Apple's entire lineup of AirPods is getting the USB Type-C port.

HIGHLIGHTS

•Two new fourth generation AirPods will arrive in 2024

•Apple recently refreshed AirPods Pro with USB Type-C port

•The new AirPods will see design changes, audio quality upgrades.

entire lineup.

According to a report from Blomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is readying a new version of its entry-level AirPods in 2024 and will follow it up with a new AirPods Pro in 2025. Both products will see changes from top to bottom, with Apple working on a new earbud design, refreshed look for the cases, and audio quality upgrades. Additionally, the company will bring a new version of the top-of-the line $549 (Rs. 59,900 in India) AirPods Max headphones next year.

Apple also plans to discontinue the second and third-generation AirPods later next year, the report says. These will be replaced by two distinct fourth-generation AirPods, which will reportedly get similar pricing to their predecessors, but the two new products will reflect broader differentiation. Gurman says that the higher-priced version of the fourth-generation AirPods will get active noise cancellation feature from the Pro model and an updated charging case. The two models will also get a redesigned look with shorter stems — a mix between the older AirPods and AirPods Pro.

Currently, Apple sells a pair of second-generation AirPods for Rs. 12,900 and a third-generation one for Rs. 19,900, with little that separates the two products. Then, there's the second-generation AirPods Pro, which comes in at Rs. 24,900. Apple recently refreshed the Pro model at its ‘Wonderlust' event in September, adding a USB Type-C port to the case, replacing the Lightening port.

All new AirPods models, including the next AirPods Max, will also get USB Type-C charging as Apple transitions from the Lightening port. The iPhone 15 series, the company's latest lineup of smartphones, launched last month sporting USB Type-C ports, finally laying the infamous Lightening port — first introduced in 2012 with the iPhone 5 — to rest.