There’s a new iPhone with a new charging port, so Apple is changing over the port somewhere else, too.
It’s happening: Apple is changing the port on its phones, and it’s not the only place that’ll see the Lightning port disappear.
While the launch of the iPhone 15 sees a new camera alongside the new port, so too will the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen, which is getting a new case when the new phone launches next week.
Don’t call this an upgrade, because it’s not. The release of a new AirPods Pro case is more of an update, and one that means owners of one of the best models of truly wireless earphones can charge using the Type C connector found on so many devices, power packs, and so on and so on. They’ll even be able to plug the AirPods Pro with Type C directly into an iPhone to charge it up. Handy.
That is the major change for the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen, with everything else kept in tact. The release of iOS 17 will update some other features, including Adaptive Audio, Personalised Volume, and Conversation Awareness, but that’s it.
The problem is Apple’s AirPods Pro Type C case is only officially available if you buy the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen. At $399, swallowing the cost of a new pair of AirPods Pro just for a case might not seem like the logical approach.
So is there another way to snag the new case?
How to buy the USB C AirPods Pro case separately
It turns out there is another way.
Even though the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen Type C case isn’t available as an accessory from the Apple Store (at least not at the time this article was published), it is available through Apple’s support system.
Simply head to the AirPods repair page and select “lost item”, “charging cases”, and then the “USB-C MagSafe Charging Case”, and Apple will provide an estimated cost for the USB C AirPods Pro case. At the time of publishing, that was $155, which is less than half the price of the AirPods Pro 2nd-gen with the case.
If all you wanted was the new case, it might just save you some coin.
