Apple's Plan to Introduce New AirPods Later This Year Reportedly Delayed

Apple's plan to release an updated version of AirPods later this year has been delayed due to the global health crisis, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

AirPods3
This lines up with a recent report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said that mass production of third-generation AirPods will begin in the first half of 2021, followed by mass production of second-generation AirPods Pro between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Kuo also expects Apple's rumored high-end over-ear headphones to enter mass production at some point in mid-2020.

Kuo did acknowledge rumors of new AirPods coming in the second half of 2020, but he said they are "more likely to be the new Beats model." Last month, leaker Jon Prosser claimed that Apple was planning to release so-called "AirPods X" around September or October with a BeatsX-like design for sports and running.

Apple's second-generation AirPods launched in March 2019, while the AirPods Pro were released at the end of October.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Tag: Nikkei
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

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Top Rated Comments

roland.g Avatar
68 months ago
My AirPods are 2 years old. Bought them for my wife for Mother’s Day along with a Watch which she loves but she never used the AirPods. After 6 months in a drawer I started using them and have for 18 months or so. Because the mic on traditional wired headphones was on the right ear bud, I use that one for all my calls and rarely listen to music with them. Mostly just for calls and music on the occasional workout. After 18 months of use the right AirPod won’t hold much of a charge at all. The left is ok but not fantastic. Do I buy a replacement right AirPod to get a new battery or wait until a next generation. It is unfortunate these devices have a fairly short life span because of the inherent problem of a high use device relying on a tiny battery. Only so many charge cycles it can handle.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
68 months ago

My AirPods are 2 years old. Bought them for my wife for Mother’s Day along with a Watch which she loves but she never used the AirPods. After 6 months in a drawer I started using them and have for 18 months or so. Because the mic on traditional wired headphones was on the right ear bud, I use that one for all my calls and rarely listen to music with them. Mostly just for calls and music on the occasional workout. After 18 months of use the right AirPod won’t hold much of a charge at all. The left is ok but not fantastic. Do I buy a replacement right AirPod to get a new battery or wait until a next generation. It is unfortunate these devices have a fairly short life span because of the inherent problem of a high use device relying on a tiny battery. Only so many charge cycles it can handle.
My airpods are 2 years old, always used as a pair, and when one of them gets into the red with under 10%, the other still has 39-40%. The difference was already there maybe 15-20% when they weren't a year old, I went to Apple and they said it was "within spec". Bullshizzle if you ask me.

But yeah, such is life with expensive disposable products, because the headphone jack was so bad.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yr Blues Avatar
68 months ago

My AirPods are 2 years old. Bought them for my wife for Mother’s Day along with a Watch which she loves but she never used the AirPods. After 6 months in a drawer I started using them and have for 18 months or so. Because the mic on traditional wired headphones was on the right ear bud, I use that one for all my calls and rarely listen to music with them. Mostly just for calls and music on the occasional workout. After 18 months of use the right AirPod won’t hold much of a charge at all. The left is ok but not fantastic. Do I buy a replacement right AirPod to get a new battery or wait until a next generation. It is unfortunate these devices have a fairly short life span because of the inherent problem of a high use device relying on a tiny battery. Only so many charge cycles it can handle.
Would be nice to have user replaceable battery. Unscrew the cap, stick one in. It's 2020. Must be the financial department still running things.

Companies don't really support renewable products. Planned obsolescence is still a thing.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
68 months ago

Assuming the AirPods were in the drawer with full battery, the battery capacity might have degraded slightly since they weren't used at all. " Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life." from: https://www.apple.com/hk/en/batteries/maximizing-performance/
Fairly common knowledge that AirPods are not living past 18-24 months. Some are getting longer but not the hoped for 4-5 years.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
68 months ago

My airpods are 2 years old, always used as a pair, and when one of them gets into the red with under 10%, the other still has 39-40%. The difference was already there maybe 15-20% when they weren't a year old, I went to Apple and they said it was "within spec". Bullshizzle if you ask me.

But yeah, such is life with expensive disposable products, because the headphone jack was so bad.
I agree but I don’t have an issue with the headphone jack. Use the lighting buds in my opinion if you will suffer wired. I’m not a walk around with Bluetooth in my ear kind of person but I have been using some sort of wireless or CarPlay or car Bluetooth for years. Bought the Dash by Bragi which were the first AirPods style wireless earbuds out and used them till I took over my wife’s AirPods. I just can’t stand pulling a tangled set of headphones out and I don’t want to hold the phone during calls. Usually I am talking and need my hands free or simply prefer the comfort of it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
68 months ago

Pipeline too cluttered Timo?
Yeah, he’s probably really worried with all these speculative reports.

Tim actually has a clue what’s going on at Apple.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)