Apple could be working on an AirPods Pro Lite earbuds for a 2020 introduction

If the latest supply chain reporting is an indication, the Cupertino technology giant might be working on a pair of new AirPods Pro earbuds that may cost less than the current $249 model.

Reportedly dubbed “AirPods Pro Lite,” the rumored earphones should arrive some time in 2020, according to unnamed sources that spoke with the Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes.

The report makes it sound as if the earphones will be priced lower than the current $249 AirPods Pro but more than the second-generation AirPods that debuted last March priced at $159 without the wireless charging case or $199 with the Qi case included.

The paywall’d story also acknowledges Apple is working with its Taiwanese suppliers on other product refreshes such as the next iPad Pro and new iMac and Apple Watch models.

Both the current iMac models and the iMac Pro are up for a refresh, especially the expensive iMac Pro which is aimed at creative professionals because that particular all-in-one desktop has lived without any CPU/GPU updates from Apple updates since 2017.

The story makes no mention whatsoever of possible refreshes to the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air that analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo speculated should be coming this year to fix the problematic butterfly switch keys on those laptops.

The DigiTimes story cautions that Apple’s product roadmap could be affected by the ongoing coronavirus crisis because the epidemic “has raised risks of raw materials supply shortages and shipments disruptions arising from uncertain resumption of normal operations at components suppliers and assembly plants in China,” according to MacRumors.

Image: custom-painted AirPods Pro via ColorWare