Will we see AirPods 4 today? Well, Gurman said ‘Apple is preparing two new AirPods models’…
A noted tipster says Glowtime equals double AirPods-time
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Ahead of Apple’s much-vauntedIt’s Glowtime iPhone 16 event, taking place today, Monday September 9, (starting at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST… which is 3am September 10 AEST, but you can catch up on the build-up with ourGlowtime live-blogright now), Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman gave his clearest affirmation yet that two new sets of AirPods are coming – and two almost certainly aren’t.
Gurman shared his biggest and most detailed AirPods predictions yet, in aBloomberg missive, ahead of the upcomingApple event. Is this concrete evidence of impendingAirPods 4plus anAirPods ‘Lite’offering? No, because Gurman relies on sources rather than Tim Cook himself, but it’s pretty conclusive if you trust the noted Apple expert – and most people do, where i-prefixed products are concerned.
So whatexactlydid the tech analyst disclose? Here’s summary of what Gurman has prophesised regarding AirPods in the lead up to Apple’s big iPhone 16 reveal (there’s plenty to get through)…
Two new AirPods: the big predictions
Anything else? Actually, yes…
Here’s the thing: today (September 9), it seems Gurman or at least one or two of his sources has had a change of heart andperhaps AirPods Max 2 are in fact coming at Glowtime… I mean, there’s not long to wait now, one way of the other.
Interestingly, theAppletipster also reports that a few weeks ago, “Apple discovered a bug in the upcoming AirPods that made the earbuds quickly drain battery life”. The issue was apparently attributed to software and was resolved prior to factories shipping out the units.
Regular readers may also remember we told you aboutAirPods Pro 2 getting an update for gesture support, for calls/controlahead of the fulliOS 18launch. The smart money says we should be getting a launch date for that feature on Monday.
Look, we shouldn’t be surprised about any of this:Apple’s biggest AirPods launch to date was prophesizedearlier in the year, and a dual AirPods release would be that.
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Yes, it’s sad that we probably won’t see AirPods Pro 3 or AirPods Max 2 on Monday, but come on, it’s been well over two years since the launch ofApple AirPods 3, the most recent earbuds fromTim Cook’s behemoth (because we don’t count the September 2023 addition of a USB-C case charging port, agreed?), and we’ll take two pairs of ice-white buds over nothing at all, thank you very much.
Pricing? Gurman hasn’t specified, but given that the AirPods 3 currently sell for around $179 / £169 / AU$279, somewhere in that ball-park for the mid-tier option seems fitting.
The entry-level set? Impossible to say for sure, but wouldn’t a $99 / £99 / AU$149 price point – something to rival thehugely popular Nothing Ear (a), say – be refreshing?
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Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.
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