What you need to know
- Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will ship around one million AirPods Max units annually.
- It isn't clear whether the low number will be caused by manufacturing limitations or low demand.
Apple will ship around one million AirPods Max units annually according to a new research note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The news came via a note seen by iMore, with Kuo also claiming that AirPods 3 won't see production ramp up until the third quarter of this year.
Kuo, one of the more accurate and respected analysts, still doesn't have a 100% track record with these kinds of things. However, the one million unit number does still seem to be somewhat low. Kuo doesn't expand on his claim, however, so it's unclear whether the expectation is based on relatively low sales demand or the fact that Apple continues to struggle to get AirPods Max availability under control. Anyone ordering AirPods Max today will still likely have a multi-week wait before they can slip them on.
The $549 asking price could also be something of a difficult sell for AirPods Max, although again, demand seems to have been solid up until this point. We'll need to see whether Kuo is on the money here.
The research note also suggests that we might not see AirPods 3 enter mass production until the third quarter of 2021, although again, Kuo leaves that open to interpretation. It remains to be seen whether AirPods 3 will launch next week as expected but with low stock levels, or if the launch won't take place until later this year.
If That $549 price is a little rich for your blood, why not check out the best AirPods Max alternatives instead?
