AirPods Pro Now 1,000 Days Old: What to Expect From Next Model

The AirPods Pro launched 1,000 days ago today and are the oldest current-generation Apple device still on sale.

airpods pro in case
Apple announced the AirPods Pro on Monday, October 28, 2019. The earbuds went on sale immediately and orders started arriving to customers on Thursday, October 31.

Apple went on to release the AirPods Max in December 2020 and the third-generation AirPods in October 2021. After the discontinuation of the iPod touch earlier this year, which itself is 1,153 days old today, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ are the oldest current-generation Apple device still on sale, followed by the 2019 Mac Pro, which is 957 days old today.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes have repeatedly said that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will launch in the second-half of 2022, so the new model is now likely just a matter of months away. According to reports from a range of sources, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 are expected to feature:

It has also been suggested that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will feature an updated chip, self-adaptive noise cancellation capabilities, heart rate and temperature sensors, hearing aid capabilities, and a USB-C port, but Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman have cast doubt over this information.

It seems likely that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2's 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.

Support for Lossless audio is among the biggest upgrades expected for the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 and could have ramifications for the AirPods lineup in the future. 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 to bypass the current limits of Bluetooth.

Kuo has narrowed down the launch of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 to the fourth quarter of 2022, which runs from October through December of the year. This means the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 could arrive around three years after their predecessors. For more information, see our detailed AirPods Pro 2 guide.

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

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple Ordered by UK to Create Global iCloud Encryption Backdoor

Friday February 7, 2025 2:37 am PST by
The British government has secretly demanded that Apple give it blanket access to all encrypted user content uploaded to the cloud, reports The Washington Post. The undisclosed order is said to have been issued last month, and requires that Apple creates a back door that allows UK security officials unencumbered access to encrypted user data worldwide – an unprecedented demand not before...
disney

Disney+ Loses 700,000 Subscribers Following Price Increase

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:34 pm PST by
Disney+ lost 700,000 subscribers worldwide in recent months, according to Disney's earnings results for the first quarter of 2025. Disney said it now has 124.6 million Disney+ subscribers, a decrease of 0.7 million compared to its subscriber numbers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The drop in subscribers comes after Disney+ prices increased in the fall. Disney+ with Ads went from $7.99 to...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses to Expand to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday February 5, 2025 6:27 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Below, we outline which U.S. states and territories offer the feature, and additional states that have committed to rolling it out in...

Top Rated Comments

BF1M Avatar
33 months ago
What to expect? Minimal upgrades, substantial price increase, nerds here telling us why we are wrong to be disappointed, all of us buying them.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sajlonix Avatar
33 months ago
AirPods Pro are an essential product for me and I can't imagine a day without them. Apple Can introduce whatever generation/upgrade and I am in..
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ashbash75 Avatar
33 months ago
And they will still fall out my ears ?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SFjohn Avatar
33 months ago

And they will still fall out my ears ?
Foam tips made them stay in for me, they have to be replaced more often, but are worth it… ?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unrigestered Avatar
33 months ago
they should come in earwax yellow, so fingerprints and "stuff" will not be a thing
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
No5tromo Avatar
33 months ago
um, what about the number 1 issue? battery life...

Other issues I've had:

Connectivity issues
Charging issues
Degrading ear tips
Terrible sound quality when used for communication (unbearable over Windows)
No mute option
No volume control
Noise cancelling could improve
Transparency could improve

On the design side, I wouldn't mind some color options but it's not gonna happen
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)