Report Claims AirPods 3 With Noise Canceling Feature to Launch Later This Year

DigiTimes reports this morning that Apple is set to launch third-generation AirPods with a noise cancelation function by the end of the year, a claim at odds with rumors that Apple's AirPods 3 have been pushed back to 2020.

airpodsincase

Apple is reportedly set to release its third-generation AirPods for sales by the end of 2019, with the new wireless earphones to incorporate a noise cancellation function. And Taiwan's Inventec reportedly will be the major assembler of AirPods 3, while China's Luxshare Precision will also grab part of the orders for the new device, according to industry sources.

Today's report claims that Apple will fend off competition from rival brands of true wireless earbuds by including a noise-canceling function in its third-generation AirPods, although doing so could throw up new design and assembly challenges.

The sources said that noise cancellation is not a new technology, but a technology hard to harness. On the one hand, semiconductor devices can hardly work without suffering electromagnetic disturbance, and on the other hand how the structural design of the noise forward feedback microphone can be done well to achieve harmonious operation with other devices is a great challenge for designers and assemblers.

In addition, earphones with noise-cancellation function will consume more power than those without, and it remains to be seen how Apple will do to reduce power consumption, the sources indicated.

Taiwan's Inventec is said to be uniquely positioned to meet the production challenges of ‌AirPods 3‌, thanks to its extensive assembly experiences, giving the manufacturer a better chance of winning assembly orders from Apple than China's Luxshare Precision. As it stands, the assemblers command an equal share of orders for AirPods 2, which launched just last month.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also claimed that Apple's third-generation AirPods could include noise cancellation features, as well as a new design, and perhaps improved water resistance that will allow the AirPods to hold up to "splashes of water and rain." However, Gurman believes that ‌AirPods 3‌ won't be coming until 2020, based on his understanding that Apple's second-generation AirPods were delayed by a year, which has pushed back the earbuds' launch cycle.

Apple released AirPods 2 in March with optional wireless charging and hands-free Siri functionality. For all the details on what's different between the first-gen and second-gen AirPods models, check out our dedicated comparison guide.

Related Roundup: AirPods Pro
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

Top Rated Comments

fokmik Avatar
64 months ago
Please erase DIGITIMES as rumour source
Digitimes last time said airpower is in mass production
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Infinite Vortex Avatar
64 months ago
Don't noise cancelling headphones need to seal in one way or other? That sort of rules out AirPods without a design change before its begun.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
omihek Avatar
64 months ago
My guess is they postponed launch of AirPods 2 to try to finish up and release the AirPower, but when they realized that wasn't going to happen, they finally released them. I bet the AirPods 3 have been in development since early last year when the AirPods 2 were finished.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wiesenlooser Avatar
64 months ago
Don't noise cancelling headphones need to seal in one way or other? That sort of rules out AirPods without a design change before its begun.
No. What you are refering to is PASSIVE Noise cancellation. While it works better to combine active and passive noise cancellation, it is not necessary per se.
[doublepost=1556098027][/doublepost]
Please erase DIGITIMES as rumour source
Digitimes last time said airpower is in mass production
Who said it wasn't? Maybe they were starting production and then realized they couldn't get the potential flaws under control.
[doublepost=1556098106][/doublepost]
My guess is they postponed launch of AirPods 2 to try to finish up and release the AirPower, but when they realized that wasn't going to happen, they finally released them. I bet the AirPods 3 have been in development since early last year when the AirPods 2 were finished.
I would agree with that. I guess Airpods 2 is a last year product. There are many things pointing to that conclusion such as the conference video that features airpods with Hey Siri months before it was released.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
triton100 Avatar
64 months ago
Noise cancelation is overrated. The only time I'd want it is if I'm on a plane or very loud metro, but to walk around the city with such headphones one must be a complete moron.
Living in a city environment with lots of noise everywhere what’s the point of wearing AirPods when you cannot comfortably hear the music ? The only way to do so is by turning up the volume loud and most likely to levels that could cause hearing damage. Doesn’t seem very moronic to want to protect your hearing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
drumcat Avatar
64 months ago
This is bogus. Without a seal, it's pointless. If they're going to add NR, they have to fundamentally change the design. That's possible, but seems unlikely.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...