A report by Korean publication The Elec states that Apple had originally planned to launch the ‘Lite’ version in 2020 itself, but better-than-expected sales of the AirPods Pro had the company put these plans on hold. The ‘Lite’ version will suit those looking for a proper in-ear fit, which is much more secure and noise-isolating than the regular AirPods. There won’t be active noise cancellation, which will help reduce the price by up to 20 percent, as per a source cited in the report.
The Apple AirPods Pro was launched in late 2019, and is priced at Rs. 24,900 in India. The true wireless earphones come with a wireless charging case and active noise cancellation, along with proper noise isolation and very good sound quality. The ‘Lite’ version could offer practically all of these benefits, with the exception of ANC. The AirPods Pro ‘Lite’ could be priced just a bit higher than the regular AirPods, but still considerably lower than the AirPods Pro.
The report is based on information obtained by The Elec that a local supplier in the country has been contracted to develop a system-in-package for the new earphones based on Apple’s H1 chip. However, this could be a somewhat simplified version of the chip, which is present on the AirPods Pro, as well as on the recently launched AirPods Max over-ear noise cancelling headphones priced at Rs. 59,900 in India.
Are iPhone 12 mini, HomePod mini the Perfect Apple Devices for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.