Last September, Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3, which are the most advanced AirPods that Apple has ever designed, featuring improved active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and built-in heart rate sensors to easily track your workouts. Shortly afterward, Ming-Chi Kuo declared that Apple was developing a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 for late 2026. Now, Apple usually updates its AirPods and AirPods Pro models about every three years, so rather than being a subsequent model, it might as well be an additional model to the AirPods Pro lineup. This would make sense considering Apple also has two models of the AirPods 4: one with active noise cancellation at $179 and one without at $129.
Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that this upcoming premium version will feature at least one tiny infrared camera, which could be used for gesture tracking and possibly a more immersive spatial audio experience when paired with Apple Vision Pro. This could open up the doors for Apple Intelligence. In the era of artificial intelligence, we’re starting to see AI-equipped headphones such as Razer’s Project Motoko, which the company showcased at CES 2026.
Another feature that we could see is the next-generation H3 headphone chip. We’ve had the H2 chip since the AirPods Pro 2 launched in September 2022, so it would be about time to see improvements in both Apple Silicon and Bluetooth.
So, when can we expect these higher-end AirPods Pro 3 to come out? It would likely be launched around the September timeframe as Apple announces new AirPods models around that month:
- October 2021: AirPods 3
- September 2022: AirPods Pro 2
- September 2023: AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C Charging Case)
- September 2024: AirPods 4
- September 2025: AirPods Pro 3
With these advancements made through infrared camera technology, this new model of the AirPods Pro 3 is shaping up to be Apple’s most ambitious AirPods yet.
