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AirPods Pro - page 10

Apple could keep us waiting until 2021 for AirPods upgrades

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
AirPods and AirPods Pro will get their next update next year.
Photo: Apple

People waiting to get their hands on next-generation AirPods will be waiting until 2021, a report published by Digitimes on Wednesday suggests.

It claims that Apple will launch its third-gen AirPods in the first half of 2021, before introducing the next-gen AirPods Pro in the second part of the year. Apple last updated its regular AirPods line in March 2019, while the AirPods Pro were released in October 2019.

Save a ton on iPad and Mac in B&H Photo’s huge Back to School sale

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Back to School sale on iPad, Mac
Enjoy the discounts before they disappear.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

B&H Photo this week kicked off its Back to School sale on Apple products, offering customers big discounts on iPad, Mac, and more.

You can save up to $500 on last year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro, up to $300 on a 16-inch MacBook Pro, and up to $535 on a 2018 iPad Pro. There are also some sweet discounts on Apple Watch and AirPods.

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Save $19 on AirPods Pro and get set for stunning spatial sound

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
Or save $39 on renewed models.
Photo: Apple

Apple just rolled out an AirPods Pro update that makes noise cancellation even better, and soon, its tiny buds will get another upgrade that adds amazing spatial sound. Don’t already have your own? Change that today.

Pick up AirPods Pro on Amazon and enjoy $19.01 off the usual price — one of the biggest discounts yet — or opt for a renewed pair and save $39.05.

Is noise cancellation fixed in latest AirPods Pro firmware? Nobody knows.

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Apple reportedly adding another supplier for its ultra-popular AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro users can't agree whether active noise cancellation is fixed by the latest firmware update.
Photo: Apple

Apple updated AirPods Pro to firmware version 2D27 on Tuesday. Users of these truly wireless headphones have since had a chance to install it, but there’s no consensus about whether it makes active noise cancellation as good as it was when this product first launched.

iOS 14 warns you exactly how loud your AirPods are

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iOS 14 looks out for your hearing
Find out if the song you’re listening to is permanently damaging your hearing with an iOS 14 Control Center feature.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

WWDC 2020 Listening to music on AirPods at too high a volume can damage your hearing. As a reminder of this, iOS 14 offers an optional icon in the Control Center to show just how loudly the song is playing on a connected pair of AirPods or earbuds at that moment. And it measure the sound pressure down to the exact decibel.

7 huge changes for Apple users from WWDC 2020

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Tim Cook opened and closed WWDC 2020
CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives handled the tough job of a WWDC 2020 keynote without an in-person audience.
Screenshot: Apple

WWDC 2020 Apple rose to the challenge of holding a keynote for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in an empty auditorium Monday. A range of executives took the wraps off operating system upgrades for Mac, iPhone, iPad … the whole swath of Cupertino’s devices.

The presentation went surprisingly well, considering that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the presence of the usual odd mix of highly enthusiastic Apple employees and professionally skeptical journalists.

AirPods Pro’s Spatial Audio will give you surround sound-style audio on wireless airbuds

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AirPods supplier confident of booming business through 2021
AirPods Pro are about to get even more pro
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

WWDC 2020AirPods got some impressive-sounding (no pun intended) features announced at WWDC, including an upcoming “Spatial Audio” feature that will provide better 3D sound for its AirPods Pro wireless earpods.

The feature will use motion tracking to replicate a surround sound, movie theater-style listening experience, making it sound like the audio you’re listening to is coming from around the wearer. It will work by using the device’s in-built accelerometer to track the motion of users’ heads. It will then remap the sound field constantly as your head moves around.

AirPods 3 upgrade with AirPods Pro design expected in early 2021

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AirPods Pro settings
Could AirPods 3 look just like AirPods Pro?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple will introduce its third-generation AirPods buds featuring the same design as AirPods Pro during the first half of 2021, according to one reliable analyst.

The new wireless headphones could help drive a 28% increase in AirPods shipments next year. Apple’s rumored decision not to include free EarPods with iPhone 12 this fall could also contribute to the boost.

OtterBox brings colorful protection to AirPods

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OtterBox AirPods case covers defend your headphones.
OtterBox AirPods case covers come in Spacesuit Blue, Infinity Pink, Black Hole and more colors.
Photo: OtterBox

OtterBox on Thursday launched protective covers for AirPods and AirPods Pro cases. The Ispra and Lumen series are this company’s first for Apple’s truly-wireless earbuds. They come in a range of colors, and are designed to save the AirPods case from scratches and drops.

We talk AirPods with health features, and Apple TV+’s hits and misses, on The CultCast

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CultCast 442: AirPods with health sensors
Can you handle some hot, hot beta action?
Image: The CultCast

This week on The CultCast: AirPods with new sensors could be on the horizon, and that would fit perfectly with Apple’s always-on approach to health. Find out why we can’t wait for in-ear health trackers. Or for Apple to revamp the musty Messages app for Mac.

Plus, we discuss the aftermath of last week’s controversial chat with hotshot Apple leaker, Jon Prosser. And finally, Cult of Mac TV reviewer Scout Tafoya tells us why you probably ought to queue up Defending Jacob (and why you might want to skip Central Park).

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

The biggest discounts are back on AirPods Pro, Powerbeats Pro and more

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Powerbeats-Pro
Bag yours for under $180 before this discount disappears.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest wireless headphones have returned to some of their lowest prices yet, thanks to big discounts from Amazon. You can save up to $50 on AirPods Pro, Powerbeats Pro, and more for a limited time only.

You can also pick up second-generation AirPods for as little as $129, and there are big savings to enjoy on Beats headphones, too.

Updated classic AirPods delay expected into new year, but with ‘Made in Vietnam’ tag

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AirPods Pro and Transparency Mode make for fine hearing aids.
Your next classic AirPods could be made in Vietnam.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The coronavirus and its aftermath appear to be taking a toll on manufacturing of updated AirPods, with a new report indicating an update to Apple’s popular earbuds will be delayed slightly and roll into the first quarter of 2021.

The Nikkei Asian Review also reported Friday sources as saying around 30% of all classic AirPods to be produced this quarter for Apple will be “made in Vietnam”. That the report said is “a sign the company is accelerating its diversification of production out of China amid the coronavirus pandemic.”