New AirPods Max & $99 AirPods rumored for late 2024

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2023
According to Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will be adding a budget model to its AirPods lineup by late 2024 at the earliest.

AirPods 3
AirPods 3


Analysts have recently suggested that Apple may develop a lite version of its AirPods to compete against cheaper wireless earbuds.

Kuo took to Twitter on Wednesday night to outline a timeline for the budget earbuds, stating that he believes they'll begin shipping in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025. He stated that they will be priced under $100.

(4/5)
The next-generation AirPods will likely begin mass shipments in 2H24 or 1H25, including more affordable AirPods (with Apple targeting a price of $99) and new AirPods Max, which will be assembled by Luxshare ICT and Hon Teng.

-- (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo)


He also claimed that Apple would release the second generation of its high-end AirPods Max, which were initially launched in late 2020.

Kuo has also recently predicted that Apple will debut its new mixed-reality headset in spring of 2023.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,987member
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    fred1mike1
  • Reply 2 of 11
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,111member
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    I was going to write the same thing: when did Apple ever aim for the “affordable”?
  • Reply 3 of 11
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    Yes

    iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE, Mac mini to name a few. 
    edited January 2023 designrgrandact73
  • Reply 4 of 11
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Pancake said:
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    Yes

    iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE, Mac mini to name a few. 
    Nope. Bad examples. These are less expensive than other products in the lineup but not cheap.
    You can buy much cheaper watches or computers or phones if you wanted.
    Apple does not usually partake in the race to the bottom.

    danox
  • Reply 5 of 11
    thttht Posts: 5,420member
    You know, it behooves everyone not to believe any of these rumors that are 2 years out. It's ridiculous. If it was say, 6 months out, believable as mass production contracts would have been signed and started. 24 months out? It's just ideas people are floating around. Some engineering work is being done to kick the tires, or prove out concepts and such. That's a very long way from being committed with hundreds of billions of dollars and getting the supply chain ramped up for mass production.
    bala1234
  • Reply 6 of 11
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,987member
    Pancake said:
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    Yes

    iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE, Mac mini to name a few. 
    Listing off the least expensive models of various Apple products doesn't prove they're pursuing the cheap end of the market.

    The SE models are essentially slightly updated versions of older model phones and watches, and they're still a lot more expensive than the actually-cheap competition. Likewise, Dell currently has 18 PC models that are cheaper than a Mac Mini. 

    Apple doesn't pursue the "cheap" market, which is where lower-quality devices sold at low margins hoping for high volume exist. Apple's entire business model is built on the expectation of high quality, reliability and simplicity. The reason Apple is profitable is that people will pay for products that meet those expectations, and Apple can charge a premium for it. Apple doesn't pursue high sales volume "market share," leaving that to others. Those others struggle to stay profitable, because they make very little on each cheap unit sold, and if the compromises on quality are too great and drag down the volume sales, those other companies lose out on profitability. Apple has never had any interest in that game, and they're not going to damage their reputation by selling cheap, compromised-quality devices. 
    danox
  • Reply 7 of 11
    Very cheap price, I hope the headphones will be quality
  • Reply 8 of 11
    End of 24?  WTH?
    Japhey
  • Reply 9 of 11
    danoxdanox Posts: 2,799member
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    No, Apple hasn’t pursued cheap but that won’t stop the brotherhood of Tech and Financial analysts who think Apple should make everything cheaper to pursue marketshare.

    They just will not stop their drumbeat. Those cheap speakers that Amazon came out with where has that led Amazon?
    edited January 2023
  • Reply 10 of 11
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    designr said:
    mike1 said:
    Pancake said:
    AppleZulu said:
    Does Apple ever pursue the “cheap” end of the market? 
    Yes

    iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE, Mac mini to name a few. 
    Nope. Bad examples. These are less expensive than other products in the lineup but not cheap.
    You can buy much cheaper watches or computers or phones if you wanted.
    Apple does not usually partake in the race to the bottom.

    And why assume this would be different?

    If true, Apple is trying to find a way to slot another product tier for the AirPods. I don't assume they will be "cheap".

    The person to whom I replied called them cheap products. They may introduce a less expensive model, but you can be sure it will be profitable and not meant to chase market share.
    muthuk_vanalingam
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