Apple is prepping all-new entry-level AirPods to be released this year and a second generation of the wildly-popular AirPods Pro for next year, Bloomberg News reports, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.”
Mark Gurman and Debby Wu for Bloomberg News:
The new base AirPods will mark the first update to the product since March 2019 and will add a new design that mostly mirrors that of the AirPods Pro. The earbuds will come with a new case and shorter stems poking out of the bottom of each one.
The AirPods Pro coming next year will be the first change to that product since October 2019 and will include updated motion sensors with a focus on fitness tracking, the people said, asking not to be named because the plans are private.
For the new AirPods Pro, Apple has also tested a smaller design that eliminates the stems. That look will debut on new Beats-branded wireless earbuds planned to be announced next month.
MacDailyNews Take: Hello, all-new AirPods (sooner than later, we hope)!
“AirPods Pro Lite” are actually AirPods (3rd gen.) which offer the new shorter-stem AirPods Pro design sans active noise cancellation. — MacDailyNews, March 5, 2020
Apple already sells AirPods Pro Lite. They’re called AirPods. – MacDailyNews, February 12, 2020
DigiTimes' "AirPods Pro Lite" are AirPods. That is all. pic.twitter.com/7F0OnWnkFz
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) February 21, 2020
Do shorter stems mean shorter battery life?
If so, not good.
I regularly run out of battery on my Pros, it was never a problem with the original AirPods. You’d think the geniuses at Apple would have added a low battery notification to iOS.