Apple is about to enter production on the next generation of its AirPods as well as its latest iPhone range next month ahead of their announcement in September, according to online reports.
The iPhone 13 line-up is set to reportedly include a 1TB storage tier, as well - almost double the maximum 512GB available in the current crop of Pro models.
Since the first AirPods were released in 2016, the earbud - or in-ear headphones - market has exploded in popularity with rival products being released by almost all of the major tech brands.
Although there have been AirPods Pro and AirPods Max products released, the standard Apple earbuds model hasn't had a proper upgrade since AirPods 2 were released in March, 2019.
AirPods 3 are set to go into production in August, according to Nikkei Asia, which suggests they'll be announced at the tech giant's typical September keynote event and released either at the same time or shortly thereafter.
The report also claims all new iPhone models will offer 5G, including the budget SE, while the allegedly under-performing Mini model will be axed next year.
"In addition to shuffling its iPhone lineup, Apple has also been preparing updated versions of other products for release in the second half of 2021 in hopes of tapping an expected economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic," reports Lauly Li and Cheng Ting-fang for Nikkei Asia.
"These include MacBook Pros and a new version of AirPods, the company's popular wireless earbuds, which will start production next month."
The 1TB iPhone 13 report comes from analysts Wedbush, via 9to5Mac, who formed it by monitoring supply chains that also suggest Lidar will feature on all iPhone 13 models, not just the Pro and Pro Max.
Other upgrades have been long-rumoured for the next batch of iPhones including a 120Hz refresh rate, an always-on display, a faster A15 Bionic chip and, as always, an improved camera - the next one possibly including astrophotography features for taking photos of the night sky.
Apple never comments on rumours such as these reports.
