Apple AirPods to arrive in stores on Dec. 19, report says
According to a report on Thursday, Apple is expected to start brick-and-mortar sales of its wireless AirPods headphones on Dec. 19, giving interested customers another chance to nab a pair on launch day.
Citing an anonymous source within Apple's retail network, MacRumors reports the company plans to start AirPods sales in its stores on Monday, Dec. 19, two days before the first online orders are due to arrive in customers' hands.
Alongside Apple's own stores, the hotly anticipated hardware is also expected to land in mobile carrier outlets and Apple Authorized Resellers on Monday, the report said. It is unclear how many AirPods each store is to be allotted, but judging by preorders earlier this week, supplies will be constrained.
After more than a month of delays, AirPods went on sale through Apple's online storefront on Tuesday with an expected delivery date of Dec. 21. Initial supply quickly sold out, however, pushing back shipping times to four weeks mere hours after release. Current estimates show delivery estimates of six weeks.
The online stockout reflects pent up demand for Apple's first wireless headphone product. Announced in September alongside iPhone 7, AirPods were initially scheduled to debut sometime in October, but unforeseen production issues forced Apple delay launch.
A subsequent report claimed Apple ran into problems syncing audio between the two wireless earbuds, and was investigating solutions for the eventuality of customers losing a single earbud.
Last month, AppleInsider sources said AirPods was on track to ship before the holidays despite the apparent engineering difficulties. Notably, Apple sent AirPods demonstration units to select retail stores in early November.
AppleInsider was able to take an early look at a production model earlier this week and came away impressed. From amazing hardware to tight software integration with Siri support, AirPods is one of 2016's best products.
For those who didn't make the preorder window, and are unable to grab a pair in stores next week, AppleInsider is giving away a set of AirPods to one lucky winner. To enter, subscribe to our YouTube channel and leave a comment in our AirPods giveaway video or follow us on Instagram. The entry period ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 21, and the winner will be announced in a video posted to our YouTube channel on Dec. 22.
Citing an anonymous source within Apple's retail network, MacRumors reports the company plans to start AirPods sales in its stores on Monday, Dec. 19, two days before the first online orders are due to arrive in customers' hands.
Alongside Apple's own stores, the hotly anticipated hardware is also expected to land in mobile carrier outlets and Apple Authorized Resellers on Monday, the report said. It is unclear how many AirPods each store is to be allotted, but judging by preorders earlier this week, supplies will be constrained.
After more than a month of delays, AirPods went on sale through Apple's online storefront on Tuesday with an expected delivery date of Dec. 21. Initial supply quickly sold out, however, pushing back shipping times to four weeks mere hours after release. Current estimates show delivery estimates of six weeks.
The online stockout reflects pent up demand for Apple's first wireless headphone product. Announced in September alongside iPhone 7, AirPods were initially scheduled to debut sometime in October, but unforeseen production issues forced Apple delay launch.
A subsequent report claimed Apple ran into problems syncing audio between the two wireless earbuds, and was investigating solutions for the eventuality of customers losing a single earbud.
Last month, AppleInsider sources said AirPods was on track to ship before the holidays despite the apparent engineering difficulties. Notably, Apple sent AirPods demonstration units to select retail stores in early November.
AppleInsider was able to take an early look at a production model earlier this week and came away impressed. From amazing hardware to tight software integration with Siri support, AirPods is one of 2016's best products.
For those who didn't make the preorder window, and are unable to grab a pair in stores next week, AppleInsider is giving away a set of AirPods to one lucky winner. To enter, subscribe to our YouTube channel and leave a comment in our AirPods giveaway video or follow us on Instagram. The entry period ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 21, and the winner will be announced in a video posted to our YouTube channel on Dec. 22.
Comments
just another sold out item under Apples belts.
Yes, they work just like any BT headphones, but if you have a device with a newer version of iOS, macOS or watchOS it will work even better, as well as sync the pairing data through iCloud so that your other devices are ready to switch to headphone with the W1-chip as you see fit.
We all know that the MacBook and MacBook Pro now only come with USB-C connectors, and many argue that it's because Apple is moving forward and not looking back.
Explain this: Why is it that the BeatsX Earphones that are going to ship in FEBRUARY, 2017 are going to ship with USB-A and not C?!
And as much as I'd like everything to have gone USB-C from Apple at this point, as well as a one-time replacement program for USB-A cables for new Mac owners, the adapter is $9, so not a big deal in the longterm.
So you have to buy a $9 adapter.
That fits with the dates I was getting from the Apple Store App. I expect people will start getting them delivered on Monday, since that's the day they're supposed to start in Australia.
I wonder if they weren't originally delivering on Monday in the US as well, but by the time media outlets noticed, the date had slipped to the 21st.
1) If you've read my comments about Apple's migration to USB-C and their products still shipping with USB-A PSUs and cables, you'd see that I've suggested that Apple offer buyers of the MB and MBP with USB-C-only ports a time-frame to trade-in their USB-A for USB-C in some capacity. As I've previously stated, they give you 30 days to sign up for Apple Care (in the US) so they do have a viable method for tracking new sales and their buyers. The difference is I framed it in a way that there is an argument to be made that Apple could benefit their bottom line with increased Mac sales by lessening the burden of "port migration," whereas you're comment sounds condescending toward Windows and Android users (as even anyone who isn't using a new MB or MBP), and that you think Mac users deserve special treatment in the face of what Apple believes is right direction That sounds like elitism without looking at what Apple believes is best.
2) You write "Android phones already use USB-C" without any indication that the move to USB-C with Android-based devices has only just begun and will probably take couple years before there is a tipping point with USB-C over micro-USB-B in devices for sale, and another couple years after that before the user base exceeds half. To put it another way, your statement is like saying "iOS devices already use USB 3.0" because the 13" iPad Pro has USB 3.0 chip and Lightning 2.0 pinout, but it's obviously not indicative of what is selling en masse and what the install base looks like.
Apple knows its markets better than you do.
The world is wired for USB-A everywhere, cars, airplanes, airports, hotels, homes, coffee houses, charging stations, et al. Yes Apple switched to USB-C on MacBooks, which is a small percentage of the much larger iPhone an iPad market. So how does it make sense to give customers of a mobile product a cable that only works on their new MacBook (and none of the much larger pool of older Macs), and nowhere else in the world? How does it make sense to give them a cable that if lost while traveling, they can't roll into a 7-11 at 3AM and buy a replacement? The short answer is, it doesn't.
However, it is far easier to complain than think things through.
Now when I visit a customer and they hand me a thumb drive, I have to pull out a dongle to read it, when I do to a conference room and want to present my work, I have to pull out a different dongle to connect to their HDMI TV, and to pull something from my 250GB SD card I'll need another dongle or buy a USB-C drive that sticks out. Pro users have needs and need to be flexible, the best solution is the most convenient.