New Apple AirPods 3 apparently revealed in leaked image

Apple Airpods
(Image credit: TechRadar)

Apple's recent iPhone 11 launch event left us bereft of the long-rumored Apple AirPods 3, but a new leaked image could give us a glimpse of the new Apple earbuds. 

SlashLeaks has shared a hazy image from contributor Leakspinner that it says shows the AirPods 3 "in the wild".

The image shows what seems to be a smaller AirPods charging case placed on a smartphone, with Leakspinner describing the model as a prototype. 

You can see the incredibly blurry image below.

airpods 2

(Image credit: SlashLeaks / Leakspinner)

Don't get too excited

If this leaked image is genuine, we could be in for an even more compact Apple AirPods charging case – and potentially smaller earbuds. It would make sense, as true wireless earbuds are getting smaller as the technology improves, and the AirPods' long stems was subject to ridicule when they were first revealed in 2016. 

Saying that, the AirPods have become something of a cultural icon, and we can't see Apple messing around with their form factor too much. 

Furthermore, the image is incredibly blurry, and there's nothing to indicate that the charging case is a genuine Apple prototype – in reality, we could be looking at any old true wireless charging case.

So, we wouldn't get too excited about the AirPods 3 just yet – in any case, we're not expecting them to launch until 2020, seeing as the original AirPods were upgraded so recently. 

Via Pocket Lint

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.