The next AirPods Pro could arrive by the second half of 2021

By Shubham Agarwal July 22, 2020

Apple has been said to be developing the next generation of AirPods Pro for a while now, and a new report by DigiTimes suggests they could arrive as soon as 2021.

DigiTimes claims Apple could upgrade its noise-canceling pair of true wireless earbuds sometime in the second half of next year. While this corroborates longtime analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s prediction that the second-gen AirPods Pro are in the works, they don’t exactly match the timeline. Kuo, in a recent investor note, said the next AirPods Pro will enter mass production between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 — which likely means Apple won’t launch them before late next year.

DigiTimes adds that the next line of AirPods will come equipped with light sensors for enabling a range of health-focused abilities. Without specifically mentioning any model, the report goes on to say that Apple will begin including these new sensors in the next year or two and that they’ll be capable of letting the AirPods keep track of your heart rate, step counts, head movements, and more.

While there’s still a lot of speculation around the second-gen AirPods’ Pro launch period, both DigiTimes and Kuo have predicted similar timelines for the third-gen AirPods. Apple is expected to upgrade the base AirPods in the first half of 2021. Other than that, the only tidbit we know about them so far is that they’ll probably feature a form factor and design “similar to ‌AirPods Pro‌.”

In the next year, Apple is also believed to add over-the-ear headphones to its growing line of audio accessories. Likely called AirPods Studio, they’ll reportedly offer all the trappings you’d find on high-end headphones today such as active noise cancellation and a transparency mode whenever you’d like to hear what’s going on around you.

In addition, the headphones are said to be highly customizable with swappable head padding and ear pads. Similar to the AirPods, they’ll be also able to detect when you take them off to automatically pause the playback or vice versa. The AirPods Studio are slated to launch sometime later this year at a premium $349 price.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Shubham Agarwal

Journalist

Shubham Agarwal is a freelance technology journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His work has previously appeared in Firstpost…

Mobile

5 Apple gadgets you really should avoid this holiday season

Boxes for an Apple Watch, iPhones, and Airpods sit on a desk.

There’s no doubt that Apple makes some great products, and if you’re an Apple fan — or have one in your life — then you’re probably already scouting for AirPods, iPhones, and iPads to put under the tree this year.

While you certainly can’t go wrong with an iPhone 14 Pro, iPad Air (2022), or the latest AirPods Pro, not everything Apple has on the market right now is an obvious buying choice. There are a few that you should probably avoid, or at least think carefully about before you decide to slap down your credit card or click that buy button.
iPad (10th Gen, 2022)

Mobile

Does the Apple iPad (2022) have a headphone jack?

Someone using an Apple Pencil with the 10th Gen iPad.

Apple has launched a new, re-designed iPad with the faster A14 Bionic chip and four vibrant color options to choose from. The new model also features upgraded cameras, a USB-C port for charging, and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button.
It's the biggest overhaul we've ever seen for the baseline iPad, and it gets a lot right. But does the iPad (2022) have a headphone jack?
Does the iPad (2022) have a headphone jack?

Despite all the cool new features, the Apple iPad (2022) still doesn't feature a headphone jack. In fact, none of the recent Apple devices come with a headphone jack, so you're left to use wireless earbuds like the AirPods for enjoying your music.
Is this surprising given Apple's other headphone jack-less gadgets? Not at all. But it is still disappointing for people who use and rely on wired audio gear.
Why recent Apple devices don't have a headphone jack
Apple got rid of the headphone jack shortly after it purchased Beats and launched its first wireless earbuds, the first-gen AirPods. While everyone predicted it was a strategy to boost earbud sales, Apple also cited space-saving reasons to dump the good old headphone slot.
"Maintaining an ancient, single-purpose, analog, big connector doesn't make sense because that space is at a premium," Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said during the iPhone 7 launch where Apple first removed the headphone jack from its devices.
The best wireless earbuds for the iPad (2022)

Computing

Apple could launch a Frankenstein iPad Pro that runs macOS

ipad pro 2021.

People have been complaining for years that Apple should just merge its mobile and desktop operating systems, and they might finally see their wish come true -- sort of. That’s because a new rumor claims Apple is working on bringing macOS to the M2 iPad Pro, but it could be nothing more than a tall tale.

The rumor comes from leaker Majin Bu on Twitter, who claims their sources have told them Apple is working on a “smaller” version of macOS that would be exclusively for the M2 iPad Pro, which Apple has only just released.