According to AppleInsider, the news is sourced from a note written by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who also made sales forecasts for the AirPods, estimating a colossal 110 million units will be sold by 2021.

The charging case would also come with some other improvements, like a better hinge, and the earbuds themselves would be given some internal reworking alongside the wireless charging capability. Part of this would be the use of Bluetooth 5, the latest version of the technology that will improve power usage and the signal’s reliability and range. The other component would be a new W-Series chip, the processor series that Apple uses in its wireless devices including the Apple Home and Watch, plus a few selected Beats audio devices.

 

The 2020 upgrade is intended to be a new generation of the AirPods, provisionally named ‘AirPods 2.0’ by fans, the idea being that the improvements will be significant enough to encourage users to replace their existing pair.

This follows the news in November that two new Apple devices had successfully earned Bluetooth certification, suspected to be two different models of Airpods with different specifications, with one included previously rumoured features like health tracking and Apple Watch integration. Sadly, hopes of a launch of the new version(s) before the end of 2018 now seem to be dashed by what Kuo has said.

While Kuo has proved to be reliable with his predictions in the past, he hasn’t been 100% accurate. Don’t take this news at face value, but more as a possibility of what Apple could be up to with its wireless earbuds in the near future.

 

By Richard Priday