Kuo: AirPods 3 to be announced tomorrow, AirPods 2 will hang around for now

Airpods (Image credit: Gizmochina)

What you need to know

AirPods 3 are reportedly being announced during tomorrow's iPhone 13 event.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the new AirPods will not replace the model currently on sale.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will announce the new AirPods 3 alongside the upcoming iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7 during tomorrow's event. What's more. the new earbuds won't replace the existing AirPods 2 in Apple's earbud lineup.

Speaking via a research note seen by iMore, Kuo says AirPods 3 will be sold alongside AirPods 3, with two potential scenarios at play.

Apple could sell AirPods 3 at a price point above that of AirPods 2, adding another layer to its pricing tier.
Apple could reduce the price of AirPods 2 and sell AirPods 3 at the price point vacated by the older model.

Apple's AirPods 2 currently sell for $159 with a wired Charging Case, while $199 will net buyers the same earbuds but 2ith a case that's capable of being charged wirelessly. The AirPods 3 are likely to offer their own Wireless Charging Case, so it's possible AirPods 3 will debut at $199 while AirPods 2 will hang around with the standard case at the existing $199, too.

All of this will happen if and when the new earbuds are announced during tomorrow's event. The refresh is thought to be bringing a new look that mimics that of AirPods Pro, although the same level of features won't be on offer.

Apple's September 14 event will see the arrival of iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7 if rumors turn out to be accurate. It now seems like we can add AirPods to the mix, too.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.