Apple is rumored to be updating the entire AirPods lineup over the next few years. Here’s what the rumor mill believes is on the way for AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.
Apple’s iconic AirPods have been around for just over eight years, as the first iteration debuted back in 2016. They were announced alongside the iPhone 7, which notably lacked a headphone jack. While you still received a pair of wired EarPods with the iPhone 7, Apple’s AirPods made the same design wireless, bypassing the need for a connector of any kind.
Wireless earbuds were hardly a new concept at the time, but the release of the 2016 AirPods marked the beginning of a new Apple product line. Over the years, the iPhone maker unveiled three separate AirPods upgrades, each delivering new features.
Later, in 2019, we got AirPods Pro, and in 2020, AirPods Max, adding quite a bit of variety to the range.
The AirPods lineup continues to evolve, and rumors suggest that major hardware upgrades are in the works. Leakers and analysts alike have provided details surrounding the different AirPods features that might debut in the next few years, and they have quite a lot to say.
AirPods could gain cameras for Visual Intelligence
The biggest change slated for Apple’s AirPods is a new camera system, which is expected to facilitate Visual Intelligence features on the company’s wireless earbuds. The company wants to expand the availability of Apple Intelligence across its different platforms, and that plan reportedly involves camera-equipped AirPods.
Apple’s camera-equipped AirPods may offer improved Spatial Audio through Apple Vision Pro integration
The notion of such a device, reportedly codenamed B796, first surfaced in February 2024. The same source reiterated claims of camera-equipped AirPods in October 2024, December 2024, January 2025, March 2025, and May 2025.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also suggested Apple’s AirPods could gain a camera — first in June 2024, and then again in May 2025.
The AirPod cameras may not necessarily be a full color version, but could instead use infrared (IR) sensors for depth mapping, according to Kuo. Such a system could be used more for navigational purposes, and potentially use less power than the full video versions.
If implemented, this would allow the AirPods to detect when the user’s environment changes, typically because they have moved their head. The new camera system may also work together with the Apple Vision Pro. Specifically, Kuo says that the camera-equipped AirPods will be able to relay direction to the Apple Vision Pro, which will then adjust the balance of any playing Spatial Audio.
This means that, for example, if a user were to turn their head to look in a certain direction, the Apple Vision Pro would know to emphasize the audio related to what they’re viewing. Ming-Chi Kuo believes that users may be able to control their new-and-improved AirPods with gestures as well.
Such future AirPods could also pass on data to assist the Apple Intelligence engine on an iPhone. The AirPod cameras could add Visual Intelligence information to the iPhone while still in the user’s pocket, for instance.
Visual Intelligence is currently available on the iPhone 16 range and the iPhone 15 Pro, but it could expand to AirPods in the future.
Visual Intelligence is currently available on the iPhone 16 range, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro. It lets users obtain information about their environment through the built-in camera device and Apple Intelligence, a suite of generative AI features.
The idea of the effort is to use the built-in AirPod cameras so that AI can see the outside world, which can be used to deliver detailed information that can enhance queries. For example, a query asking where the user is located may use local sign scans as a way to determine an approximate location, or a user could be told which way a shop is based on storefront imagery.
Kuo claims there will be production capacity for up to 10 million camera-equipped AirPods, and says they will be manufactured by Foxconn. AirPods are already made by Foxconn in India, and there are plans to expand production, so Kuo’s claims seem plausible in that regard.
The entry-level AirPods are only part of Apple’s product line, however, and the company will undoubtedly upgrade the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max as well.
AirPods Pro 3 could receive a redesign, a heart-rate sensor, and more
The next major upgrade to the AirPods Pro is set to debut within a few months, in late 2025. One of Apple’s software releases from May 2025, seemingly confirms that Apple is working on an entirely new model.
The AirPods Pro 3 are expected to feature design changes and ANC improvements.
We’ve heard rumors surrounding heart rate monitoring coming to AirPods Pro 3 for a while, since December 2024. With the launch of the Powerbeats Pro 2, which supports this feature, it seems even more likely. A September 2024 rumor also indicated the feature would be available with the AirPods Pro 3.
Patents dating as far back as 2014 and 2017 indicate Apple considered adding heart-rate sensors to its wireless earbuds. It would be a logical next step to bring the feature over from the PowerBeats Pro 2 to the AirPods Pro 3, as an additional selling point.
Design changes, active noise cancellation improvements, and a new H3 chip are among the other changes rumored for the third-generation AirPods Pro. They’re expected to hit the shelves in the coming months. Based on years past, they’ll be unveiled during Apple’s fall iPhone event around September 2025. If pricing remains consistent, they’ll come out with an MSRP of $249, the same as the AirPods Pro 2.
Lighter AirPods Max and iOS 19 live translation features
As for the AirPods Max, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in May 2025 that Apple was working on a new model. Specifically, Kuo claims that a significantly lighter AirPods Max model will enter mass production in 2027. This means the device might debut during the holiday season that year.
Apple could introduce a lighter AirPods Max model in 2027.
Any reduction in the weight of the new AirPods Max would surely be welcomed by future buyers. For reference, the current version weighs 13.6 ounces, or 384.8 grams. The AirPods Max were last updated in September 2024, when they received a USB-C port, replacing the Lightning port found on the original version.
Apart from the weight reduction, however, no other details about the 2027 AirPods Max model have surfaced. The latest USB-C model received support for lossless and ultra-low latency audio with a recent firmware update. They are, however, identical to the model with the older Lightning port, so an AirPods Max redesign would make sense.
On the software side of things, a March 2025 report suggested that AirPods would gain a live translation feature with the release of iOS 19. If true, this means that Apple’s AirPods will be able to translate in-person conversations from one language to another. Samsung already has a similar Live Translate feature, which is available with OneUI version 6.1 or later. Google’s Pixel Buds offer virtually the same functionality through a dedicated Conversation Mode.
Apple’s patents, AirPods Lite and other rumors
Apple’s patents, meanwhile, contain quite a few ideas for AirPods upgrades. A June 2024 patent revealed the company was considering adding a screen to the AirPods charging case, something that can already be found on knock-off AirPods. The display would allow users to skip through music tracks, among other things.
Apple’s patents show the company has been experimenting with the idea of a screen for the AirPods charging case.
It’s important to remember, however, that the ideas described in Apple’s patents don’t always reach end consumers. With its Bongo project, for instance, Apple filed a patent application for an issue-prone haptic button module that was scrapped, and removed from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 range before they reached mass production.
In February 2020, one rumor suggested that Apple could be working on “AirPods Pro Lite,” a product designed to fill the niche between AirPods and AirPods Pro. However, rumors regarding “AirPods Pro Lite” tapered off by the end of 2020, however. Analyst Jeff Pu made a similar claim about low-cost “AirPods Lite” in January 2023, though this model never materialized either.
Overall, the new camera-equipped AirPods will likely be the star of the show, once they debut. Their existence has been corroborated by multiple sources. The AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, meanwhile, will receive changes that are arguably less impressive, but visually and functionally distinct nonetheless.
This story originally appeared on Appleinsider
