Leaked AirPods prototype looks like Nothing... literally

Apple's AirPods have been around for almost a decade. The first pair, which were hard not to compare to a mini toothbrush head, arrived in 2016 and while there have been several models since with new features introduced every year, there's one thing that's remained constant – they are only available in white.

We're not including the over-ear AirPods Max that come in a gorgeous set of colour options of course, and we're also not including Apple-owned Beats. Those do have a good selection of colour options for in-ears that are also packed with a number of the AirPods convenience features. The in-ear Apple AirPods models though, come in white and white only.

A prototype has appeared online however, and for those who have wished for AirPods in a different colour, or better yet, a transparent design like Nothing offers with its Nothing Ear (2) headphones, you'll be thrilled.

Could AirPods ever come in a different colour?

Leaker @LusiRoy8 posted a couple of images to their X (formerly Twitter) account, which was picked up by 9to5Mac and it presents what is said to be an EVT (engineering validation test) prototype of the AirPods charging case with a transparent design. The design certainly doesn't look as refined as Nothing's offering, but you wouldn't expect an engineering test sample to either.

There's nothing in the post to suggest Apple is considering offering a transparent pair of AirPods, or even AirPods in different colours, but we would absolutely be here for a transparent pair of AirPods. To be honest, we'd take any extra colour options and we'd probably buy every pair.

For now though, the closest there is to transparent AirPods that aren't an engineering prototype, are Beats Studio Buds+ so that's what you'll need to invest in if this story reignited your desire for transparent AirPods.