Kuo: AirPods Pro 2 to Feature Lossless Support and Sound-Emitting Charging Case

Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro will feature support for Lossless audio and a charging case that can emit a sound for location tracking purposes, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

AirPods Pro Gen 3 Mock Feature
In a note to investors, seen by MacRumors, Kuo explained that the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ will feature new selling points that will lead to strong demand, including support for Apple Lossless (ALAC) audio and a charging case that users can trigger a sound from to highlight its location.

It seems likely that this sound-emitting charging case will integrate into the Find My app, similar to how users can currently emit a sound from their individual AirPods inside the case to help find them. This lines up with alleged leaked photos of the next-generation AirPods Pro, which showed a charging case with speaker holes to emit a sound for location tracking, allowing the earbuds and the case to be located separately.

All of Apple's current AirPods products, including the third-generation AirPods, ‌AirPods Pro‌, and AirPods Max, do not support Lossless audio. This is because AirPods play audio via Bluetooth, limiting them to the AAC codec. Higher quality Apple Lossless Audio Codec files may need to be streamed to AirPods directly to circumvent Bluetooth and enable a Lossless listening experience, but it is possible that Apple could develop an alternative solution.

Kuo also reiterated that the next-generation earbuds will feature a new design and launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is slightly later than the third-quarter prediction suggested by other rumors. Kuo still believes that AirPods may support health monitoring features in the future, but did not directly associate this rumor with the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌.

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

Top Rated Comments

ChromeCloud Avatar
30 months ago
It’s pretty pointless to use a lossless codec in earbuds such as the AirPods Pro: the benefit is too small compared to the cost.

AAC 256 is pretty transparent and difficult to spot even when using high end speakers in a perfect listening environment (no background noise).

Lossless on AirPods will only achieve <1% better sound while consuming 20-50% more battery.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFather Avatar
30 months ago
Lossless audio not supported on the $550 AirPods Max.

Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ApplesAreSweet&Sour Avatar
30 months ago

It’s pretty pointless to use a lossless codec in earbuds such as the AirPods Pro: the benefit is too small compared to the cost.

AAC 256 is pretty transparent and difficult to spot even when using high end speakers in a perfect listening environment (no background noise).

Lossless on AirPods will only achieve <1% better sound while consuming 20-50% more battery.
People are nuts for thinking there’s a massive and noticeable difference from 256kbps or 320kbps and up -Yes, there is an audible difference if you are listening on top of the line speakers or headphones. But not on small headsets.

The real, important difference is heard when going from 96kbps to 128kbps, 128 to 192, 192 to 256, etc.

I’ve seen several blind tests done with audio experts and most of them can’t even tell the difference, and those that can need a lot of time to decide what is lossless and what is not.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
30 months ago
Lossless cannot happen under bluetooth. This will probably be only available via wifi.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
30 months ago
I’m definitely planning on getting the new AirPods Pro 2

Lossless sound will be an awesome feature! I have Apple Music which includes lossless and use it all the time on my HomePod - Definitely makes a difference in the audio quality
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seanmills1020 Avatar
30 months ago

Free Lossless Audio Codec.

It’s for Audio coding format for lossless of compression of digital audio.

More info here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC
Apple initially wanted to call its format Apple Free Lossless Audio Codec, but AFLAC was taken.

KIDDING. ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, SEGA Genesis,...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. The lack of ...