A new AirPods setup screen has been found within the iOS 12.2 beta release for developers. That Beta, released Thursday, indicated that users will be able to talk directly to Siri using the next generation AirPods.
Waiting for the Next Generation
9to5Mac reported that the next generation of AirPods will be able to be configured for Siri in the same way iPhones and iPads can be. The AirPods themselves will do the Siri recognition and send commands to the paired device. The report also noted that lasts September’s Apple event even featured a person using “Hey, Siri” with their AirPods.
We do not yet know when the next generation of the headphones is going to appear. There has been some talk it will happen in 2019. Leading Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said an all new model of the headphones will be released in 2020. Given the presence of the setup screen, it looks like the release will come sooner rather than later. The analyst also said that they are Apple’s most popular accessory ever.