A Great Improvement From 2nd Gen
5/5
Compared with the “2nd Gen”, I can say that my experience with the much longer-lasting and better-sounding “3rd Gen“ has been fantastic. To be honest, at first, I wasn't as sure due to the difference in shape of earphones between the generations—the 3rd Gen makes it harder to hear external noises (which makes music sound better). That said, I quickly adjusted, and find the sound quality is vastly different from the older 2nd Gen my partner has.
There is a slight difference that I didn't notice before buying. The touch to pause etc is now a pinch/click on the base of the earphone itself. I would say the only downside to AirPods is the price, but I find them more than worth it now.
One thing to note is that I haven't compared these with potential competitors and I use my AirPods for YouTube videos, meetings, and audiobooks (so I'm not looking for absolutely perfect sound).