Q&A | Covering the AirPods Max Sport, AirPods Pro 2, M2 MacBook Air, New Mac mini (and the Death of the iPod)

Each week I’ll ask you all via Twitter to send me interesting questions you might have about future Apple products, events, or announcements. This week I received a lot of questions, so I chose the ones I found most interesting. If your question is not answered, I’ll try to make sure it’s included in next week’s article!

Do You Have Any Information About the AirPods Max Sport?

Apple has been working on AirPods Max Sport for some time. They were supposed to be a cheaper alternative to the AirPods Max and their $549 price tag. They would’ve had cheaper materials and lacked some features, but as far as I know, Apple ultimately decided to stop working on them to focus on a future upgrade to the AirPods Max. Do not expect it this year, though. Expect new colors, though, if all goes as planned.

What Will Be the Main Selling Points of the AirPods Pro 2?

Much improved ANC and Find My capabilities.

What Specs Will the 2022 MacBook Air Get?

There are many rumors about it, and I will write a detailed report about it as soon as I have more specific information. But already today, I can tell you that I expect an improved 8-core chip called M2. It will not be overwhelmingly better than the M1, but definitely an improvement over it. I also expect MagSafe and better battery life.

Will the Redesigned Mac mini Be More Expensive Than the Current M1 Mac mini?

Well, don’t quote me on this as I do not have any specific information on it, but it would not surprise me if Apple continued to sell the M1 Mac mini given its popularity and offer this redesign as a high-end version at a higher price, of course. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I have more specific information on this.

Is the iPod Dead?

I have been asked this question a lot lately. As far as I know, Apple is not planning another release of the iPod. At least not a major one.

I have seen reports of a complete redesign and even a clearly fake “iPod Edition” with a click wheel. If an iPod were to be released, it definitely would not be a redesign, just a spec upgrade – though I doubt it.

There have been reports claiming Apple would somehow bring the iPod back to life in 2021 – but that’s not the case at all.

Funnily enough, most of the media believed the first story, but after the October event, Apple hid the iPod page, which can now only be accessed if you search for it specifically. In summary, I don’t expect any more iPod devices.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]