AirPods Pro 2 might bring a feature that Samsung was experimenting with in 2018
Apple's original AirPods have been refreshed a few times already and are up to AirPods 3rd gen. But the highly-successful AirPods Pro are yet to get an upgrade. Apple was certainly in no hurry to do any redesigns for the AirPods Pro — they are well-liked, they support all the flashy features like Spatial Audio and wireless charging.
But, rumors have been adamant that AirPods Pro 2 are coming — in late 2022. Perhaps together with the iPhone 14, who knows?
Not a lot of info on the future AirPods Pro 2 so far, however, analysts are claiming a redesign is coming — allegedly, Apple will get rid of the microphone stems, reshaping the AirPods Pro 2 be much stealthier buds.
Now, an extra bit of information coming from Mark Gurman and Debby Wu from over at Bloomberg claims that the Apple AirPods Pro 2 will have fitness sensors embedded into them. Supposedly, you'd be able to track your workouts without needing an Apple Watch of an iPhone on you. Or — knowing Apple — the new sensors in the AirPods Pro 2 could possibly be picked and designed to work best if you have an Apple Watch paired with them.
And yes, we've seen before — Samsung Gear IconX were introduced in 2018 as autonomous earbuds. You could just put them on and jog — the Gear IconX has 4 GB of storage for some music and sensors to track your workout.
However, with the new Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds 2, Samsung seems to have decided to drop the fitness features. Maybe there was a snag in the road, or maybe not enough people were interested in such a feature set. Whatever challenges Samsung met with the IconX, it's curious to see how Apple would tackle them.
Another popular Apple analyst — Ming Chi Kuo — states that the H1 chip that's inside the current generation of AirPods will also be replaced in the new Pro 2 line. The H1 is responsible for the AirPods audio reproduction and noise cancellation. Supposedly, the upgrade will allow you to enjoy lossless audio on the new AirPods Pro 2. It only makes sense — Apple Music was upgraded to offer lossless in late 2021, so Apple's hardware portfolio needs to catch up.
Of course, we are also expecting the charging case of the AirPods Pro 2 to have a water-resistance rating, like the case on the still-fresh AirPods 3.
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