The AirPods 3 are very much underway, according to a new report that suggests a late 2021 launch date for the rumored wireless earbuds.

A paid DigiTimes article (via MacRumors) claims that supply shipments of motherboards for the new AirPods are underway; along with the Apple Watch 7 and iPhone 13, the AirPods 3 are in the manufacturing stage, well in time for a launch later this year. It is possible that it will be ready in time for launch later this year.

"Suppliers including Semco, LG Innotek, Kinsus, Unimicron, Nan Ya, Zhen Ding, and AT&S have all begun shipping BT substrates," the DigiTimes report states.

BT resin is used in circuit boards and SiP (system-in-package) systems allow manufacturers to pack more components into a smaller space than simple surface mount technology. Interestingly, the current AirPods Pro uses the SiP design for the Apple H1 chip, while standard Apple AirPods only use surface mount.

Thus, this report confirms two recurring rumors we have heard about the AirPods 3: that it will likely appear in 2021 and take inspiration from the AirPods Pro. We have already seen several photos of what appears to be an AirPods 3 design, like a shortened AirPods Pro-style stem. Perhaps internal upgrades will allow the AirPods 3 to borrow some core features as well. [For example, it may include active noise cancellation. We initially thought it unlikely that the AirPods 3 would include ANC given the potential competition with the AirPods Pro, but then Apple launched the Beats Studio Buds with noise-canceling capabilities and a price point that outpaces the AirPods.

The report's reference to "next generation" AirPods could refer to AirPods Pro 2 rather than AirPods 3, but that seems highly unlikely. So far, we have seen nothing on the AirPods Pro 2 design, and Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst familiar with Apple, has said that production will begin in late 2021 or early 2022. If suppliers are shipping parts now, the more likely destination is the AirPods 3, which is always said to be released well ahead of the AirPods Pro 2.