Lumafield today shared CT scan images of the second-generation AirPods Pro charging case, providing a look at internal changes to the case.
While the basic layout of the case appears to be similar to the original, Lumafield discovered that the newly added "lanyard loop" is internally connected to the Lightning connector, which interfaces with the logic board, leading the company to speculate that the metal insert might double as an antenna for the U1 chip or serve some other additional purpose.
There's a new metal eyelet on the side of the case. Apple says it's for a lanyard, but it seems to serve an additional purpose: it's 4 mm deep and 18 mm long, with a hidden tail that's connected to a metal pad around the Lightning port. Perhaps it's an antenna to support improved "Find My" tracking.
The U1 chip enables Find My support, allowing users to track the location of the charging case in the Find My app on their iPhone or on iCloud.com. The case features a new built-in speaker that can emit a chime to help with finding it.
Other improvements to the charging case include water resistance, support for the Apple Watch's magnetic charging puck, and longer battery life.
The new AirPods Pro launched last Friday and are priced at $249 in the United States.
Apple is working on camera-equipped AirPods that appear to be nearly ready to launch, based on a video MacRumors found in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate.
In a short demo, a man holds a book up so the camera in the AirPods can see the title. "With Visual Intelligence, your world becomes savable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later," says the voiceover text.
Here ...
Monday August 31, 2026 12:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple's AirPods with cameras could improve spatial audio on the iPhone and other Apple devices by detecting the position of the display the wearer is looking at. Details on the capability were found in macOS Tahoe 26.7 code, and shared on the MacRumors forums by member pdfu.
Sensors in the current AirPods power a spatial audio head tracking feature, and cameras could take that further. Code...
Tuesday August 18, 2026 11:01 am PDT by Juli Clover
The camera-equipped AirPods that we've confirmed Apple is working on are likely going to be part of the AirPods Pro lineup rather than separate "AirPods Ultra."
A macOS Tahoe 26.7 file that references the new AirPods is labeled "AirPods Pro," hinting at the new name. It's possible that's a placeholder name, so AirPods Ultra isn't entirely out of the question, but given Apple put a full video ...
Form meets function? You can tell Jony isnt there anymore.
Wasn’t he there for the Apple logo serving as an antenna point on some of the iMacs?
I know people like to hate on him, but he has a very elegant view on engineering. The world’s capacity of CNC machines was almost doubled from the introduction of the aluminum unibody chassis and now that’s standard building from most high end machines.
He contributed a lot beyond the look of products, mostly in the actual manufacturing space. The problem was without Steve there to say No to certain things he overreached.
