A mention of the long-awaited Apple AirPods Pro 3 has been found in the code of the current iOS 26 developer beta.
The code was discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, who found a reference to the AirPods Pro 3 buried in a headphone-related UI framework alongside mentions of the current AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods Pro. While the code doesn’t mention any specific features, it still indicates that Apple could be preparing for an upcoming launch.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen code lines that seemingly indicate that Apple is working on a new set of headphones. We recently saw Apple update a sentence in a software update that had previously stated, “AirPods Pro 2nd Generation” to read “AirPods Pro 2 or later.”
As it stands, we don’t have a lot of information on the possible features that the new AirPods Pro will have. However, there are a fair number of rumors, including the possibility of a heart rate monitor similar to the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2. We’ve also seen patents for a possible touch screen on the case of the AirPods that would let you control music and other features.
We do however know that Apple is bringing users a couple of new additions for the current AirPods line in general. During WWDC, it was revealed that Apple is launching two big upgrades: improved, studio-quality sound for AirPods headphones and new remote camera controls for a connected iPhone.
Apple's potential release of a new pair of AirPods Pro is certainly great news, considering we’ve been waiting since the original Lightning-ported AirPods Pro 2 launched in September 2022, with the only hardware update being the USB-C version that appeared in February of last year. But even with this code discovery seemingly confirming the AirPods Pro 3 are on their way, we could still be waiting until 2026 for an actual launch.
All the new features coming as part of Apple’s iOS 26 lineup make it look like a great time to invest in either the AirPods 4 or AirPods Max, or even the AirPods Pro 2 if you wanted. But we wouldn't blame you for holding out for AirPods Pro 3. Chances are they'll once again be among the best earbuds you can buy, especially for Apple users.
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