It’s no secret that Apple AirPods are the most popular truly wireless earbuds on the market. They’re a huge success for the iPhone maker, and for good reason. Apple has released three generations of its vanilla AirPods, along with two generations of AirPods Pro and the standalone AirPods Max. Now, Apple could be preparing to launch the fourth generation AirPods in 2024, as detailed by Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter.
He notes that the current third-generation AirPods have proven to be not as successful as the previous ones, and at $179, or Rs 19,900 in India, they are more expensive than the AirPods 2 but just barely undercut the more feature-rich AirPods Pro 2. And this is why many customers gravitate towards the cheaper options. Apple is looking to solve this by introducing two new models of the AirPods fourth generation—one with active noise cancellation and one without it.
Per the report, these models would bring an updated design, USB-C charging, and a redesigned case as well; while the higher-end of the two models will bring the active noise cancellation feature.
Apart from bringing the fourth generation AirPods, Apple is also expected to launch the updated AirPods Max, but because these don’t sell as much as the vanilla and Pro AirPods, Apple may not work entirely on rebuilding the hardware and the software experience but just update the model with new colours and make the switch to USB-C charging.
And finally, the next-generation AirPods Pro, which would make it the third generation, is also expected to launch sometime in 2025. The report adds that the design isn’t final yet, but Apple is looking at focusing on comfort and adding health-tracking features.
