New Apple AirPods could be on the way, offering the much-improved form of 2019’s Apple AirPods Pro smart earbuds, but much kinder on the wallet.
According to tech analyst and reliable source Jon Prosser, the new AirPods were set to launch at Apple’s postponed March event.
We’ve seen the updated iPad Pro, and iPhone SE launched without fanfare, and it seems new AirPods might get the same treatment. Prosser says that it could launch with a new Macbook Pro, which has also been rumored.
New AirPods (which were supposed to be at the March Event) are now ready to go.
Probably alongside the MacBook Pro next month.
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 19, 2020
There’s not much detail in the tweet, so we’ve been looking back to previous rumors.
Earlier this year Digitimes touted a rumor than Apple was working up AirPods Lite – a new product, but one that clearly suggests a pared-back feature set.
The AirPods Pro feature active noise cancellation and pass-through, along with a feature to ensure to great fit from the re-designed tips. It’s a big physical upgrade from the original AirPods, ditching the awkward moulded plastic in favor of squidgy buds that make it easier to get a solid, secure fit. But these great features come with a hefty $299 price tag.
That does make it tough for Apple to compete with the huge array of true wireless buds that are dominating the market.
David Phelen of Forbes believes it would stand to reason that a cheaper version of the AirPods Pro, without the active noise cancellation, would slot nicely into Apple’s product range – and we concur.
Watch this space.
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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.