Two Apple AirPods 4 models now expected to arrive in September or October this year

If you're in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds but have been waiting to see what Apple's plans are, you might have to wait until September or October. That's according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Gurman was writing in the weekly Power On newsletter when he said that Apple is expected to put two new fourth-generation AirPods into mass production in or around May, and based on that he then expects them to be ready for market in September or October.

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The new AirPods 4 are expected to feature a new design to aid an improved fit in the ear while improving sound quality is also thought to be a key feature. There will also be an update to the existing charging case as well, adding a USB-C port and removing the Lightning port that has been there for years.

As for the talk of two versions of the AirPods 4, that's where things start to get interesting. Gurman says that one version will be the entry-level model similar to the current AirPods, but the other model will offer additional features. It's thought that the higher-end AirPods 4 will offer active noise cancellation technology as well as a speaker built into the charging case to allow it to play sounds when using the Find My app to locate the wireless earbuds. Apple is also expected to discontinue the second-generation and third-generation AirPods once the fourth-generation AirPods have been released.

While there will be a higher-end version of the AirPods that doesn't mean that Apple is planning the end of the AirPods Pro offering. New AirPods Pro are still expected, but it's unlikely that they will arrive until next year.