On the docket for this year's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), are a potentially more capable, conversational Siri and anticipation of this fall's iOS big update. Though hardware announcements are more robust in the fall, Apple analyst Mark Gurman asserted that Apple was working on a new AirPods model with integrated cameras to feed environmental images to Siri.

Also: If Samsung's Galaxy Buds 4 bore you, I hope you're ready for camera-equipped earbuds

Though integrated infrared cameras open a world of possibilities for increased earbud capabilities, there's one small AirPods upgrade I'm more interested in: LE Audio. Apple's current AirPods lineup, AirPods Max 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4, all have the basic hardware for LE Audio; all that's missing is for Apple to pull the lever and enable it via over-the-air firmware update.

LE Audio in AirPods would deliver improved battery life, lower latency, standardized latency and audio quality, and better performance for hearing aids.

In a perfect world, Apple would enable LE Audio on its source devices (iPhone, Mac, iPad) and receivers (AirPods), and allow consumers to toggle between AAC and LC3 within a device's Bluetooth settings. Apple prefers the AAC Bluetooth codec and specifically optimized it for Apple devices when the iTunes Store launched in 2003.

Thus, it's built on older technologies from Classic radio, and it is power-intensive. If you've ever connected non-Apple headphones to an Apple source device, you'll notice that the headphones' battery drains faster.