The third-gen Apple AirPods.

Yet $179 is still a lot of money for wireless headphones, and when you look outside of Apple you can easily find headphones with comparable features -- often for less money.

Let's highlight some features you should keep in mind when trying to decide if you should buy the new AirPods 3.

The third-gen AirPods come in one color: white.

It's the same color that the second-gen AirPods and the AirPods Pro come in, but Apple lately has been pushing color throughout its product line.

While that latter headphone has been knocked down to $129 and still includes core features like seamless pairing to Apple devices, the $50 difference throws in many technical improvements to the listening experience as well as the magnetic charging case.

The $130 Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro includes many of the AirPods Pro's highlight features, such as active noise canceling, transparency modes, water-resistance and a wireless charging case.

Apple can maintain a variety of exclusive software enhancements like fast pairing to Apple devices and head-tracking enhancements to Spatial Audio, but few of these features should be enough to stop you from considering a cheaper alternative.

The Jabra Elite 75t can connect to multiple devices at once, whether they're Apple devices or not?