Last month, Apple revealed several new pieces of tech at the Spring Loaded Event but based on reports, we could be seeing the next generation of AirPods along with a new Apple Music tier soon.
During the Spring Loaded Event last month, Apple revealed new iPhone colours, a Bluetooth tracking device called AirTags, and more major updates to its hardware lineup. However, according to reports, the next generation of Apple AirPods could be revealed soon, in tandem with the reveal of a new, high-end tier for their Apple Music service.
Recent reports suggest the AirPod sales have been waning, so one has to wonder if a reveal was delayed to reevaluate production numbers, but regardless, an announcement could be right around the corner.
According to Hits Daily Double, a new high-fidelity audio tier is coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks and will release alongside the third-generation AirPods. According to the rumour, the price would be $9.99 USD per month, which is the current price for the main Music plan.
Additionally, MacRumors discovered code in the first iOS 14.6 beta that revealed the company’s plans to launch a new music tier of some kind as there are references to lossless audio, high-quality stereo streaming, and Hi-Fi in the Apple Music app after updating to iOS 14.6 beta 1. It’s also suggested that only certain AirPods models will be compatible with hi-fi streaming.
Hi-Fi audio seems to be the next big thing on the audio market, with Spotify recently announcing their own plan featuring the upgraded audio experience. Because of this, it seems plausible that other platforms would quickly come up with their own services to compete with arguably the largest music-streaming platform in the world.
While none of this has been announced officially through Apple, the coding from the recent iOS beta is hard to argue with. At the very least it might be something they’re looking into, but either way, this rumour should be taken with a grain of salt until further details are released from the hardware company itself.
