AirPods3 and AirPods Pro2 come next year - with these new designs

AirPods3 and AirPods Pro2 come next year - with these new designs

Apple AirPods 3 and Apple AirPods Pro 2 will arrive next year. Both pairs of wireless earbuds are currently in development and will change Apple's lineup of healable products.

According to Bloomberg, the third-generation AirPods will look similar to the AirPods Pro, but will not include premium features like active noise cancellation. Meanwhile, the high-end AirPods Pro 2 may ditch the stem altogether. Current prototypes are similar in design to Amazon Echo Buds and Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.

Apple is also reportedly trying to improve the AirPods' stamina. Even though both the standard pair and the AirPods Pro are two of the best wireless earbuds, neither has been praised for their existing battery life.

For comparison, the noise-canceling AirPods Pro can last 4.5 hours out of the case, while the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and Sony WF-1000XM3 both offer 6 hours of continuous listening.

According to Bloomberg, improvements to the AirPods Pro have had their challenges during development. The trouble shrinking the functionality of these $249 buds may prevent Apple from going stemless for the first time since the original AirPods debuted in 2016.

This is not the first time we've heard about plans for both the third-generation AirPods and the second-generation AirPods Pro; DigiTimes previously reported that the AirPods 3 would arrive in the first half of 2021 and the AirPods Pro 2 late next year.

Bloomberg's Mark Garman has an excellent track record with leaks, so it is not much of a surprise that his new information matches up.

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