What you need to know
- Apple may have started production of its next model of AirPods.
- The AirPods Studio will reportedly be over-ear headphones.
- They are rumored to cost $349 and could debut as soon as WWDC.
Production has reportedly begun on Apple's new AirPods Pro, a set of over-ear headphones rumored to cost $349.
As reported by MacRumors:
Rumors have generally suggested a summer or fall launch for AirPods Studio, with a report earlier this week claiming that suppliers in Vietnam will begin shipments to Apple in June or July, but a new report from Taiwanese site DigiTimes indicates that production on the new headphones is already underway.
According to Digitimes:
As Apple is likely to accelerate dropping its wired earphones, the vendor will resume normal shipments for AirPods 2 in the second half of the year and its new over-ear headphones, dubbed AirPods Studio, has also kicked off production, all securing growth momentum for rigid-flex boards suppliers for the devices, including Unitech Printed Circuit Board and Compeq Manufacturing, the sources said.
Not only does this report suggest Apple's new AirPods Studio has gone into production, it also seems to confirm recent reports that Apple might drop wired earphones from production, potentially eschewing them from the iPhone 12.
In a previous report, serial leaker Jon Prosser reported that Apple's over-ear headphoens are touted to debut at WWDC, and that Apple is sticking with its AirPods branding, naming the new product 'AirPods Studio'. They will reportedly cost around $350, and Prosser compared them to Bose's 700 Headphones. Features that might be included are rumored to be neck detection (for when you take them off), automatic orientation sensing, and swappable fabrics for different uses like exercise.
