Apple Seemingly Preparing for Devices With Bluetooth 5.2, Which Could Hint at AirPods Pro With LE Audio
Apple appears to be preparing for future devices with Bluetooth 5.2 support, according to a filing in the Bluetooth SIG products database earlier this month. Among other possibilities, this could serve as evidence of future AirPods Pro with LE Audio support.
Apple's filing references a Bluetooth 5.3 host subsystem that is likely intended for future products. However, in actuality, the filing likely refers to Bluetooth 5.2, as the Bluetooth versions listed in Apple's filings in the database are often one version number higher than the version that ends up being supported on a device, for reasons unclear.
For example, the Beats Studio Buds are listed with Bluetooth 5.3 when they actually support Bluetooth 5.2, according to reviews of the headphones, while many iPhone and iPad models are listed with Bluetooth 5.1 despite supporting Bluetooth 5.0.
With all of that confusion surrounding version numbers aside, Apple adopting Bluetooth 5.2 would be especially beneficial for AirPods, as the specification includes support for LE Audio with several improvements to wireless audio streaming.
LE Audio is part of the low-energy Bluetooth LE standard. According to The Verge, benefits of LE Audio for wireless headphones like AirPods could include improved audio quality, longer battery life, the ability to connect more than two pairs of AirPods to a single iPhone, and the ability for each individual left and right AirPod to have its own Bluetooth connection to an iPhone to prevent desynchronization during audio playback.
In July, the Bluetooth SIG said it anticipates availability of products with support for LE Audio to ramp up by the end of 2022. Apple is expected to launch second-generation AirPods Pro by the end of the year, but it remains to be seen if they support Bluetooth 5.2 or LE Audio. It also remains to be seen if Apple would add LE Audio support to the Beats Studio Buds with a firmware update given those earbuds already support Bluetooth 5.2.
Popular Stories
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that...
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,...
Apple's first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "As the world awaits Apple's big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device," said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. "That means there's no cloud processing component to the...
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we've ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you'll get free 2-day shipping, an...
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that the first Macs with M4 series chips will be released later this year, with more models to follow next year. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman shared a more specific roadmap for these Macs. Here is the order in which Gurman expects the Macs to launch:1. A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, coming around the end of 2024. 2. A 24-inch ...
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Apple's hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things ...
Top Rated Comments
I've got a pair, and while they're great they don't support lossless audio (launched after the headphones), they need to migrate to usb c, and they need to get better at switching between devices if you've got a lot of them. At times they just get non-responsive and need to be reset since they won't connect to anything.
And they need a better case,
Can't wait for the vanilla iPad to lose it's jack and I gotta start doing this crap with it too.
I was disappointed that the M2 Air doesn’t came with Bluetooth 5.2.