What you need to know
- Apple is rumored to have plans to launch new AirPods Pro and AirPods Max this year.
- It's possible any refreshed AirPods products could support lossless audio for the first time.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman points to new AirPods Max colors coming to market.
Apple's highest-end audio equipment could be getting a refresh before the end of the year with new colors also potentially in the works.
Writing via the weekly Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that we should expect refreshed AirPods Pro to be announced this fall, with the design that's being sold today coming up to three years old. We've heard rumors of new AirPods Pro being worked on for some time now, with support for lossless audio one potential feature.
As for the costly AirPods Max, Gurman also believes Apple could offer a new look here as well. Specifically, talk of new color options will please those who aren't fans of the current offerings while Gurman also mentions a price drop. That, however, appears to be mode a case of wishful thinking than anything based on information he has picked up from sources. The current $550 price point is a hard pill to swallow for buyers, but that doesn't mean people aren't doing so.
Look out for new AirPods Pro in the fall. The current model has been on the market since fall of 2019, so the batteries are already probably in trouble for some early adopters. Also look out for an AirPods Max refresh with new colors (and, we hope, a price drop—$550 is absurd for those headphones).
If Apple does bring lossless playback to new AirPods Pro we can safely expect it to also be a feature added to the refreshed AirPods Max, too. How Apple will make that happen isn't clear, however — the Bluetooth technology used by wireless headphones doesn't support lossless audio, suggesting some form of bespoke connection would be used instead.
The current AirPods Pro are among the best iPhone earbuds on sale and AirPods Max are well suited to hours of listening while sitting at a Mac. But the addition new colors definitely wouldn't go amiss. Hopefully AirPods Pro will even get an option other than white this year.
