Apple could unveil two new AirPods variants alongside the iPhone 16 line next month

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, in his latest edition of the weekly Power On newsletter, says to expect Apple to soon introduce two versions of the fourth-generation AirPods wireless earbuds. This announcement could come as soon as next month with Apple rumored to unveil the iPhone 16 line, the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch SE 3, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on September 10th.

Gurman says that Apple might introduce two different versions of the fourth-generation AirPods with a cheaper variant providing users with basic capabilities, The more expensive model would include active noise cancellation (ANC). The lower-priced model would be expected to replace the second-generation AirPods in Apple's lineup. That model, launched in 2019, is priced at $129 in Apple's online store. The higher-priced model with ANC would take over for the third-generation AirPods. The latter was released in 2021 and is priced at $179.

Both models will look the same, according to Gurman, who adds that the third-generation AirPods Pro will be coming at a later date. If Gurman's report turns out to be true, the higher-priced fourth-generation AirPods will be the first non-Pro version of the earbuds to offer ANC. Currently, consumers seeking AirPods with the ANC feature have to purchase the second-generation AirPods Pro, priced at $249.

The revision to Apple's AirPods lineup will allow the tech giant to change the charging cases across the AirPods lineup to feature a USB-C port instead of the current Lightning port. That would allow the AirPods charging case to match the iPhone 15 series and certain iPad models. Since it is apparent that Apple will move forward with USB-C ports on its devices, taking this opportunity to make the change is certainly appropriate.

Apple's plans most likely call for the second-generation AirPods to be permanently removed from the company's lineup; the third-generation model could remain but at a greatly reduced price. According to analytical firm Canalys, during the first quarter of this year, the AirPods still led the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) market with a 24% share. That gave Apple a resounding 16 percentage point lead over the 8% share owned by both Samsung and Xiaomi.

During Apple's fiscal third quarter, which ended in June, the company's Wearables, Home and Accessories unit which includes the AirPods saw a 2.2% decline in revenue to $8.1 billion.