San Francisco, Dec 19 (IANS) Apple is reportedly planning to launch AirPods 3 truly wireless earbuds sometime in the first half of 2021.

According to The Elec, the third-gen AirPods will feature the same design as the current AirPods Pro with Apple's H1 chip at the core, housed in a new system in a package (SiP) enclosure.

A South Korean supplier is developing the AirPods' new SiP used for the H1 chip, which is said to be a "simple square shape," in contrast to the AirPods Pro SiP, which is "round-shaped like a mouse."

In terms of pricing, the new AirPods will be 20 per cent cheaper at launch than the current AirPods Pro's $249, which rounds out to around $200.

In addition, quality tests for the new AirPods' system-in-package (SiP) are reportedly starting before the end of this year, while their production is expected to start in early 2021.

Rumours are that Apple is working on third-generation AirPods for launch in the first half of next year first surfaced in April 2020 in a note to investors by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.