It’s been a little while since we’ve seen a proper refresh of Apple’s AirPods line. And given that we’re in the back quarter of 2023 it should come as no surprise that word is starting to trickle out about new products potentially coming in 2024. Those words come by way of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who cites unnamed sources detailing changes ahead in the new year.
On tap include:
- New AirPods Max, which haven’t been touched since they were released in December 2020.
- New entry-level AirPods. Apple currently still sells the second-generation (2019) AirPods alongside a redesigned third-generation (2021) model, and it’s unclear what a new low-end would mean. But Gurman makes it sound like Apple will keep two options, with the (new) midrange including active noise cancellation, and an updated case with speakers for Find My alerts.
- The AirPods Pro, which are currently in their second (and a half) iteration (and a year old) and still retail at $250, won’t see another refresh until 2025.
- It’s pretty safe to say that anything new will come with USB-C instead of Lightning connectors.
New designs and processors are also to be expected. And figure Apple will tout improved performance and audio quality. What you really should be on the lookout for is any sort of new health-related features. It’ll also be interesting to see how any refreshed AirPods fit into Apple’s Vision Pro strategy as the VR/AR headset finally starts to get into consumers’ hands and onto their faces in 2024 and beyond. As it currently stands, only the second-generation AirPods Pro have been mentioned in the same sentence as Vision Pro, with both devices having the H2 chip on board. Whether AirPods Max see support for Vision Pro remains to be seen, though you have to wonder if Apple intends anyone to have that much hardware on their head.
In any case, new AirPods are coming next year. Stay tuned.
