According to analyst Min-Chi Kuo in a tweet noticed by 9to5Mac, Apple is working on an upgrade to the AirPods Max headphones and designing an AirPods “light” with a $99 target price. The new items, however, will not be available anytime soon, with the more cheap AirPods expected to be available no early than the second half of 2024, according to Kuo.
Apple would most certainly be attempting to reclaim market share from the numerous inexpensive wireless buds on the market with the AirPods light (or LE, or whatever Apple chooses to name them). The current AirPods 2 are $129, while the AirPods 3 are $169, however both are often reduced. Neither has active noise cancellation, but competitors like as Oppo offer ANC for less than $100.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s concentration on its AR headset will result in a “muted 2023” for other goods, so new audio items won’t be available anytime soon. According to Kuo, the next-generation AirPods, including the less priced variant, would be available in the second half of 2024 or the early part of 2025. He did not provide a release date for the AirPods Max, although they have not received an upgrade since their first release in December 2020.
Apple added Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, as well as a new design, Adaptive EQ, IPX4 sweat and water resistance, longer battery life, enhanced voice clarity, and other features in the third-generation 2021 AirPods. The product’s biggest flaws were on fit, sound quality, and cost.
