As it turns out, the AirPods 3 could arrive before the end of 2021, according to a new report from DigiTimes (via MacRumors), which says the third generation of Apple's wireless earbuds is still scheduled to be announced before 2022.

According to DigiTimes' sources, "Apple will likely announce a new model of AirPods by the end of 2021, but may not announce a new TWS (true wireless stereo) device with significantly improved specifications." This comes on the heels of an earlier DigiTimes report that said the AirPods 3 design has already been finalized and the earphones are reportedly already in mass production.

Until now, there was no information on an estimated release date, but it is now believed to be between October and December.

And this schedule is actually consistent with some of the previous rumors and leaks we covered earlier this year; the September event is already over, but there are still claims that Apple may be preparing for further events scheduled through December this year. This is because rumored devices such as the MacBook Pro 2021 and AirPods 3 have yet to be announced.

The AirPods 3 was initially expected to appear at Apple's September event along with the iPhone 13 lineup. However, contrary to speculation, no audio-related hardware was announced at the event.

"The new AirPods did not make it to the September launch event, but as Apple sees its share of the TWS earphone market slumping, sources still expect the wearables to debut before the year-end sales season begins," a previous DigiTimes report stated.

The AirPods3 are expected to be the next addition to Apple's earphone family since the debut of the AirPods Pro. The new generation AirPods are rumored to feature significant upgrades over the existing AirPods 2, including a compact AirPods Pro-like design, active noise cancellation, better battery life, and improved overall sound quality.

Therefore, it seems possible that the AirPods 3 will be a slightly toned-down version of the AirPods Pro. However, it is still unclear if the new AirPods will feature the rumored silicone ear tips, as some renderings and purported leaked images do not seem to include silicone ear tips.