Apple’s AirPods arrived at the same time the iPhone lost its headphone jack, pushing the rest of the technology industry the same way and heralding the era of wireless earbuds. If rumours are to be believed, Apple is getting ready to update its incredibly popular AirPods lineup with two new models – and it’s good news if you prefer to spend less than premium prices when you pick up a new bit of tech.
The latest rumour comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who reported that Apple is gearing up to bring two pairs of cheaper AirPods to market by September or October.
“The new models will replace the second and third-generation AirPods,” Gurman wrote. “Both will have a new design, improved fit and charging cases with USB-C, but the mid-tier version will get active noise cancellation and Find My speakers in the case, making it easier to locate the product if it gets lost.”
If true, the mid-tier AirPods would be closer in function to the AirPods Pro, which were mostly recently updated to include USB-C to bring them in line with the iPhone 15 that also made the switch from Lightning to the more universal charging port.
It seems both new versions will have an updated design – it remains to be seen if that will be similar to the current third-generation AirPods that look a little like AirPods Pro but without the in-ear tips. If the design is renewed, it will be farewell to the second-gen design that Apple still sells, which looks almost identical to the original AirPods from 2016 with a longer stem.
At first this design was ridiculed, with several media articles and memes online comparing them to electric toothbrush heads. But today AirPods are everywhere, and could standalone from Apple as a multi-million dollar business in their own right.
Gurman said Apple is also working to bring hearing test features to the top-of-the-line AirPods Pro in a software update with iOS 18, the operating system we expect will launch at the same time as the iPhone 16 series – most likely in September.
Although there’s no confirmation of new AirPods just yet, we do know when Apple’s next big event will take place. The US technology giant has just confirmed that its yearly WWDC Developers Conference will kick off on June 10 at its HQ in Cupertino California.
WWDC is where the firm reveals its next updates to iOS, iPadOS, WacthOS and TVOS so expect it to be another feature-packed showcase.
“We’re so excited to connect with developers from around the world for an extraordinary week of technology and community at WWDC24,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “WWDC is all about sharing new ideas and providing our amazing developers with innovative tools and resources to help them make something even more wonderful.”
