Apple AirPods Pro 2 to switch to USB-C port this year

Apple has always used the Lightning port in its devices, with only a few devices using the mainstream USB-C port.

The latest news suggests that Apple will make the USB-C port widely available later this year with the launch of the AirPods Pro 2, in addition to the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

A developer recently spotted AirPods headphones with model number A3048 in Apple's iOS 16.4 system code, and combined with previous news from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the odds are that these are the AirPods Pro 2 with the USB-C port, which are likely to ship in large numbers in the second and third quarters of this year.

This is all due to a brand new law introduced by the European Union, which requires electronic products imported into Europe in 2024 to use the USB-C interface across the board, which is one of the reasons why Apple will make the USB-C interface fully available this year.

So the launch of the AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C port would be a natural fit. However, Ming-Chi Kuo also mentioned that Apple has no plans to launch AirPods 2 and AirPods 3, which also use the USB-C port.

Launched in September last year, AirPods Pro 2 feature fully updated noise-canceling technology compared to the original AirPods Pro.

The AirPods Pro 2 also feature a new Apple H2 chip that works with custom drivers and amplifiers to deliver higher bandwidth for a breakthrough audio experience.

Unfortunately, while the AirPods Pro 2 support Bluetooth 5.3, they don't support the LC3 encoder or LE audio, and the current protocol remains the same as the previous generation, the ACC protocol, which means the headphones don't support lossless sound quality.

Thanks to the power of the H2, the AirPods Pro 2 feature an amazing computational audio algorithm that improves noise cancellation by a factor of two over its predecessor, with new drivers and improved acoustic algorithms that allow Active Noise Cancellation to reduce noise even further.

Apple also brings new technology to Adaptive Pass-through mode. With the power of H2, AirPods Pro 2 can significantly reduce the intensity of high-frequency, high-decibel sounds when users turn on Adaptive Pass-through mode, allowing otherwise noisy ambient sounds to pass more comfortably through algorithmic filtering.

When it comes to battery life, the AirPods Pro 2 with Charging Dock can deliver up to 30 hours of battery life in a single session, an improvement of 6 hours over its predecessor.

AirPods Pro 2 also support MagSafe wireless charging and the Apple Watch charger.

Apple's launch of the AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C interface is a reluctant compromise from a commercial point of view - after all, the Lightning interface, which has been in use for a decade, makes environmental and commercial sense, and the additional revenue generated by MFi certification is making Apple a fortune.

Switching to USB-C will undoubtedly deprive Apple of the revenue generated by MFi certification, but there are reports that Apple will continue to use MFi certification in USB-C, and once Apple does, I believe it will face a lot of verbal criticism from consumers.