New AirPods Pro slated for a late-2022 release

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will release its second-generation AirPods Pro in the second half of this year.

He also believes that Apple will discontinue the first-generation AirPods Pro after it announces its successor.

This is because demand for the new third-generation AirPods has been weaker than expected. And that's in part due to the fact that Apple continues to sell the second-generation AirPods.

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Though the third-generation AirPods adds some useful features such as better water resistance, Adaptive EQ, and better battery life, it seems that consumers don't think that the premium is warranted.

Little is known about the second-generation AirPods Pro at this point, but it is believed it will have a more compact design, deeper integration with Apple's Find My network, improved active noise cancellation, and perhaps even some form of lossless audio support.

The last feature would be a huge deal because even though Apple Music's catalogue is now streaming in lossless, none of Apple's wireless audio devices supports true lossless playback.

This is true for all wireless audio devices because this is an inherent shortcoming of Bluetooth. It simply does not have the bandwidth to stream lossless audio.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.