Purported photo of AirPods 3 shows AirPod Pro-like design and smaller case

The first real-world photo of Apple's upcoming AirPods 3 may have leaked.

Chinese site 52audio published a purported photo of the new AirPods, which show the AirPods Pro-like design and a smaller case. The purported AirPods 3 have a shorter stem and an in-ear design. The charging case also seems to be smaller and narrower.

52audio also claims that the AirPods 3 will come with specialised vent sytstem for pressure equalisation to reduce discomfort when wearing the earbuds, and support for Spatial Audio. The AirPods 3 are believed to cost around US$150 (S$198) and could launch next month.

Bloomberg reported in October 2020 that Apple will unveil the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro 2 in the first half of this year. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in November 2020 that Apple will replace the rigid-flex PCB+SMT design of the AirPods 2 with the System-in-Package of the AirPods Pro for the AirPods 3.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.