Apple Ditches EarPods For AirPods In Eurasian Filing; iPhone 7, 7 Plus And 10 Apple Watch 2 Models Confirmed For Sept. 7 Event?

Apple always tries to keep everything under wraps until its time for it to reveal its new products. However, with the intense hype over its upcoming iPhone 7 handsets and Apple Watch 2 smartwatches, it is very impossible for the Cupertino giant to block tipsters and leaksters from revealing things about its new devices ahead of its Sept. 7 event.

New leaks about its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets have emerged recently, but while those leaks used snaps to back their claims, a new report published on Tuesday is citing Eurasian Economic EAEC (EAEC) filings to support claims on what products the tech giant is preparing for its media event.

According to MacRumors, Russian website iPhones.ru obtained copies of the documents Apple filed to EAEC that contain details about the products that the company is putting up for sale soon in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia and to other parts of the world as well.

Based on the filings, Apple is launching wireless earphones, since there is already a certification for one that is tentatively named “AirPods.” The AirPods could be Apple’s solution to the removal of the headphone jack from its new smartphones and the replacement to its famous EarPods; however, it remains to be seen whether the audio device would be made as a bundled accessory or a separate accessory for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple Insider reports that this is not the first time that a product with the AirPods moniker is being linked to Apple because government records from last year had already stirred suspicion that Apple was working on a project that aimed to build a device with the same name. At the time, however, the document was from an unknown company. It was found out eventually that the file was signed by a manager who has connections to the Cupertino giant.

What’s interesting about the newly revealed certification is that it also mentions three other wireless headphone models that will be marketed under Beats. Does this mean Apple could be selling the wireless earphones as first-party accessories? Nothing is certain for now.

Meanwhile, the EAEC certifications also include entries for two smartphones that are designated as A1778 and A1784 — both codes are believed to represent the upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus handsets. It is also possible that the devices would run on iOS 10 out of the box because there is an entry for “iOS software version 10” in the filings.

Finally, The Russian documents also appear to confirm the imminent debut and release of 10 Apple Watch 2 smartwatches. Each notification for the smartwatches comes with an entry that reads “watchOS software version 2,” so it is likely that the new wearable devices would debut with watchOS 2 and that they would get watchOS 3 later, since Apple is still working on watchOS 3, which the company announced in June at the 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

With the emergence of these documents, it is very likely that Apple is indeed launching its new wireless earphones and new Apple Watch 2 devices alongside the public unveiling of its iPhone 7 devices.