Photos Depict Alleged AirPods Pro 2 With Same Design, Case With 'Find My' Speaker Holes and Strap Attachment

Apple is developing second-generation AirPods Pro to follow the AirPods 3, with the new earbuds set to come out in 2022. We've heard little about the next-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ so far, but a rumor from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested they could be stemless.

airpods pro 2 2
MacRumors has now received alleged images of the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ that contradict the stemless design rumors, but they're from a source ("Xerxes") without an established track record and we can't verify their accuracy. The person who provided the images to us said that they come from an "Apple internal source," and the person declined to provide additional information.

The ‌AirPods Pro‌ in the photos features the same design as the original ‌AirPods Pro‌, with the exception of a missing optical sensor toward the underside of each earbud. Apple has moved from optical sensors to a skin-detect sensor in the ‌AirPods 3‌, so it's possible the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will follow suit in that regard.

airpods pro 2 1
Beyond the earbuds themselves, there are more obvious differences in the case. There are speaker holes at the bottom, which is an unusual choice for an AirPods casing design. The source who provided the images says that these speaker holes are being introduced because in iOS 16, Apple will be adding a new feature where "Find My will be available for the case and buds separately." The speaker holes will let the case play a sound to allow it to be located.

The case also depicts a metal loop at the side, which is meant to be for attaching a strap, but Apple has not used this design for any of its other AirPod models and it is unclear why it would be added in this instance. That said, it does not seem out of the realm of possibility that Apple would add a strap.

airpods pro 2 3
On the topic of a stemless design, the source says that the rumors are incorrect, and that Apple will not be eliminating the stem from the next-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌.

MacRumors is a rumors site, as the name suggests, so we thought we'd share these images with our readers even though we cannot verify that these are an accurate representation of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 at this point. Keep in mind that these features have not been confirmed by a source with a known track record for accuracy, and the information should be viewed with some skepticism at this point in time.

As mentioned above, Bloomberg's ‌Mark Gurman‌, who often provides an accurate assessment of Apple's plans, has said that Apple is aiming to make the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 more compact by eliminating the short stem that sticks out from the bottom. Apple has tested a more rounded shape, but getting the hardware of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ into a chassis that's reduced in size has proven difficult, so the plan could be scrapped.

We've heard no other rumors of new features or changes to the case design of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 at this time. It is perhaps worth noting that the first refresh to the original AirPods, the AirPods 2, also did not feature a new design, instead focusing on a wireless charging addition for the case and other internal improvements. The ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 are expected to launch at some point in 2022, but there's no word on when as of yet.

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

Top Rated Comments

cameronp16 Avatar
25 months ago
The strap will be an additional $59 and we are going to love it!
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
25 months ago

Or a U2 chip?

Oh, wait, I'll pass...
You get that U2 chip whether or not you want it.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
25 months ago
It'd be hilarious if instead of the generic lanyard hole, they resurrected the loop from the 5th gen iPod touch.



Attachment Image
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
25 months ago
2 speakers? "find me" in stereo? :p
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CaptMarvel Avatar
25 months ago

2 speakers? "find me" in stereo? :p
Spatial audio bro!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UltimateSyn Avatar
25 months ago

2 speakers? "find me" in stereo? :p
80% more bass ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...
iPhone 15 Pro Max 5x Optical Zoom Limit Feature 1

Apple Explains Why iPhone 15 Pro Max is Limited to 5x Optical Zoom

Wednesday September 20, 2023 9:52 am PDT by
In an interview with Numerama's Nicolas Lellouche, Apple's VP of camera software engineering Jon McCormack explained why the iPhone 15 Pro Max's tetraprism lens system is limited to 5x optical zoom, instead of 10x like on Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra. The interview is in French, so quotes below are computer translated. Apple says the Telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max features the...