Apple plans to release AirPods Pro 3 this year, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
All signs point towards Apple unveiling the AirPods Pro 3 during its iPhone 17 event on Tuesday, September 9. However, Kuo did not provide a specific timeframe beyond the second half of 2025, which lines up with previous rumors.
Kuo did not mention any new features that are planned for the AirPods Pro 3. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that the AirPods Pro 3 will likely have the same heart rate monitoring feature that Apple introduced on the Powerbeats Pro 2 earlier this year, along with a significantly smaller charging case.
When both Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds are placed in the ears, and heart rate monitoring is active, Apple says LED optical sensors pulse at over 100 times per second to measure heart rate via blood flow. The feature integrates with popular fitness apps to collect data during workouts and sync it to Apple's Health app on the iPhone.
The feature is based on the Apple Watch's heart rate sensing technology. If someone is wearing both Powerbeats Pro 2 and an Apple Watch, Apple says apps default to using Apple Watch heart rate data, and that will likely apply to the AirPods Pro 3 too.
Beyond heart rate monitoring, it is likely that the next AirPods Pro will feature improved sound quality, increased active noise cancellation, design changes, and more.
AirPods Pro 2 debuted at the iPhone 14 event in September 2022, and they were updated with a USB-C charging case and a few other tweaks in September 2023.
While there will have been at least a three-year gap between the launches of the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods Pro 3, the wait for AirPods Pro 4 might be significantly shorter. Kuo said that Apple plans to update the AirPods Pro again next year, with a "more significant" hardware upgrade: at least one tiny infrared camera.
Kuo previously said AirPods with infrared cameras could recognize hand gestures, and provide an enhanced spatial audio experience with Apple's Vision Pro headset.
"For example, when a user is watching a video with Vision Pro and wearing this new AirPods, if users turn their heads to look in a specific direction, the sound source in that direction can be emphasized to enhance the spatial audio/computing experience," he said.
AirPods Pro 4 next year sounds quite ambitious, though, so we will see if that actually happens.
