The raw iOS 16.4 software system update containsa few new featureseveryone should check out , but an eagle - eyed locomotive engineer has pick out something that could be much handsome . Hidden inside the modish computer code are citation to an as - yet unidentified AirPods modelling and a new AirPods guinea pig , a warm sign that Apple plans to launch its rumored budget AirPods in the near time to come .
Twitter user@aaronp613spotted the reference in the computer code . The novel AirPods have the role model number A3048 , while the case is labeled as A2968 . What does this intend ? The one thing we can be indisputable of is that it does n’t refer to an exist model : Apple has previously used A1523 and A1722 ( 2017 ) , A2032 and A2031 ( 2019 ) , A2084 and A2083 ( 2019 AirPods Pro ) , A2096 ( AirPods Max ) , A2565 and A2564 ( 2021 ) , and A2931 , A2699 , and A2698 ( 2022 AirPods Pro ) . This will be the first AirPods exemplar with an A3 * naming .
The case is unknown too . Apple has released AirPods cases labeled A1602 , A1938 , A2190 , A2566 , A2700 , and A2897 . Again , this is a higher designation than any known modeling , which logically would mean something new , although it is n’t always that square .
Apple is trust to havetwo upcoming AirPods modelsin the line : a budget hardening of AirPods that will be price around $ 99 , and at the other end of the pricing spectrum , the secondly - gen AirPods Max . The code is more probable to be a reference to the former , as the AirPods Max case ( the divisive Smart Case ) does n’t appear to have a fashion model number – I ca n’t incur one on mine , at any pace , and it is n’t among the codes list on Apple ’s site – whereas the so - called AirPods Lite would presumptively get their own simpler or less feature of speech - fat charging case , hence the A2968 code .
The pillowcase could also be a consultation to a replacing sheath for the 3rd - gen AirPods and 2nd - gen AirPods Pro , both of which are carry to get USB - C updates at some degree this twelvemonth .
Giveaway code references like this usually surface when Apple is almost quick to plunge new hardware . After all , someone is probable to spy the reference , and the ship’s company usually like to keep things as occult as potential for as long as possible . Yetprevious rumorshave pegged the next two AirPods launches as come in 2024 at the earliest . If that were dependable , including a character to one of them this early would be off-the-wall , sinceiOS 17will have come out by then and could easily comprise any necessary code update to hold the new computer hardware .
Does this mean we can therefore have a bun in the oven cheap young AirPods before or at WWDC in June ? This would be a surprisal , but it now seems a genuine possibility . In the lag , checker out our comparison of the AirPods modelsApple presently sells now to see which one is dear for your ears .
