I must admit, I thought Apple\u2019s AirPods looked strange and even a little silly when they first came on to the scene a few years ago, an early opinion shared by at least one of my colleagues here. It was an opinion, I should add, exclusively focused on their appearance, and how weird I initially felt with them hanging out of my ear like some sleek white piece of jewelry. Their performance, of course, is another matter entirely and has helped turn Apple\u2019s now-ubiquitous wireless earphones into its most successful product launched during the last few years. Everyone in the industry is copying Apple, and even Samsung has finally given the audio port the old heave-ho, having just launched the Galaxy S20 that of course doesn\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n
Not only has Apple continued to improve the AirPods and eventually started offering customers the more expensive Pro option. But now, it seems, Apple may be planning to launch yet another AirPods variant soon \u2014 that is, if an anonymously sourced report from a publication with a mixed track record is to be believed.<\/p>\n
Tawain-based publication DigiTimes<\/em> (via MacRumors<\/em>) has reported, once again, that Apple is working on a so-called Lite version of the AirPods Pro \u2014 the AirPods Pro Lite, I guess? From the outlet, a number of news snippets suggest the possibility of a new model coming soon, and that this new model is the cheaper Lite version. Today, for example, DigiTimes<\/em> reported that \u201cTaiwan-based Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), a unit of ASE Technology, is likely to obtain system-in-package (SiP) orders for the upcoming AirPods Pro, according to industry sources.\u201d<\/p>\n This follows the outlet\u2019s reporting from Tuesday which suggests that an entry-level version of the AirPods Pro is apparently still coming \u2014 though production has been delayed thanks to the effect of the coronavirus on Apple\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n This \u201cnews\u201d raises a number of questions, such as the fact that a \u201cLite\u201d version of the AirPods Pro would be just \u2026 the regular AirPods, would they not? Or maybe some entirely new variant? Or, as goes another theory, maybe they do indeed portend a cheaper AirPods Pro variant minus a feature like, say, noise cancellation. DigiTimes<\/em>\u2018 track record is certainly mixed, which is to say it\u2019s also possible this report is incorrect in its entirety, so we\u2019ll just have to wait and see if Apple introduces something new along these lines.<\/p>\n \n\tImage Source: Apple<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\tAndy is a reporter in Memphis who also contributes to outlets like Fast Company and The Guardian. When he\u2019s not writing about technology, he can be found hunched protectively over his burgeoning collection of vinyl, as well as nursing his Whovianism and bingeing on a variety of TV shows you probably don\u2019t like.\t<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n![](\"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1580530133_630_All-four-major-US-wireless-carriers-are-suffering-outages-right.png\")
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