Apple AirPods are getting a dramatic redesign. At least, that’s what we’re guessing from a new icon unearthed inside the latest iOS 13.2 developer beta, which shows a new pair of wireless earbuds could actually look like.
Rumours of an overhauled AirPod design with active noise-cancellation are nothing new. But this is the first time we’ve seen anything concrete.
Following the update to iOS 13, your iPhone will display a small icon of what device is currently playing audio when you press the volume keys. This is designed to make it easier for users to work out whether they’re adjusting the volume on their Bluetooth speaker, AirPods, or the iPhone itself.
The icon unearthed in the latest beta of iOS 13.2 will seemingly be used to illustrate the new AirPods when adjusting the volume from the iPhone. Eagle-eyed developers discovered the icon in the Accessibility settings.
That suggests these new AirPods will be able to work as hearing aids, just like the first and second-generation wireless earbuds from Apple.
Other references found inside the new mobile operating system strongly suggest the new AirPods will have different listening modes – with or without noise cancelling. Apple seems to refer to noise-cancellation as “focus mode” within iOS.
It’s possible the AirPods 3 with noise cancellation will be announced this month. Apple is widely-expected to hold another media event, where the company will also announce updates to the iPad Pro with faster internals, a new iPad Air, and a redesigned MacBook Pro with a new keyboard, edge-to-edge display and Face ID facial recognition.
AirPods are comfortably the best-selling wireless earbuds available right now, accounting for around 60 percent of all sales worldwide.
However, Apple hasn’t really shaken-up the design since the initial launch in December 2016. This has enabled competitors to carve out their own niches to cater to customers that Apple isn’t serving at the moment.
Sony WF-1000XM3 offer the same noise-cancelling smarts as its best-selling over-ear headphones in a wireless earbud, while the forthcoming Surface Earbuds have a large touch surface on the outside to enable a slew of different gestures to control all aspects of playback. The latter also handle translations in real-time, like your own personal interpreter whispering in your ear.
Even Amazon is getting in on the action – bringing its talkative AI assistant to a pair of true wireless buds with active noise-cancellation.