Apple appears to be setting the stage for its next major leap in wireless audio technology. According to new reports, the Cupertino giant is developing its own custom H3 chip, a direct successor to the H2 silicon currently powering the AirPods Pro 2 and 3. Alongside this new chip, Apple is also working on an entirely new generation of AirPods, which could debut as early as 2026. 
The move highlights Apple’s continued ambition to take full control of its audio ecosystem – from hardware design to software-level audio processing.
The AirPods Pro 3, released earlier, surprised many by retaining the H2 chip instead of debuting the expected H3. Despite that, Apple managed to significantly improve active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and sound quality through software optimizations alone. This raised a compelling question: if Apple can deliver such improvements without a hardware upgrade, what could the H3 chip unlock?
According to insights from Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter, the H3 chip will focus heavily on reducing audio latency and enhancing sound clarity, but it’s almost certain that its impact will go beyond those metrics. With the H3, Apple could bring deeper integration between AirPods and other devices – particularly in the age of Apple Intelligence and Vision Pro. We might see faster synchronization, more efficient power consumption, and adaptive sound profiles that change dynamically based on environment and user activity.
The upcoming AirPods lineup reportedly includes the AirPods 5, which will succeed the AirPods 4, and could come in both standard and noise-cancelling variants – both potentially powered by the new chip. Meanwhile, the AirPods Pro 4 are rumored to introduce a major new feature: built-in cameras. These sensors are said to work with Apple Intelligence, gathering environmental and motion data to enhance real-time interactions between AirPods, iPhones, and Vision Pro headsets. This could mark a new category of “smart audio wearables,” bridging the gap between sound and augmented reality.
Interestingly, while previous rumors suggested Apple would introduce health-tracking features such as temperature or heart-rate monitoring, current reports point to a more restrained approach. The AirPods Pro 3 might only include a basic heart-rate sensor, with full health-tracking capabilities being reserved for future models. For most users, though, the primary reason to upgrade will remain audio quality and intelligent connectivity.
For now, the AirPods Pro 3 remain one of the best all-around wireless earbuds on the market, offering exceptional performance for their $249 price tag. But Apple’s ongoing work on the H3 chip suggests something much larger is in motion – a reinvention of what AirPods can be in the broader Apple ecosystem. By 2026, the AirPods may no longer be just earbuds; they could be intelligent sensory devices that extend the experience of the iPhone and Vision Pro into entirely new dimensions of sound and context-aware technology.