Leaker Mr-White, who has shared accurate details about Apple’s product plans in the past, tweeted today alleged images of internal hardware to be used in the second-generation AirPods Pro earbuds expected to be released sometime in 2021.
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In the photos below, the hardware on the right side of the picture appears to be the current AirPods Pro hardware, while the hardware on the right is designed for the next generation AirPods Pro. The cables come in two different sizes, suggesting Mr White is an indication that the AirPods Pro 2 might come in two sizes.
Rumors out Bloomberg have suggested that the second generation version of the AirPods Pro will have a more compact design that eliminates the short stem protruding from the bottom. The AirPods Pro could have a round shape more like earbuds from companies like Google and Samsung, and for this design it might make sense to offer different sizes for a better fit.
Apple would struggle to downsize the AirPods to the correct size to eliminate the stem, so there’s a chance it won’t, which could explain why the hardware designs shared by Mr-White are similar in size seem to be with the current AirPods Pro hardware.
There are also rumors that AirPods Pro will have a new wireless chip. Mr-White says the new AirPods Pro still has a “W2 chip”, but it is unclear what that means. The current AirPods Pro uses an H1 processor that does have a wireless chip that is a successor to the original W1 chip in the first generation hetAirPods, so it is possible that W2 here refers to the H1 and does not indicate new wireless chip technology.
Mr-White has shared accurate Apple details in the past, but is not always accurate. Earlier this year, Mr-White shared images of a braided cable allegedly for the iPhone 12 series, but it failed. He has also said Apple is working on a black Apple Pencil, and that has yet to be released. However, he shared early leaks of Apple’s iPhone 12 case and display unit, which were accurate.
There is no word yet when exactly an updated version of the AirPods Pro will be released, but the updated earbuds are expected sometime in 2021.