Apple iPhone 12 Pro: Next iOS phones could leave out EarPods to boost AirPods

A leading Apple analyst has tipped one item could be left out of the next models in a bid to bolster other parts of the business.

Jack Gramenz

4 min read

May 26, 2020 - 11:59AM

A global pandemic hasn’t stopped tech fans obsessing over what Apple’s next iPhone Pro models could feature, or what might be left out.

Apple and other brands are always subject to speculation and fascination in the lead-up to releasing new devices, partly due to the high levels of secrecy surrounding them to protect against competitors copying and borrowing ideas.

But it also creates mystique and interest in the eventual announcements, which are likely to be held virtually this year.

Apple already (virtually) launched the $749 iPhone SE last month as a budget device that fuses the look of 2017’s iPhone 8 with the innards of last year’s iPhone 11, so not exactly a new phone.

The budget iPhone SE, iPhone 11, 11 Pro Max and 11 Pro.

Speculation is that Apple will release four models of iPhone later this year: two iPhone 12 models and two iPhone 12 Pro models.

All phones are expected to feature 5G connectivity, with the non-Pro models tipped to receive the OLED screens that have typically been restricted to the higher end models.

OLED displays are more vivid and have better contrast, and provide “true blacks” because each pixel is independently lit so black pixels can be turned all the way off instead of just down.

For the tech enthused chasing innovation the real game is the more cutting-edge, top of the range models, which last year were rebranded as the “Pro” iPhones, joining other similarly qualified models in the Mac, iPad and even AirPods line-up of “Pro” devices sold by the consumer electronics company.

Last year’s iPhone 11 Pro models were better to look at, had an additional camera, were designed tougher and lasted longer than the $1199 iPhone 11 they launched alongside.

Those benefits came at a $550 price premium, with the Pro starting at $1749.

The next line of Pro iPhones will almost definitely remain similarly expensive, but those in the know have a few other theories about what we can expect from them as well.

Apple first added the “Pro” branding to iPhones last year and it’s expected to return again in 2020. Picture: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty Images

Ming Chi-Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, who has spent years developing supply chain sources and building a reputation as a reliable analyst of Apple’s next move, last week issued a fresh note to investors speculating on some of the upcoming features.

One eyebrow raising note from Kuo’s recent analysis has less to do with what Apple might include in the new phones than what it could leave out.

The EarPods accessory that has typically been included in the box could be left out of the next models.

Including EarPods in the box has taken on new importance since the release of 2016’s iPhone 7, the first of Apple’s phones to ship without a 3.5mm headphone jack.

This meant you either needed a dongle to connect your regular headphones, or you could use the included EarPods that connected via the Lightning connector.

5G equipment is still being rolled out around the country.

Kuo now thinks those EarPods could be heading out the door (or at least the box), and it could be a case of convenient timing that Apple would launch pricing promotions on its wireless AirPods models at around the same time.

AirPods were widely mocked when they were first introduced but have since become a market leader and something of a status symbol, despite being expensive, easy to lose, and having an in-built expiration date in the form of a non-replaceable battery.

Leaving EarPods out of the box with new iPhones could potentially lead to an increase in AirPods sales, as much as it could potentially prompt a backlash against the company for excluding a cheap, low quality pair of headphones that many customers were unlikely to use anyway.

If Apple does away with the included EarPods you can expect to hear complaints even though many consumers didn’t use the low-quality buds in the first place.

One only needs to remember the fervour around Apple’s switch to the smaller Lightning connector in 2012 to get an idea of the vitriol the company’s changes can inspire: some people are still calling it “the new port” eight years later, after it’s been featured in at least three times as many iPhones as the old 30-pin connector.

The potential deletion of the Lightning EarPods could also be indicative of a move to the new USB-C connector.

USB-C is supposed to be the new industry standard: a reversible connector not unlike the Lightning interface.

It’s already used in most new Android phones, as well as Apple’s iPad Pro models and Macs.

The European Union has been trying to force Apple to move to this connector as well in a bid to reduce the amount of e-Waste from different companies all using different connectors.

Apple’s AirPods have already become a massive contributor to company revenue.

Other Apple commentators have theorised the new models could bring back Lightning for one more round, before Apple does away with ports all together in favour of wireless charging and the “Smart Connector” used for some accessories on iPad.

USB-C isn’t the only thing the next iPhones could inherit from their bigger (albeit cheaper) sibling.

Shame the USB-c prototype iPhone 12's arent making it to production. 1 more year of lightning ðŸ¥³ðŸ˜

Oh well, at least smart connector on 13 series
— Fudge (@choco_bit) May 25, 2020

The iPad Pro is now being used by many tech speculators as a preview of technology and designs that could trickle down to the iPhone.

Rumours are circulating the next iPhone Pro models could nick the iPad Pro’s LIDAR sensor (which can measure distances and depths using lasers and reflections).

The use cases and potential benefits of having a LIDAR scanner on your phone are primarily based around augmented reality features in mobile gaming applications like Pokemon Go, or online shopping platforms that can use AR to virtually try on clothes or see how a piece of furniture would look in your house.

There are also some hyper-specific use cases for professionals in some industries.

The design of the iPad Pro, featuring sharper edges than the current iPhone 11 Pro models more reminiscent of the candybar iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 models, could also make a return.