Apple will update HomePod mini, AirPods Max in 2024, says Kuo

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited February 2023
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says he now expects that Apple will follow the new HomePod with a refresh of most of its audio devices, but not until the second half of 2024.




While Apple's release of the revised HomePod -- available from February 3, 2023 -- was mostly a surprise, there have continually been rumors about other devices like a HomePod mini 2.

Now Kuo says that he expects there will be a HomePod mini 2, but not for more than a year.

(1/2)
I predict Apple's next important acoustic product refresh time is will be in 2H24-1H25. The following new products will likely start mass production in 2H24 at the earliest.
1. HomePod mini 2.
2. AirPods Max 2.
3. AirPods low-cost version.

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


Kuo is careful to say that this is his prediction. It will be an informed one, but often he says that his information is directly from his surveys of the supply chain, and he doesn't make that commitment here.

If he's correct, that will mean that the AirPods Max refresh comes at least three years, possibly four, since their December 2020 release. In 2022, AppleInsider noted that the unchanged AirPods Max still hold up, but they are one of the decreasing number of Apple products that haven't switched to USB-C charging.

Similarly, the HomePod mini was released in November 2020. It's seen price fluctuations, and the introduction of different colors, but otherwise there's been no other change since then.

As for a lower-cost version of the AirPods, that has been rumored since the devices first launched. However, most recently, other analysts have proposed that Apple will produce a "Lite" version in order to compete with cheaper wireless earbuds.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    My educated guess
    Low cost AirPods:$80-100(AirPods 2)
    AirPods Max(H2 chip upgrade)
    HomePod Mini 2(wireless upgrade & chip upgrade)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 11
    I’ve got four Minis and won’t likely upgrade as long as they work well but I’m in the market for AirPods Max. This is disappointing news, but I guess they had to make compromises because of all the supply chain issues.🥺
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    This is the myopic danger of placing all of one’s eggs in a singular China supply & demand basket.  Globalization and off-shoring were killed off by the recent pandemic and world strife, such anomalies shall continue!  Diversify your supply and production chain, bring manufacturing back to the Americas. 

    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,442member
    C'mon. A groundhog could have made these predictions yesterday.
    Newer versions of 2-3 year-old products. OMG, he's a soothsayer.
    watto_cobraramanpfaffdewme
  • Reply 5 of 11
    I realize there is a relationship between weight of speakers (or headphones) and audio quality. But as much as I wanted to like AirPods Max, they were just too heavy for me to wear comfortably (compared to Sony WH-1000), and may be the only Apple product I’ve ever returned. I would be happy if next Max generation could exceed audio quality at a lighter weight. Also, original HomePod stereo pair is still working great for me — I’m having trouble understanding how the new one’s audio quality is improved (computationally?) with one less tweeter and mic (internal components really higher quality?). I look forward to sampling the new HomePod, but holding off on “upgrading.”
    edited February 2023
  • Reply 6 of 11
    I own the Air Pod Max and walk my dog 3.5 miles everyday!   I also have the Sony’s WH-1000 …3’s I think.   The APM are lighter and more comfortable on top of sounding better.   Do they sound as good as my Sennheiser 800HD S or my Dan Clark Aeon’s…but because I wear my Apple APM every day….wires are really so “yesterday”….especially while walking your dog…;-) 
  • Reply 7 of 11
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,612member
    This is the myopic danger of placing all of one’s eggs in a singular China supply & demand basket.  Globalization and off-shoring were killed off by the recent pandemic and world strife, such anomalies shall continue!  Diversify your supply and production chain, bring manufacturing back to the Americas. 

    I’d just like to point out that this is pretty easy advice to give out now, but back a decade ago when Apple was almost entirely invested in China, there was a reason why: Apple already commands a premium price, and the market would have reacted badly to further price hikes during the most difficult times of the global pandemic.

    The strong dollar and careful planning is what is making it possible for Apple to further diversify its production facilities and still maintain the quality and price points it has. Manufacturing changes have to be rolled out very slowly and with much planning in order to maintain consistency of quality — we can all think of companies that took jobs out of reliable countries and moved them to cheaper factories, for example, in a manner that ultimately resulted in brand and sales damage.
    muthuk_vanalingamtwokatmewdewme
  • Reply 8 of 11
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,612member
    egold44 said:
    I’m having trouble understanding how the new one’s audio quality is improved (computationally?) with one less tweeter and mic (internal components really higher quality?). I look forward to sampling the new HomePod, but holding off on “upgrading.”
    In a nutshell: the computational analysis is said to be better, and the new HomePods offer better support for Apple’s Spatial Audio as well as Dolby Atmos (and similar sound-improvement technologies coming in the future).

    Reports I’ve seen mention improved sound when used with Apple TV for dialogue and 5.1/7.1 mixes. The parts removed were, at least in part, to make room for larger tweeters and better mics, I suspect, since the new HomePod is roughly the same size as the old one.
    twokatmew
  • Reply 9 of 11
    I don’t think it’s acceptable that Apple seem to not be making their speakers backwards compatible, for me it’s a massive turn off for purchasing. These things, like Sonos, are relatively expensive, but Sonos have a great record of not dumping past products and maintaining as broad a compatibility as feasible. 
  • Reply 10 of 11
    I'll buy a mini for my kitchen when they do the next update. My living room has a pair of original HomePods which I think are really nice. 
  • Reply 11 of 11
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    LeftyLisa said:
    I own the Air Pod Max and walk my dog 3.5 miles everyday!   I also have the Sony’s WH-1000 …3’s I think.   The APM are lighter and more comfortable on top of sounding better.   Do they sound as good as my Sennheiser 800HD S or my Dan Clark Aeon’s…but because I wear my Apple APM every day….wires are really so “yesterday”….especially while walking your dog…;-) 
    I would never go out for a walk with sound in my ears. It is dangerous.

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