Apple’s AirPods will soon get an upgrade that includes wireless charging support, an Apple analyst predicts.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Users of Apple’s wireless earbud line can expect some major upgrades in the next two years, a prominent Apple analyst predicts.
Apple will release upgraded AirPods with “wireless charging support” in the first quarter of 2019, Ming-Chi Kuo forecast in a note seen by AppleInsider. The earbuds are also expected to get an upgrade to Bluetooth 5.0 and a W-series chip.
Another upgrade due before the end of 2020 will feature an unspecified “all-new design,” according to the report. Kuo also expects the revision to have “high integration with iOS and Mac products.”
German-language site MacPrime reported last year that a wireless AirPod charging case was in the works that would pair with Apple’s AirPower Charging Mat. AirPower was rumored to debut in September, but we haven’t seen any announcement yet.
AirPods 2, the rumored high-end wireless earphones with noise cancellation, water resistance and wireless charging, also didn’t show up at the Apple event.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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