Apple released the AirPods Pro last October, improving on the standard AirPods with features such as active noise cancellation, water resistance, and silicone chips. Apple is now said to be working on the AirPods Pro 2 with even better features, but new leaks suggest that the new earphones may not be the upgrade you want.

The information comes from LeaksApplePro on Twitter, who claims that the second-generation AirPods Pro will have improved battery life, improved noise cancellation, an ambient light sensor, and will cost $249, the same as the current AirPods Pro The company claims.

If this leak is accurate, then there are no significant differences between the two AirPods Pro. However, improved battery life and noise cancellation are always welcome, especially if they are not accompanied by a price increase.

The optical sensor is a slightly different choice, and it is not clear what it is for. In the past, it has been rumored that light sensors would be included in AirPods to track things like heart rate and other health statistics. Given Apple's recent focus on health and fitness features, it is not beyond the realm of possibility, and other wireless earbuds have already been confirmed to read heart rate in a similar manner.

Adding fitness tracking to AirPods would also mean that the Apple Health app would be able to track workouts more accurately.

Other rumors suggest that the AirPods Pro 2 may include air gestures, but optical sensors would not be particularly effective in that capacity. If true, that would suggest that Apple has more grandiose plans for the future of the AirPods and that they have much more functionality than this leak is telling us.

Unfortunately, the leak predicts a Q4 2021 or Q1 2022 release, which means the AirPods Pro 2 is at least a year away. Apple's next big audio product release will likely be the AirPods Studio.