AirPods Max 2 and $99 AirPods are within the works, however nonetheless possible over a yr away
A raft of latest AirPods–together with a less expensive set focused at a $99 value level, and the long-awaited second version of the AirPods Max–is within the pipeline and slated for a launch in 2024 or 2025, in response to Ming-Chi Kuo.
The extensively revered leaker-analyst tweeted Thursday a collection of feedback and predictions associated to Apple’s AirPods enterprise. As common for Kuo, he centered on the supply-chain perspective, however his tweets additionally revealed various snippets that will likely be of curiosity to Apple clients eagerly awaiting information on upcoming launches.
“The next-generation AirPods will possible start mass shipments in [the second half of 2024] or [the first half of 2025],” Kuo wrote, including that the launches would come with a price range set of AirPods and the second-gen AirPods Max.
The authentic AirPods Max got here out in December 2020, greater than two years in the past, and pundits have speculated ever since about when Apple will launch a successor. In distinction with the corporate’s flagship iPhones, that are refreshed yearly, its iPads (often yearly to 18 months), or its extra widespread Macs (each two years or much less), the AirPods have often been left alone for 2 and a half years or extra with no bulletins in any respect.
- AirPods 1: Sept 2016
- AirPods 2: March 2019
- AirPods 3: October 2021
- AirPods Pro 1: October 2019
- AirPods Pro 2: September 2022
- AirPods Max 1: December 2020
- AirPods Max 2: ???
This is all of the extra mystifying as a result of the AirPods product line, which generally has been exceptionally profitable for Apple, has suffered dips in gross sales as particular person fashions age. It’s laborious to see why Apple doesn’t pre-emptively cease this by updating the units each two years or much less, however there’s no signal that the corporate will change its coverage, notably for the premium Max fashions.
The information of a price range set of AirPods, nevertheless, probably priced as little as $99, is extremely attention-grabbing. This isn’t a very new rumor, following a report earlier this month, and stories from 2020 that referred to AirPods Pro Lite as being within the pipeline at Apple, however it’s reassuring to get corroboration from a supply as trusted as Kuo. While Apple nonetheless sells the second-gen AirPods for $129, the so-called AirPods Lite would give entry to a market Apple hasn’t beforehand tapped—sub $100 earbuds that aren’t simply decreased older fashions. Cheaper AirPods might additionally stimulate curiosity in Apple’s earbuds through the prolonged wait between updates—though it seems like we’ll be ready for the Lite fashions so lengthy that the others will likely be overdue for a refresh on the similar time.