Apple Launches New AirPods and $4.99 Siri-Only Music Plan The company announced the new products Monday at an event called “Unleashed” that also included the latest Macs and chips. The new AirPods are the third generation of the original model and look similar to the AirPods Pro launched in 2019. AirPods have quickly become one of Apple’s fastest-growing and most important accessory lines. Since the product’s introduction in 2016, Apple has dominated the wireless ear-bud market and has sparked competing devices from Samsung Electronics Co., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Last year, Apple launched pricey headphones under the AirPods brand. The latest AirPods model includes a new audio driver and water resistance, but lacks features like noise cancellation that are part of the more-expensive version. It will cost $179. Apple plans to keep selling the older entry-level AirPods at a lower $129 price. #RandomThoughts