William Gallagher
A report claims that Apple is set to introduce its third iteration of the wireless headphones as 'AirPods Pro,' which will be noise-cancelling and released at the end of October.
According to the China Economic Daily, Apple is to release a new version of its AirPods under the name "AirPods Pro" by the end of this month, which would presumably mean having them in stores for the Christmas period.
Based on unnamed sources within the supply chain, the publication also claims that these AirPods Pro will retail for at least $260.
The reports do fit with previous claims from more consistently reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Back in April, he said that Apple would be releasing two new variations of the AirPods, with one at the end of 2019 and the other in early 2020.
One of his two reported models is expected to retain the form and also price of the current model. However, the other is believed to have an entirely new design and come at a higher price.
More recently, an icon discovered in the beta of iOS 13.2 appears to show that noise-cancelling is coming to the AirPods.
The Chinese-language China Economic Daily is a generally accurate source of information on Apple's supply chain. It has a notably worse track record when talking about Apple's product plans or launch dates.
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Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
36 Comments
Because noise cancelling is such a “Pro” feature...
The Pencil will be next.
/s
Plus, Pro, Family, ... What else is more, cost extra, etc? What I usually really appreciated with Apple was simplicity and simple choice. This seems to fade away. I even have iTunes Match and higher iCloud subscriptions! Where are we going with all these little extras? I sincerely hope Apple soon starts bundling paid services one way or the other, e.g., 2 or 3 price choices, and adding to the these price tagged baskets whatever services you like.