Ming-Chi Kuo on Monday said that Apple’s next-gen AirPods 3 will not enter mass production until the third quarter of 2021.
Today’s Kuo report indicates AirPods 3 are simply not ready yet.
Kuo says Apple shipped around 90 million AirPods in 2020 and expects that to fall to about 78 million for 2021.
The analyst says Apple may keep second-generation AirPods on the market when AirPods 3 are released. However, he is not sure on this matter yet.
MacDailyNews Take: If Apple keeps the current “long-stemmed” AirPods (2nd. gen.) on the market, they will drop the price tantalizingly low, thereby wreaking havoc on Kuo’s AirPod unit shipment prediction.
I hope AirPods 2 stay in lineup at $99. I like the comfortable not snug and safer not external sound blocking design. I use the similar original AirPods (1).
Sales number in units sold is deceiving for comparing 2020 to 2021. If success is measured in profit (the bottom line), AirPods will likely be more successful. One AirPods Max probably creates the profit of 3-4 AirPods 2 and 2-3 AirPods Pro. And Apple sells AirPods Max as fast as they are produced, and it did not exist for most of 2020.
My transition to Jane won’t truly arrive until the second half of Todd year either. Sausages anyone?