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Apple is preparing to update both the AirPods and the AirPods Pro, according to a new report that suggests they are part of a wide range of new audio products being planned by Apple.Both versions of the wireless earphones will get smaller, according to the new report from Bloomberg. While the AirPods will lose some of the stems that come down from the ear, making them look more like the AirPods Pro, the AirPods Pro could lose their stalks almost entirely to make them more like earbuds, the report claims.Other companies – such as Google and Amazon – have already released AirPods competitors of their own that feature such a design, nestling in the ears without the stem that falls out and down.In addition to those design changes, Apple could add extra battery life, the report claimed. It could also introduce new wireless chips to power both versions of the AirPods, which currently use small Apple processors for features such as noise cancellation and managing connections to devices.Apple has been rumoured to be planning another event for November – the third in three months, after one for the Apple Watch and iPad in September and then the iPhone last month – during which it is widely rumoured to be showing off the first Macs that contain its own “Apple Silicon” chips. It appears unlikely that the new AirPods will be unveiled at that event, though other audio equipment could be.The new versions of the AirPods could arrive next year, the report indicates. That would see them launched alongside a possible HomePod that would sit between the current larger smart speaker and the Mini that was unveiled at the iPhone event, as well as the long-rumoured “AirPods Studio”.Those are said to be designed as headphones rather than earphones, while keeping much of the same technology that allows the AirPods to integrate with other Apple products, for instance.Those headphones have been in development for at least two years and could be ready as soon as next month, various reports have indicated. But the company has faced a run of development challenges with those earphones and it has already been delayed repeatedly, the report claimed.The latest issue relates to the headband, with testing reporting that the headphones were too tight when worn. That set back production, which was due to begin weeks ago, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.It has also had to scale back some features such as large touch pads across the sides of the headphones, which are now smaller, and replaceable components that will now be limited to the earopads rather than the headband.

Water has been definitively found on the Moon, Nasa has said, and there are a set of “water traps” that could hold it stably.The research suggests that water could be distributed right across the lunar surface, not just trapped in the cold, shadowed parts of the Moon.The discovery is a major breakthrough in the mission to explore the rest of the solar system, as well as giving a better understanding of the lunar surface.It also raises new questions about how exactly the water got there, and how it is able to survive the harsh conditions on the Moon.It could, for instance, be trapped in “glass beads” on the surface that form when micrometeorites crash into the Moon and melt a part of the lunar surface, either forming water or capturing it in the beads as it does.Scientists had previously thought that any water on the sunlit side of the Moon would immediately be lost. But it appears that it is in fact present, and not just on the parts that are shaded from the sun.Nasa was keen to stress that the amount of water is very limited, with the new discovery representing only around one per cent of the amount of water found in the Sahara desert. But even that very small amount of water was not previously confirmed to exist, and it remains unclear how it could be created or stay on the surface.Researchers had previously found evidence of hydration on the lunar surface. But it was unclear whether that hydrogen was in the form of hydroxyl – the chemical that makes up drain cleaners – or in the form of H2O, or water.Now scientists have found unambiguously that there is a water on the surface.“We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon,” said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.“Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.”That could be used for humans who travel to the Moon and create a permanent lunar base there, as Nasa hopes to. It could also help create fuel to travel elsewhere in the solar system.Nasa hopes to head to the Moon in 2024, taking the first person in more than 50 years and the first woman ever to step foot on the lunar surface. By the end of the decade, it wants to have established a “sustainable human presence” on the Moon.Water is critical for exploring space: not just as a fuel or drinking, but it can also be turned into oxygen to breathe. But it is heavy, and therefore very expensive to be carried into space on a rocket, and so finding it on the Moon could make space travel significantly cheaper and easier.“Water is a valuable resource, for both scientific purposes and for use by our explorers,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.“If we can use the resources at the Moon, then we can carry less water and more equipment to help enable new scientific discoveries.”Scientists still don’t know exactly where the water is being stored on the Moon, or if it can be used at all. They said the new discovery is just the beginning of future research that will involve exploring the state and location of the water on the surface.