The new AirPods are coming, but you probably won't be happy with them

Although there are no rumors about the arrival of new AirPods this year, mentions of these headphones did appear in the code of the iOS 16.4 RC beta released yesterday. In addition, Apple did not forget to remove from the code not only the code designation of the headphones as such, but also their cases, so it is clear that they will also sell them separately, as is traditional. But the catch is that what will be new doesn't actually have to be new at all.

If anything has been speculated about in connection with AirPods recently, then it was the arrival of a kind of super-cheap generation, which Apple would compete with significantly cheaper brands. Although it was supposed to arrive next year, but given that the AirPods 3 are not doing very well in sales according to the available information and the Pro 2 is also not famous compared to previous generations, Apple can pull this ace out of its sleeve already this year. However, the word ace is perhaps overly optimistic. It is more and more likely that the super-cheap AirPods will actually be just "disguised" AirPods 2, which will either keep the same jacket, but get more powerful hardware, or get the AirPods 3 jacket, but keep the old hardware, which would make the cheap AirPods from AirPods 3 was able to differentiate Apple perfectly. At the same time, variant number 2 seems much more likely for one simple reason, which is production costs. Making one type of body and case simply pays off much more. The upgraded case, which will see a 100% transition from Lightning to USB-C, will then fit both versions, and Apple will then only need to update the AirPods Pro case, the connector in the AirPods Max, and the transition to the headphones is complete.

Gallery

AirPods 3 generation 1

AirPods 3 generation 2

AirPods 3 generation 3

AirPods 3 generation 4

AirPods 3 generation 5

airpods 3 magsafe

Powering the 3rd generation AirPods charging case through MagSafe

Although at the moment we obviously do not know what path Apple will take, we can already say that it will definitely not be innovative or at least new in the true sense of the word. And that's just a shame. Every interesting change, even if it is the smallest in the design, for example, gives the given product an unmistakable charm and often compels apple fans to buy it. Here, however, Apple is likely to let the opportunity slip through its fingers and simply rely on the fact that what made sense before will make sense now thanks to the low price. But history shows that this definitely does not have to be the case. After all, a great example is the iPhone mini following on from the popularity of the iPhone 5, i.e. the iPhone SE 3. We don't have to go far from audio either. After all, AirPods are currently available from a number of sellers in all versions at significantly lower prices than what Apple charges for them, but they still falter in their sales in their own way. At the same time, when they went on sale a few years ago, they were a complete sales hit. So maybe it's time to change the recipe a little so that everything starts to taste the way it did before.

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