Though Apple’s often-rumoured 3rd-generation AirPods haven’t appeared yet, new rumours courtesy of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicate that the refreshed wireless earbuds and higher-end AirPods Pro will arrive in 2022.
The new AirPods Pro are tipped to feature updated motion sensors and other fitness tracking features. It’s also likely that they’ll tie in with Apple’s Fitness+ subscription service in some way.
Gurman goes on to say that the new AirPods Pro design will eliminate the wireless earbuds’ stem as well. This design will reportedly first appear in Apple’s Beats-branded Studio Buds that basketball superstar Lebron James has been seen wearing.
On the AirPods side of things, Apple also plans to shorten the stem of the base AirPods, making them look more like the AirPods Pro. The Bloomberg report doesn’t mention if the new AirPods will feature active noise-cancelling (ANC), but it does state that they’ll feature improved sound quality. If ANC does come to the standard AirPods, the rumoured new fitness features are likely an effort by Apple to differentiate the wireless earbud lines.
A new version of Apple’s pricey AirPods Max isn’t coming just yet, but the report mentions that the tech giant is considering releasing new colours for the over-ear headphones.
Finally, Bloomberg’s report also mentions that Apple is working on a HomePod speaker with a built-in screen and also a device that combines the HomePod, a FaceTime camera and the Apple TV into one product.
Source: Bloomberg
