- Apple is working on two new variants of AirPods 4 scheduled to launch next month with iPhone 16 series.
- The entry-level variant lacks ANC and wireless charging but will gain a USB-C port.
- The mid-tier variant will have ANC, wireless charging, and USB-C port and will look identical to the entry-level variant.
Apple is on track to launch the iPhone 16 series next month. The Cupertino-based giant is working on two new variants of AirPods 4 as well expected to launch next month. This byte comes from the latest Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter.
Apple is Prepping up Two Variants of AirPods 4
Gurman pointed out that two variants of AirPods 4 are likely in the works. The first is an entry-level variant without ANC likely to replace AirPods 2 while the mid-tier AirPods 4 with ANC will replace AirPods 3 once it arrives in the market.
Price-wise, AirPods 2 launched in early 2019 with a price tag of $90 as its current price (it was launched at $129) making it one of the most affordable TWS from Apple. AirPods 3, on the other hand, was released in October 2021 and retails for $179.
With the two new variants of AirPods 4 in the works, these are likely to replace AirPods 2 and AirPods 3 possibly to bring the USB-C on their charging case. Apple has already adopted USB-C after years of sticking to a proprietary Lightning Port making it difficult for Apple users with interoperability issues.
According to Gurman, the entry-level AirPods 4 will not have any active noise cancellation and thus, will have a cheaper price tag. The mid-tier AirPods 4 will have ANC making it slightly more expensive than the former. There could be some form of wireless charging on the expensive AirPods 4 as well.
This would make the latest lineup of AirPods in-line with the iPhone 15 series, iPhone 16 series, and certain iPad models. Apparently, more devices with USB-C will join the wagon making the move to introduce USB-C on both variants of next-gen buds a wise choice.
Monikers on these two next-gen AirPods models remain a mystery. We are assuming Apple could introduce the ‘Slim’ or ‘Lite’ suffix probably with the mid-tier variant to put it in line with iPhone 17 Slim as well, although the latter is slated to arrive next year only.
