According to the latest report, Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro will support lossless audio and have a charging box that can emit sound for location tracking. In a research report to investors, Guo said that the second-generation AirPods Pro will have new selling points and is expected to usher in strong demand, including support for Apple’s lossless audio (ALAC) and a new charging box. The sound source device is remotely controlled to make the charging box emit a sound to facilitate finding its location.
It seems that this kind of sound-producing charging box is likely to be integrated into the Find My application, similar to the current users who can emit sounds from a single AirPods in the box to help find them. This is consistent with the previously leaked photo of the next-generation AirPods Pro, which shows that there is a speaker hole on the charging box, which can emit sound for positioning tracking, allowing the earbuds and the box to be located separately.
All Apple’s current AirPods products, including the third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, do not support lossless audio. This is because AirPods play audio via Bluetooth, which limits their use of the AAC codec. Higher-quality Apple lossless audio codec files may flow directly to AirPods to avoid the carrying of Bluetooth signals and achieve a lossless listening experience, but Apple may develop an alternative solution.
Guo also reiterated that the next-generation AirPods earbuds will adopt a new design and will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022, which is slightly later than the third quarter forecasts put forward by other rumors. AirPods may also support health monitoring in the future, but he did not directly link this rumor with the second-generation AirPods Pro.