A new Bloomberg report has detailed Apple’s plans for its AirPods lineup. The company is working on a new AirPods refresh for this year featuring a design similar to the current-gen. AirPods Pro.
The report states the AirPods 3 will come with a “new case and shorter stems poking out of the bottom of each one.” The new AirPods were first rumored to launch in March this year, but that did not happen. They were even rumored to launch during Apple’s ‘Spring Loaded’ event in April, but a last-minute leak indicated the launch of the AirPods 3 has been delayed until the second half of this year.
The bigger upgrades will be reserved for the AirPods Pro 2 due to launch next year, which will include motion sensors for fitness tracking. Apple is testing a smaller new AirPods Pro design without the stem. The design will be similar to the recently leaked Beats Studio Buds.
The report also details that Apple has only recently managed to catch up with the demand for its $549 AirPods Max. The product was initially criticized for its high price tag and bugs, which Apple eventually fixed. The company is currently not working on a second-generation AirPods Max, but it could launch additional colors for its premium headphones in the future.
Gurman also reiterates that Apple is also working on a new HomePod speaker with a built-in screen. There are plenty of smart displays from Google and Amazon in the market. The addition of a display makes interacting with a voice assistant more useful in many cases. There’s another HomePod device under development that combines a FaceTime camera, Apple TV, and HomePod into one.
[Via Bloomberg]