First Look At The New Apple AirPods
See the new Apple AirPods early.
There are now multiple leakers showing photos of the new Apple AirPods 3, both in person and via renders. While Apple hasn’t been ready to show us yet, it seems like the insiders are all on the same page and now we know what’s coming. If they’re right, they’ll also be up for sale incredibly soon. Some insiders, who also have images of the new AirPods, put the release date at March 23, 2021. Ready for a peek?
While these don’t look exactly like the AirPod Pros, this next generation is definitely taking some of the popular elements from the Pros. We can see the Apple AirPods have shorter stems and a similar shape to the Pros. The Pros earpiece appears wider. The Pro earbuds were made to be noise cancelling. The second generation of AirPods not only had longer stems but a straight angle. Like the Pros, there appears to be a slight angle to this new design for the third generation.
Many will also notice that the new Apple AirPods don’t have the silicone eartips we see in the Pros. There are strong rumors that there will be replaceable eartips that you’ll be able to attach to the new third generation. However, from these photos, it isn’t clear how those would attach. The rumors haven’t made any strong suggestions on how this will work, if it’s true, however it’s assumed it will work similarly to how the Pros are designed.
Apple isn’t giving us too much information on what the big upgrades are with this third generation. However, if you are partial to the second-generation design, you’ll want to be sure you have a pair now. According to Apple Insider, the new Apple AirPods are all ready to ship. This would make sense with other insiders claiming they will be on sale in a matter of weeks. The leaker for Apple Insider also claims that as soon as the new design goes on sale, the second generation will no longer be sold.
This new generation has a definite aesthetic difference, which wasn’t something we saw when we transition from the first generation of Apple AirPods to the second. During that transition, the biggest difference for consumers was the new option for the wireless charging case. Technically, the processor inside them also moved, but most users weren’t likely to notice that. While the second generation gave consumers the option to upgrade to a wireless charging case, the third generation Apple AirPods will have the wireless charging case come as standard. It’s unclear whether the case shown from the leaker will be the case for the new design.
Other features that Apple AirPods users are hoping to have confirmed soon include water resistance and longer battery life. It seems that Apple may not confirm or deny any of these hopes until release day.
The possible March 23rd release date is a big one tech folks are looking at. They aren’t just expecting to hear news of the release for Apple AirPods 3. There are also rumors the company will announce the next iPad Pro, AirTags, and possibly announcements for Apple TV that day. This may happen as a series of press releases or, as many hope, some kind of online event. It’s expected that these big reveals from Apple will happen the same day the next big Android phone is set to be revealed. For fans of the Apple AirPod Pros, don’t fret. Leakers say the second generation will be coming at the end of April 2021.
