Rumor has it new AirPods are on the way – and they’re not the AirPods X
Could these be the AirPods 3?
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Rumors of a new pair ofApple AirPodshave been smoldering for ages now, and atweetfrom respected tech analyst Jon Prosser has stoked the fire after claiming that a new pair ofAppleearbuds are “ready to ship”.
Prosser hasn’t shared which model it could be – after all, there are multiple model names being floated around, including theAirPods Pro Liteand theAirPods 3– but he has said that they arenottheAirPods X, which are said to beApple’s first over-ear headphones.
You can check out the tweet for yourself below:
Heads up: There’s still an iMac and AirPods ready to ship. (Not sure which AirPods yet, only know codename)Theoretically, since they’re ready, they could drop at any time. I’ll let you know if/when I hear a date. Let’s see if Apple can keep it a secret from me 👀🤫May 6, 2020
A June release date?
Responding to a comment further down the thread, Prosser says that the new AirPods “do not match the code name for the AirPods X” – which in itself, leads credence to the idea that Apple are on the verge of releasing a new pair of true wireless earbuds and its first over-ear headphones.
We’d be surprised to see theAirPods 3or AirPods Pro Lite in 2020, with the latter being a new version of the noise-cancellingAirPods Pro.
Initial rumors suggested new AirPods would crash into the market before 2020 is out, but recent comments from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest we may be waiting a while longer – speculating that the next-gen AirPods would start mass production in early 2021, with a newAirPods Promodel arriving in 2022 too (viaAppleInsider).
If new AirPods do launch this year, it could be atWWDC 2020on June 22. The virtual keynote is where we’re expecting to see theiOS 14update in detail, along with upgrades in the form of iPadOS 14,macOS 10.16andwatchOS 7.
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Olivia was previously TechRadar’s Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she’s a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She’s previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.
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