According to YouTuber Luke Miani, Apple will announce the new AirPods this Tuesday, May 18, in a press release on the website. At the same time, Apple could announce better audio quality with the arrival of Apple Music HiFi. There were already instructions for this in the code of iOS before. The music can then be streamed in a higher quality. You may need an extra bundle for it and it will only work on certain hardware like the AirPods Max.
In 2019, Apple also announced the AirPods Pro via a press release. The new AirPods don't need much more either: they have a slightly improved design that is more like the Pro's, but don't feature active noise cancellation. A special event would be an exaggeration for this. A new version is welcome for many people: the current standard AirPods received an update with wireless charging in 2019 and have already had their best time in terms of battery life, if you use them daily. The first generation of AirPods was also due for renewal after three years.
However, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods will go into mass production in the third quarter of this year. That doesn't match the current May 18 rumor. We take it with a grain of salt. But if you're planning to buy AirPods, it's best to wait until the 18th.
Below is our original article from March 16, 2021.
For a long time it was expected that Apple would announce the new AirPods this month. There have been rumors for a few months about a new set of standard AirPods, with a design that matches that of the AirPods Pro. A release in March, in combination with a possible event, seemed logical timing. But in recent days we hear more and more reports that the release of the AirPods 3 is still a while away.
& lsquo; Release AirPods 3 not in March & rsquo;
This time it is the rumored lover L0vetodream who announced on the Chinese Weibo with a cryptic message that the release of the AirPods 3 is not yet imminent. In his (translated) post he says & ldquo; dream of no AirPods, no AirPods & rdquo ;. He has often made correct predictions with such cryptic messages in the past. It is not known how he obtained his information.
His post seems to echo Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's prediction that mass production of the AirPods 3 will not start until the third quarter of 2021. That would mean that the third-generation AirPods wouldn't be available until the summer or September.
There are also still sources like Jon Prosser who claim the AirPods are ready to be released. Of course, that does not mean that Apple will actually release them soon. There are more things to consider than production for the release of products like the AirPods 3.
Incidentally, we are still waiting for the date of Apple's possible March 2021 event to be announced. If that event does happen, it would be announced today or this week.
Read more about what to expect in our earlier preview of AirPods in 2021.