Apple AirPods

Barclays has released its latest analyst report. The analysts, who have a mixed track record of accuracy, indicate continued iPhone 8 and iPhone X ‘weakness’ is being partly offset by continued sales of iPhone 7. Most interestingly, the report says to expect new AirPods in early 2019 with noise cancelling features.

Due to the small form factor of AirPod earbuds, noise cancelling is very unlikely to rival bigger cans with active noise cancellation like the Beats Studio 3. However, Barclays suggests that there will be design changes and improvements over the current AirPods.

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AirPods remain a hot commodity even a year later, but they’re definitely not worth unemployment. Unfortunately, it sounds like a New Orleans police officer may have miscalculated that equation during a recent Apple Store visit…

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Bloomberg sources corroborate an earlier KGI report that Apple is working on high-end, over-ear headphones intended to compete with Bose.

The report adds a couple of specifics, but both of them were already no-brainers …

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Alongside the announcement of the iPhone 7 and its controversial removal of the headphone jack, Apple teased its truly wireless AirPods. After a brief delay, they were released just before the end of 2016, in very limited supply.

Since then, despite continued supply troubles, AirPods have gradually grown in popularity and we’re now preparing for version 2 of the wireless headphones coming later this year.

Over the last year, AirPods have become one of my most used tech products, but here’s why I don’t plan on upgrading to this year’s release…

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KGI suggested recently that Apple is planning to release ‘high-end’ over-ear headphones at some point, with late fall the earliest date at which they might be seen.

I observed at the time that my HomePod experience has made me feel somewhat optimistic about the audio quality we might expect from them. Styling-wise, my guess was that they’d be simple and white. One site has now put together concept images of what the headphones might look like …

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A KGI note over the weekend suggested that Apple is planning to release new ‘high-end over-ear headphones‘ – though not until late fall at the earliest.

Without my experience of the HomePod, I’d have merely shrugged at the report. Apple hasn’t exactly made a name for itself for headphone quality, either through its own-brand EarPods and AirPods, or through the Beats-branded products it has promoted since buying the company …

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Apple is working on a new version of the AirPods truly wireless earbuds for release later this year, featuring a new wireless chip and support for ‘Hey Siri’ activation, according to a report from Bloomberg today. This is despite the fact the first-generation model continue to be supply constrained on Apple.com, more than a year after release.

This would mean users would be able to interact with Siri hands-free, an improvement over the current AirPods hardware which requires an awkward double-tap gesture. The report says that Apple is also developing a future model with water resistance.

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A Florida man claims that one of his AirPods started smoking while he was listening to music. As reported by WFLA, Tampa resident Jason Colon was working out at his local gym when he noticed his right AirPod “billowing” smoke…

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Qualcomm has said that its latest Bluetooth chip will allow future wireless in-ear headphones to become smaller, more reliable and smarter.

Reduced power consumption could allow headphones to give almost three times the battery-life of existing models – or, as seems more likely, allow manufacturers to maintain current playback times while shrinking the size of devices like AirPods …

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Receiving a new iPhone or iPad as a gift is a wonderful thing, but setting up a new device has historically been a chore. Manually pairing accessories, joining Wi-Fi networks, remembering which password goes with which account, and the ever-increasing steps required to actually use your shiny new toy make up the worst first world problems.

The good news is Apple has acknowledged this pain point and created a dramatically simpler way to pair or upgrade new products including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and AirPods.

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Apple analyst KGI Ming-Chi Kuo today released a report indicating Apple will launch a new version of AirPods in the second half of 2018. The analyst does not go into much detail about what exactly will change in the next-generation model, however he notes that they will adopt a smaller quartz component.

Apple has already announced a new AirPower inductive charging case for next year. It seems that Apple may also be lining up a small update to the earbuds, if KGI’s reporting proves accurate.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly stated his belief that technology should be accessible to everyone. For decades, Apple products have shipped with accessibility features, proof that these values are deeply rooted in the company. Apple even launched a dedicated accessibility website in 2016, showcasing the stories of several individuals and how their lives have benefited from accessible products.

One branch of accessibility that’s received an increasing amount of attention is hearing. While iOS has supported hearing aids in some capacity for years, deep integration with the iPhone first became possible when Apple expanded its Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing program to cover hearing devices. Advancements in Bluetooth Low Energy technology in concert with a proprietary audio transmission protocol have been essential in enabling a steady stream of iPhone-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants to be released.

At the same time, Apple developed an audio product of its own – AirPods. The wireless headphones include advanced low energy technology themselves, powered by the Apple-designed W1 chip. Between the company’s work in both accessibility and audio, Apple finds itself in a unique position to dramatically transform the market of hearing augmentation.

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As we enter the final stretch of holiday shopping this week, Apple’s AirPods are again facing supply issues. After once improving to 3-5 day delivery, and even quicker in some cases, you now won’t get them in time for Christmas if you buy straight from Apple…

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KGI remains very bullish on the uptake of Apple’s truly wireless AirPods earbuds ($159: eBay, Best Buy). In a new report published today, Ming-Chi Kuo says that he expects Apple to double shipments of the AirPods in 2018. This would equate to shipments in the range of 26-28 million units.

AirPods have been supply constrained since their introduction in December 2016. Only in the last few weeks has availability improved to the point where the Apple Online Store reports 1-3 day delivery estimates.

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It’s the eve of Thanksgiving in the United States and as has become tradition, Apple has shared its annual holiday ad for the year. The new ad called “Sway” features a brief appearance by the new iPhone X, but mostly revolves around AirPods and sharing an experience with music with someone special.

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Even a year on, Apple’s AirPods (Best Buy, eBay) are largely unrivaled. They may look a bit funny to wear, and only come in one colour, but it’s hard to argue anyone else is close to matching Apple in the truly-wireless headphone space.

AirPods are dead simple to use and intelligent enough to be helpful, without being annoying. They aren’t even expensive compared to the competition.

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When Apple announced its new AirPower charging mat accessory alongside the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X– the first iPhones to support wireless charging– it also casually mentioned that AirPods would get a new optional wireless charging case. But otherwise details have been slim. Can you use your old AirPods with the new charging case? Will you be able to buy the case separately or only bundled together with new AirPods? And should you hold off on buying AirPods until Apple reveals more details about the new charging case?

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[Update: The rumor is even less credible based on this line on the iPhone X product page: “AirPods with wireless charging capabilities coming in 2018.”]

A new report today says that the upcoming AirPods wireless charging case will cost $69 and launch at the end of the year. However, we’re somewhat skeptical as we haven’t seen any official details from Apple and the company already charges that amount for standard replacement charging cases.

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