Apple stamps cult design: This is how the AirPods Pro 2 should look

A real design era is drawing to a close: With the AirPods Pro 2, Apple is to rely on a completely new look. The iconic stem design is probably a thing of the past. Competitor Samsung shows what this could look like.

When Apple presented the AirPods in 2016, there was a lot of laughter. Above all, the elongated stems, often mocked as toothbrush heads, caused a lot of malice. But no one laughs for five years: the AirPods design has become an icon that has been copied more than once. This could end as early as 2022 - at least for the Pro models.

AirPods Pro 2 should get a new look without stems

This is what the renowned Apple insider Ming Chi-Kuo claims (source: MacRumors). According to Kuo, the new AirPods Pro 2, which will hit the market in autumn 2022, will get a whole new design . Accordingly, Apple throws the iconic stalks overboard, instead the new in-ear headphones should be based on the appearance of the Beats Fit Pro .

A bracket for a better hold in the ear, as used by the Beats headphones, is unlikely to exist with the AirPods Pro 2. More obvious is that Apple is merely reusing the basic shape of the earbuds. The AirPods Pro 2 could look something like current headphones from Samsung, such as the Galaxy Buds 2 : round and barely recognizable in the ear.

For Apple it would be the end of an era: for the first time since the introduction of the first generation, in-ear headphones under the "AirPods" brand would do without the cult design with the elongated stems.

The first generation of AirPods Pro in comparison:

Connection to Apple devices should be improved

Aside from the rumored redesign, the AirPods Pro 2 should also bring some innovations under the hood. The headphones could have new sensors for tracking sports activities and an improved chip for a more stable connection to the paired Apple devices.