We already expect Apple to switch the iPhone away from Lightning in favour of USB-C when the iPhone 15 lineup arrives later in 2023, but what about its AirPods?

Apple will now reportedly also move the AirPods Pro 2 to USB-C as soon as 2023, but those who are holding off buying AirPods 2 or AirPods 3 so that they can get a new connector might have a longer wait.

USB-C (almost) all the things

First, some background.

Apple is only moving the iPhone to USB-C because of an EU rule that will require all phones and things like earbuds and headphones to use a common charger by the end of 2024. That common charger is USB-C seeing as Apple was the only one not already using it.

Moving the iPhone over isn't the only thing that Apple needs to do, of course. It has AirPods that also use Lightning and will need to eventually switch to USB-C. Now, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple has plans in place for the AirPods Pro 2.

In a post on Twitter, Kuo said that Apple is set to start mass shipments of an updated AirPods Pro 2 soon.

"I think this is likely the USB-C version of the AirPods Pro 2, with mass shipments expected in 2Q23-3Q23," Kuo's tweet said. "By the way, Apple currently appears to have no plans for USB-C versions of the AirPods 2 & 3."

That does of course raise questions about what Apple has planned for the non-Pro AirPods. There's also the AirPods Max headphones that need to be considered — we haven't heard rumours of a specific USB-C version yet, although there have been claims of an updated pair of headphones arriving in 2024. 2025 has also been mentioned, which would be too late for the EU.

The big change is obviously the iPhone ditching Lightning, however, and that's expected to happen in September 2023.