Third-generation AirPods with AirPods Pro design for $ 200 and launch in the first half of 2021

Apple’s third-generation AirPods, which are expected to adopt the AirPods Pro design but lack noise canceling and transparency features, will launch in the first half of next year for around $ 200, a new report from. TheElec today.

Not for the first time in the rumor world, today’s report refers to the earbuds as a “Lite” version of the ‌AirPods Pro‌, but TheElec also suggests that they will be priced “20% cheaper” than the $ 249 “AirPods Pro”, bringing them around $ 200.

Apple will launch a Lite version of its Airpods Pro wireless earphones with no noise canceling function in the first half of 2021, TheElec has learned.

A person familiar with the matter said that the Lite version will be 20% cheaper than the normal Airpods Pro with noise canceling technology.

This is the same price as the current second generation AirPods with Wireless Charging Case, suggesting the new model would replace them. If so, Apple’s ‌AirPods‌ lineup would take the AirPods Pro‌ design signature across the board – or at least until Apple releases its second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌, which could look more like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, according to Bloomberg.

Rumors that Apple is working on third-generation AirPods for launch in the first half of next year first surfaced in April 2020 in a note to investors by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo said the new ‌‌‌AirPods‌‌‌ will use the system-in-package (SiP) used for the ‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌‌‌, and later suggested that this would enable a form factor similar to the ‌AirPods Pro‌, with a shorter stem and replaceable ear tips . Kuo also said battery life could be improved, and a lack of noise canceling features would make the ‌AirPods‌ 3 more affordable.

A South Korean vendor is developing the SiAirPods‌ ‘new SiP used for the H1 chip, which is said to have a’ simple square shape ‘as opposed to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ SiP, which is’ round in shape like a mouse ‘, thus TheElec. The vendor will pass Apple’s quality assessment within the year and begin mass production next year, the report adds.