With the AirPods Pro entering its third generation later this year, it is widely expected that Apple will launch the AirPods Pro 2 sooner rather than later, and a new report from DigiTimes adds credence to that expectation by revealing that Apple has begun ramping up chip orders to one of its key suppliers, NOR Flash The report adds credence to the report by revealing that Apple is beginning to ramp up its orders for chips from one of its major suppliers, NOR Flash

The report has no specifics on a release date, but usually correct Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the AirPods Pro 2 would appear in the fourth quarter of this year along with a series of small but significant upgrades, and that particular gap has already has been filled

Kuo said that along with the usual sound quality improvements expected with generational changes, the AirPods Pro 2 will likely be the first Apple bud to support lossless audio in the company's ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) format Besides, the wireless earbuds are expected to be more resistant to loss and will likely come with a case that can emit sounds to help locate them if misplaced

Kuo also confirms longstanding rumors that Apple will introduce some kind of health tracking feature in the AirPods Pro 2 Whether that is for those who do not have an Apple Watch or a feature that complements the wearable's fitness feature set remains to be seen

Finally, Kuo reports that we can expect a "new form factor design," but does not elaborate on what that actually means; Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the AirPods Pro 2 may ditch the stem altogether He states that the AirPods Pro 2 may ditch the stem altogether This would not be entirely surprising given that the cheaper AirPods 3 came with a much shorter stem than the previous generation

That said, the only image we have seen so far of what is believed to be the AirPods Pro 2 shows an earphone that looks almost identical, albeit with a slightly altered case The source is unverified, but the image does show a speaker hole in the case, which is consistent with Kuo's prediction, so there may be something to it

Whatever the future holds, the AirPods Pro are long overdue for an update, first appearing on October 30, 2019 While it still occupies second place on the list of the best wireless earbuds you can buy, competition is fierce, and three years is a long time for any tech company, let alone Apple, to stand still