Forward-looking: Apple wearables’ revenue has been growing at an astounding rate, totaling $30 billion this past fiscal year. That’s about 10 percent of the total sales revenue. Given these values, it’s only logical that Apple will want to update the AirPods series. However, a new report claims that only the original AirPods will be revamped this year.
Released back in March of 2019, the two-year-old AirPods will reportedly receive a well-deserved redesign this year. The new report aligns with an older one claiming the AirPods 3 would start mass production in Q3 2021, with shipping beginning in late 2021.
Apple is yet to share anything official about the AirPods, but leaked photos suggest the third generation of Apple entry-level AirPods will have a design similar to the current AirPods Pro, with shorter stems and a new charging case.
The AirPods Pro will also be revamped, but they may not arrive until 2022. Considering that AirPods Pro were launched in October of 2019, a release of the AirPods Pro 2 in 2022 would result in a three-year period without an upgrade.
The second-gen AirPods Pro are rumored to pack new motion sensors for improved fitness tracking, but besides that, not much is known about them.
As for the AirPods Max, it seems we will have to wait a bit more before Apple launches a new version of it. Demand for Apple’s headset has been high and Apple has only now caught up to it. However, new color variants are expected to release.
Moreover, Apple is also developing a new HomePod speaker featuring a display, and an unnamed device that results from merging a HomePod, FaceTime camera and Apple TV into a single product.
There’s still no word if Apple will introduce support for lossless audio (ALAC) in its new earphones and headset, but fans would surely welcome it. It’s already quite disappointing for those who own AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max to be unable to listen to Hi-Res audio.
Masthead credit: Daniel Romero