Apple AirPods 4 coming very soon and in two variants, says expert

It's been the talk of the town all year that Apple might be about to refresh its AirPods lineup in a big way – at the same time as it launches the iPhone 16.

Now we're just a few weeks away from the early September window in which Apple usually schedules its big annual hardware showcase, and things are amping up. In his latest Power On newsletter, prominent reporter Mark Gurman has made some confident predictions about what the event should reveal where Apple's best earbuds are concerned. 

He says we'll be getting two new AirPods models, one entry-level and one mid-range. These will apparently replace the 2nd and 3rd-generation models you can currently order. 

Both of these will apparently look very similar, but the more expensive version will bring active noise-cancelling (ANC) to the table, a sought-after feature that should make them more isolating and give you some cocooning while out and about. This has been the reserve of the Apple AirPods Pro 2, to date.

Both versions would be expected to have USB-C charging, too, although potentially only the more expensive one will also have wireless charging. 

This will leave Apple with a couple of models that might not get the updates that some people have been expecting – AirPods Pro, in particular, might not get any changes for a little while, according to Gurman. It'll be interesting to see how Apple differentiates a new AirPods model that has ANC from its more expensive pair of earbuds, too. 

AirPods Max, meanwhile, have been in need of a new version for a while now, but there's no news on this front, and it's increasingly looking like they might not be tweaked at the September event, either. 

Still, Apple loves to keep a good secret, so it's far from impossible that it has a surprise up its sleeve. Either way, though, it looks like we'll be hearing about some new AirPods one way or another – perfect for those keeping an ear out for some new Apple earbuds to go with their iPhones.