AirPods 3 With Noise Cancellation Might Finally Be Here Really Soon

Bluetooth audio accessories have become a lot more common these days and we have Apple to thank, or curse, for that. Despite its lead, however, the company that rang the death knell of the headphone jack has ironically lagged behind in some aspects of wireless Bluetooth headphones. The second generation AirPods improved on battery life but one feature that has consistently been leaked remains absent from the specs list. That may be changing this month and the next pair of Apple AirPods may at long last boast of active noise cancellation in their tiny bodies.

To be fair, active noise cancellation or ANC isn't exactly trivial to implement and even harder to get right. It requires not jist hardware but also the processing power and algorithms to truly ne effective. Given Apple's perfectionist bent, it won't settle for anything less than phenomenal and is more inclined to eat humble pie and cancel an announced product than push through an imperfect implementation.

So one can't really blame Apple for taking its time and, fortunately, the long wait might be over. There has recently been leaks hinting that the AirPods 3 will indeed have that coveted ANC feature. Now a different leak suggests it might be coming for real as early as this month.

9to5Mac discovered a glyph, a.k.a. a small image, in iOS 13.2 that noted a new pair of AirPods that looked slightly different from the current two versions. These could very well be the said ANC-enabled AirPods 3 and the glyph's presence in Accessibility settings hint that it may also function as a hearing aid.

Other than ANC and a new design, the AirPods 3 are also expected to be waterproof, yet another long-standing wish among users who take the buds on their runs and everywhere else. Although it may still be a long time coming, Apple is researching technologies that will also turn the earbuds into health-centric accessories just like its cousin, the Apple Watch.