Apple recently announced the AirPods 3, which looks quite similar to the AirPods Pro without the replaceable ear tip, but what’s next? People are speculating that the AirPods Pro 2 will be their next earbud project, coming out in 2022.
Tech site MacRumors received alleged images of the upcoming AirPods Pro 2 from a source, but there is no verification whether it can be reputable or not. ‘Xerxes’, the person who sent in the pictures, said that they were taken from an “Apple internal source”, but provided no further information or proof.
The actual buds look identical to the second-generation AirPods Pro, but without the optical sensor. This makes sense, because Apple is using a new skin-detect sensor with the AirPods 3, so it is likely that the new AirPods Pro 2 will follow suit.
Overall, the biggest changes were actually on the charging case. On the side, there seems to be some sort of metal loop that would serve as a strap attachment. Lastly, there are speaker holes visible on the bottom of the charging case. This would most likely be used for the ‘Find My’ functionality to locate the case. The source says that iOS 16 will introduce the ability to locate the buds and case separately, so the speakers could be used for whenever you lose your case.
There is much to doubt about this design, as it contradicts a theory by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg. Gurman says that Apple will make the second-generation AirPods Pro more compact, and will likely go for a stemless bud design. This is not reflected in the images at all, so one of these sources must be false.
These are just rumours, but since Gurman has a better track record than Xerxes, who is virtually unknown, I would not bet my money on these new images being accurate.
