ear tip fit test, a relaxing white noise generator (which sadly still can’t be triggered from the case) and an external sound amplification mode for the hard of hearing. A maximum volume limiter, left/right sound balance, and customisable power saving options are all here too. Comprehensive doesn’t behind to describe it.

The Personi-fi personalised listening mode returns, as does the 10-band custom EQ and spatial audio upmixing, which is more subtle than other versions I’ve tried but still a bit Marmite for music that was mastered in stereo. The more expansive sound worked better for movies and games, so having it within easy reach on the case screen encouraged me to use it more.

Gesture controls are a bit more limited, making you pick from a few presets rather than customising each tap or mixing between playback, ANC and volume options. But with all three available on the case, that’s hardly a big deal.

The one returning feature I’m not too keen on is how enabling LDAC Bluetooth locks you out of the more advanced audio adjustment options.

Sound quality and noise cancelling: killer clarity

JBL’s noise cancelling tech is more effective in the Tour Pro 3 than it was on the outgoing model, where I thought it was only average for the money. While Sony and Bose remain top of the pile, I’d now comfortably rate these among names like Bowers & Wilkins, Sennheiser and Jabra for their ability to mute the outside world. The improved algorithms did a better job with public transport rumbles and coffee shop chatter. Wind noise isn’t quite so prominent any more, either.

It’s on the audio side where things really take a step up, though. JBL has gone from a single dynamic driver on the Tour Pro 2 to a hybrid setup, with a balanced armature driver taking responsibility for the higher frequencies. Even with a more energetic, bass-forward tune than parent company Harman’s target curve, there’s more definition and subtlety on display here.

Linkin Park’s Heavy is the Crown isn’t dominated by bass guitars or synths, with new vocalist Emily Armstrong’s screaming delivery staying prominent in the mix. Hi-hats are satisfyingly crisp on Rudimental’s Ram Pam, without having so much bite my ears would get fatigued. At the same time, electronic thumpers like Subsonic’s Ascend have thew low-end grunt I’d expect.

Even without the spatial upmixing enabled, the soundstage is satisfyingly wide for a pair of in-ears, and there’s no shortage of volume. A special low volume EQ setting ensures nothing is lost when listening at lower levels, either.

These aren’t the last word in critical listening, and audiophiles are going to feel more at home with something like B&W Pi8 – but they now put in a performance worthy of the asking price.

JBL Tour Pro 3 verdict

JBL has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the Tour Pro 3 – but that’s not to say it has prioritised features over sound quality. These are dynamic and engaging in-ears that also happen to have forward-thinking connectivity, consistently good battery life, and a genuinely useful touchscreen.

I still think more could be done with the display, and not everyone will appreciate the chunky case, even if it is smaller than the previous generation’s. You do pay a premium, too. But with fewer weak links than the outgoing model, these are much easier to recommend for anyone wanting to future-proof their portable listening.

JBL Tour Pro 3 technical specifications

Drivers	10mm dynamic + balanced armature
ANC	Yes
Bluetooth version	Bluetooth 5.3
Codecs supported	SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3+
Durability	IP55
Battery life	8hrs/24hrs (buds/case, ANC on) 11hrs/30hrs (buds/case, ANC off)
Dimensions	61x57x30mm, 72g (case) 30x25x18mm, 5.6g (buds, each)