A new version of the AirPods may be coming sooner than everyone expects. Digging through the iOS 13.2 beta, 9t05Mac found several references pertaining to a new iteration of Apple's popular wireless earbuds featuring noise cancellation.
The new iOS 13.2 beta build even offers a preview of what they could look like.
AirPods With Noise Cancellation
9to5Mac posted the glyph image within the beta that shows what's allegedly the upcoming AirPods. The glyph is just a plain 2D gray and white icon, though even that is enough to show some pretty significant design changes over the current-generation model.
The most prominent aberration is that the new AirPods will have an in-ear form factor instead of the traditional ear tips featured on the current version. These new in-ear tips appear to extend out from the white stems, and much like other in-ear headsets, it's expected to provide a more snug fit and not come off easily when, say, the user is jogging.
Although the noise cancellation feature is still a rumor, there's no reason Apple would change to an in-ear design if it wasn't going to add such that functionality, so it's safe to say the upcoming AirPods model will feature it. This design should offer a better seal with the user's ear that reduces the level of ambient noise around.
Noise Cancellation
Noise cancellation is something a lot of headphone manufacturers have been offering, even before Apple. As such, it makes sense for the Cupertino brand to finally add it to its AirPods lineup, which will only make the pair of earbuds even more appealing to those who want to shut the whole world out when they listen to music. It's not clear at the moment the extent of features Apple's noise cancellation will offer. Some earbuds let users easily turn noise cancellation on or off when, say, they want to hear the surrounding noise for some reason.
9t05Mac's report says iOS 13.2 contains references to a "focus mode" that can be toggled on or off. It's not clear what this refers to, exactly, but it could be what Apple calls the noise cancellation feature, and if so, that means users will be able to turn the feature on or off at will.
Bear in mind, however, that everything mentioned above are still rumors, so make sure to take them with a grain of salt. The Verge says Apple could unveil this new iteration at an event later this month, where it could also unwrap the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro, new iPad Pro models, and others. Stay tuned as we learn more.
