Apple is predicted to take their wearable division to the next level starting with their truly wireless earbuds. The Apple AirPods upgrade is expected to take place before the year is up, according to Bloomberg‘s sources equivocally-labeled as “people.”
Apple AirPods Upgrade to Happen Before Year’s End, Some Suggest
Like other wearables and tech in the Apple suite, AirPods are expected to receive various enhancements over time. Reports by “people” suggest AirPods will improve upon their voice assistant, Siri, by forgoing the touch feature and activating Siri simply with the vocal cue “Hey Siri.” Other enhancements will include adjustments to the internals, known as B288, which will include an upgraded W2 chip which is an Apple-designed wireless chip for managing Bluetooth connections. The first AirPods operated using a W1 chip.
“People” also advised Apple AirPods will be water resistant, but not water proof. This means the buds cannot be submerged under water, but can survive rain or perspiration depending on the IP rating.
“Wearables were the second-largest contributor to revenue growth after iPhone, which is impressive,” Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said during a conference call with analysts earlier this month, adding that sales jumped almost 70 percent last year.
AirPods are one of the top performing truly wireless buds as of yet, even without the fancy features (active noise cancelling, voice enhancing, fitness coaching, heart rate monitoring, etc.) found in among the competition. This is most likely due to AirPods providing solid connectivity over the longest run time of 5 hours without use of a portable charging case. And maybe the company that has a pretty good track record minus lack luster performance in iPhone X’s sold. However, the $1000 phone did contribute to record-breaking profits.
