According to new findings from leaked images shared last year, the AirPods Pro 2 could have essentially the same design as the current model, contrary to rumors of a “stemless” design.
Last year, reports revealed images of the “AirPods Pro 2” — which appeared to show a design that’s barely changed. Now, a new isometric 3D image comparison by Apple concept graphic designer Ian Zelbo further proves that the “AirPods Pro 2” won’t feature a so-called “stemless” design.
It’s evident from last year’s pictures that the ‘AirPods Pro 2’ earbuds don’t feature downward-facing infrared sensors to detect when they’re in the user’s ears, but the latest 3D images are more positive that the new ‘AirPods Pro 2’ will have Skin detection sensor.
Apple’s skin-detection sensor, which debuted in the AirPods 3, provides a more accurate way to tell if the earbuds are actually in the user’s ear, rather than on a pocket or desk. The sensor works by detecting moisture in the wearer’s skin, ensuring it doesn’t mistake other surfaces for human skin.
Instead of having skin-detecting sensors in each earbud, the current “AirPods Pro” use dual optical sensors to detect if they’re in the user’s ear. While they effectively perform the same function, optical sensors can simply tell when they’re resting against a surface or covered, rather than sticking specifically to the skin. This means that if the AirPods Pro earbuds are placed in a pocket or on a surface, it may incorrectly resume playback. That’s why Apple switched to skin-detection sensors for greater accuracy, with the added benefit of only requiring a slightly larger central sensor per earbud.
A scale comparison by Zelbo confirms that the so-called “AirPods Pro 2” image shows a skin-detecting sensor that is exactly the same size and orientation as the AirPods 3. On the current-generation “AirPods Pro,” the primary infrared sensor is part of a long, thin black rectangle that also contains the same shaped grille. Like the AirPods 3, the new skin-detection sensor cutout believed to be present on the “AirPods Pro 2” features a shorter, noticeably thicker circular grille and a round grille.
This small but crucial detail could suggest that the images are more believable than previously thought — making it more likely that the “AirPods Pro 2” won’t get a major redesign. In fact, Zelbo’s findings suggest that the new earbuds have the same design as the current-generation “AirPods Pro,” save for the skin-detecting sensor cutout, with no changes to the length of the stem or the shape of the in-ear portion of the earbuds.
Rumors of the “AirPods Pro 2” switching to a “stemless” design have been surfacing, but upon closer inspection, reputable sources haven’t made it clear that this will happen. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, for example, believes that the AirPods Pro 2 will feature a “new form factor,” possibly due to knowledge of some kind of retrofit, but doesn’t specify that they will have a “stemless” design.
In October 2020, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman stated that Apple’s goal is to make the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds more compact by eliminating the short stem that currently extends from the bottom, and that Apple is reportedly testing a “rounder shape with more padding.” The user’s ear” earbud design, bringing them closer in style to the Samsung Galaxy Buds and headphone designs from companies like Amazon and Google. However, Gurman said that Apple had problems integrating the hardware of the new AirPods Pro, including the antenna and microphone, into a smaller case, “which could lead to a less ambitious design when the product is finalized.”
Earlier this year, Ming-Chi Kuo explained that the AirPods Pro 2 will come with a charging case that users can use to trigger sounds to highlight their position, allowing the earbuds and charging case to be placed separately. This matches directly with the speaker holes visible on the charging case seen in the image. It seems likely that this sounding charging case will be integrated into the Find My app, similar to the way users can currently emit sounds from individual AirPods inside the charging case to help locate them.
Apple’s Beats Studio Buds share a lot of technology with the AirPods Pro, featuring a fully in-ear design with no “stem” at all. The fact that the Beats Studio Buds offer a “stemless” design doesn’t necessarily indicate that the AirPods Pro will follow; Apple often looks for ways to differentiate its Beats and AirPods lines. Apple has also established a distinct and easily recognizable visual brand for the AirPods, including the “stem” design and the use of white plastic, and it’s questionable whether the company is ready to deviate from this, let alone remove the stem for the headphone force sensor control and beamforming microphone effects too.
The AirPods Pro 2 have been rumored to support Apple Lossless Audio (ALAC) via a new connectivity solution, which now looks likely to launch this fall.
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