“Without a thick atmosphere, water on the sunlit lunar surface should just be lost to space,” said Casey Honniball,  the lead author, who published the results from her graduate thesis work at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu. “Yet somehow we’re seeing it. Something is generating the water, and something must be trapping it there.”Researchers suggest that in some cases tiny patches of ice might exist in permanent shadows no bigger than a penny.They explored phenomena on the moon called cold traps, which are shadowy regions of the surface that exist in a state of eternal darkness.It is thought that many have gone without a single ray of sunlight for potentially billions of years.Now scientists say there may be a lot more of these nooks and crannies than previous data suggests.Paul Hayne, assistant professor in the laboratory of atmospheric and space physics at University of Colorado Boulder, said: “If you can imagine standing on the surface of the moon near one of its poles, you would see shadows all over the place.”Many of those tiny shadows could be full of ice.”Drawing on detailed data from Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the researchers estimate the moon could harbour roughly 15,000 square miles of permanent shadows in various shapes and sizes.According to scientists, these might be reservoirs capable of preserving water via ice.Prof Hayne added: “If we’re right, water is going to be more accessible for drinking water, for rocket fuel, everything that Nasa needs water for.”In one of two papers published in Nature Astronomy, Casey Honniball, from the University of Hawaii, and colleagues analysed data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) airborne telescope that observed the moon at six micrometres.At this wavelength, they were able to detect a spectral signature of water that is not shared with other hydroxyl compounds.They found water is present at high southern latitudes.The observations arose from something of a test observation, to see whether Sofia could examine the Moon. The flying observatory is usually used to look deeper into space, and it was not clear that it could even see the lunar surface properly since it is so close and bright.“It was, in fact, the first time SOFIA has looked at the Moon, and we weren’t even completely sure if we would get reliable data, but questions about the Moon’s water compelled us to try,” said Naseem Rangwala, SOFIA’s project scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, in a statement.“It’s incredible that this discovery came out of what was essentially a test, and now that we know we can do this, we’re planning more flights to do more observations.”In the other study, Prof Hayne assessed a whole range of possible sizes for cold traps, down to one centimetre in diameter.The team found that small-scale micro cold traps – some just 1cm wide – are hundreds to thousands of times more numerous than larger cold traps, and they can be found at both poles.The authors suggest that approximately 40,000 square km of the lunar surface has the capacity to trap water.Researchers say the findings indicate water is efficiently produced or delivered on the moon by various processes, and is likely to be stored in the moon’s cold traps at both polar region.The team pulled data from real-life observations of the moon, then used mathematical tools to recreate what its surface might look like at a very small scale.They say it is a bit like a golf ball.However the researchers caution that they cannot prove these shadows actually hold pockets of ice, and the only way to do that would be to go there in person or with rovers and dig.But they say the results are promising, and future missions could shed even more light on the moon’s water resources.Prof Hayne said: “Astronauts may not need to go into these deep, dark shadows.”They could walk around and find one that’s a metre wide and that might be just as likely to harbour ice.”Additional reporting by Press Association

The Nord N10 5G, which OnePlus touts as the “most accessible premium 5G experience”, comes with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, as well as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 690 chipset.It also has a 6.49-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, and a 4300mAh battery equipped with fast-charging capabilities.While the original Nord had an in-screen fingerprint scanner, the Nord N10 5G has one on the back of the device similar to the Pixel 5. It also has dual stereo speakers, which the original Nord lacked.With regards to the camera, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G comes with a 64MP main lens, an 8MP 119-degree ultra-wide lens, a 2MP macro lens for small-scale detail and a 2MP monochrome lens for depth. The selfie camera, meanwhile, has a 16MP resolution, housed in a holepunch notch.The N100, meanwhile, is the lowest-priced Nord device, but is better than its siblings in some respects.It comes with a 6.52-inch display, larger than the N10 5G, and has a bigger batter at 5000mAh (albeit one that charges more slowly, with only an 18W fast-charge capability compared to the 30W on the N10 5G).Inside, the N100 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 460 chipset, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, expandable via a MicroSD card. It has a 13MP main camera, a 2MP macro lens, and another 2MP bokeh lens for depth. The front-facing camera has an 8MP resolution.Both devices charge via USB-C, have 3.5mm headphone jacks, and run Android 10 with OxygenOS – OnePlus’ Android skin – layered over the top.The OnePlus Nord N100 will be available for £179 from 10 November, while OnePlus Nord N10 5G will cost £329, with a release date later in November. Notably, both devices will also eventually hit North America, although OnePlus did not say when they would be making their debut.