AirPods Pro Could Have Breathtaking New Design, Report Claims

A future set of AirPods or AirPods Pro could look radically different than the current model, a new patent suggests. According to Patently Apple, the Cupertino giant is working on ideas for an AirPods case with extra interactive capabilities.

These could even include a touchscreen front that would allow you to control the AirPods without dragging your iPhone out of your pocket.

The patent is titled “Devices, Methods and Graphical User Interfaces for Interactions with a Headphone Case”. It shows how the case could be used to change tracks, for instance.

Of course, that’s possible on all models of AirPods already, but some people find the tapping or squeezing mechanic a bit fiddly, so tapping a touchscreen on the case would be a reliably simple alternative.

Other parts of the patent show that the touchscreen could be used to change the earbuds’ volume with a circular swiping movement, a little bit like the circular motion used on the iPod clickwheel to adjust the volume.

Sadly, the patent doesn’t hint that the AirPods could take the next step and become a full-on iPod replacement, that is, with no need for a companion phone, for instance. That would be something, but would require significant memory on board the case as well.

Other implementations show possibilities like squeezing the case to switch between audio modes, turning noise-cancelling on or off on a Pro pair, for example. Or switching to a movie application and turning the audio to spatial audio, say.

It could also use the display to show the weather app, if you want it, again making the need to pull your iPhone from your pocket unnecessary. Or even, get this, speak the directions from a mapping app into your ears while the display shows a direction arrow.

The patent says that the display could provide haptic feedback, so that you would know for sure that your screen tap had been recognized, even if you’re not looking at the case.

Apple won’t be the first with this interactive capability in a headphones case—JBL already has it in its Tour PRO 2 earbuds—but Apple regularly ensures it achieves things in an exceptionally fluid and intuitive way.

One concern could be the impact of the screen on battery life compared to a case with no touchscreen.

Lots of patents don’t make it to real-world products, but this is definitely an intriguing one.