San Francisco, Mar 10 (IANS): Apple is working on the next-generation AirPods that will come with noise cancellation and see the light of day in 2019, media reported.

"Feature wise, the second iteration of AirPods will reportedly include noise cancellation features and the introduction of a new W2 chip," BGR reported late on Friday.

The next iteration of AirPods are expected to be water-resistant and could feature hands-free support for "Hey Siri".

The noise-cancelling improvements are referred to as using physical analog methods rather than active noise cancellation using electronics as seen in the latest "Beats Studio" headphones, according to 9to5Mac.com.

The Cupertino-headquartered giant will continue to increase production of the wireless earphones, Barclays' analysts suggested.

The HomePod is also expected to get updated later this year and the flagship $349 HomePod could be joined by a cheaper model.

The original AirPods debuted in December 2016 but the release date for a second iteration remains largely unclear.