Bloomberg's Debby Wu and Mark Gurman claimed in a new report revealed that the Cupertino-based tech giant is working on new versions of AirPods and AirPods Pro. the upcoming wireless earbuds would reportedly feature brand new designs and better wireless chips. The first generation AirPods feature the W1 chip, while the second generation AirPods and AirPods Pro house the H1 processor.
The report claimed that the new entry-level Apple AirPods could reach the market as early as the first half of 2021. The new wireless earbuds would reportedly borrow some of the styles of the AirPods Pro but will feature a much shorter stem. The third-generation device would apparently come with interchangeable ear tips and longer battery life.
Meanwhile, the second-generation AirPods Pro would feature a much smaller size and would drop the stem seen in the current generation AirPods Pro. The report shared that there were challenges in developing the completely in-ear design of the more expensive wireless earbuds. However, it still packs the essential electronics, batteries, microphones, and noise cancellation, the report added.
As for their internals, both AirPods and AirPods Pro would reportedly house new wireless chipsets, which the company is allegedly designing. At this point, it is not yet clear if the new chip would introduce new features to the upcoming wireless earbuds. According to Slash Gear, the Cupertino tech giant has been aggressive in pushing the Ultra Wideband (UWB) in some of its products with the U1 ship that features directional awareness. The same technology is anticipated to be in the much-awaited Apple Airtags, the report added.
Apart from the new AirPods and AirPods Pro, Bloomberg also shared some details about the Apple AirPods Studio. While the alleged over-ear headphone is still in the works, the report claimed that its release might be delayed. This is alleged because of the change in the device's design, which includes reducing the external touchpads' size and minimizing the number of its swappable parts.
Several sources claimed that Apple changed the AirPods Studio's headband because it's too tight, the report added. Because of these changes and delays, the report mentioned that some of the functionalities that Apple earlier envisioned for the over-ear headphone were scrapped. It is worth noting that while these details about the upcoming entry-level AirPods, AirPods pro, and AirPods Studio are interesting, these are not official.
