iPhone 13 Pro will get 1TB option & new 'AirPods 3' will not replace AirPods

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited September 2021
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has chimed in on what he expects to see during Tuesday's Apple Event, and is taking some stabs at pricing.

AirPods 3


In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, Kuo breaks down Tuesday's Apple event. He isn't forecasting anything that hasn't already been spoken about at some length, but he is detailing some of the specifics of the various products.

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro

Kuo is predicting the same general lineup of iPhone 13 devices as the iPhone 12. He is expecting an "iPhone 13 mini," "iPhone 13," "iPhone 13 Pro," and "iPhone 13 Pro Max."

Storage expected starts at 128GB for the "iPhone 13 Pro" lineup, and extends to 1TB on the high end. He isn't predicting a 1TB option on the "iPhone 13 mini," nor on the "iPhone 13." Commensurate with the higher capacities, Kuo is also expecting higher pricing.

Despite the price increases, Kuo is expecting to see year-over-year growth in "iPhone 13" shipments, versus the iPhone 12 because of market factors and spec upgrades. This may be challenged somewhat by component shortages -- but Kuo isn't expecting shortages to impact overall "iPhone 13" shipments in 2021 versus what Apple shipped in 2020 during the same time period for the iPhone 12 lineup.

Kuo doesn't mention in his predictions that the iPhone 12 lineup debuted almost a month later than the 2021 "iPhone 13" lineup, however.

Apple Watch Series 7

Repeating a previous statement, Kuo believes that the quality issues that Apple was seeing in its first batch of Apple Watch screen orders has been rectified. However, this is pushing back the timetable of mass production a bit, until late September.

Kuo is still expecting the "Apple Watch Series 7" to debut at the event. He also says that Luxshare is "aggressively duplicating production lines," which will result in a significant improvement in Apple Watch availability in mid to late October.

The analyst still forecasts "Apple Watch Series 7" shipments of between 14 million and 16 million units in 2021, with total Watch shipments soaring to between 40 million and 45 million units.

AirPods 3

As he has said before, Kuo is expecting continued manufacture of the current AirPods. Most of his speculation for Sunday's note is about pricing bands.

Kuo has two scenarios. His first prediction is that the "AirPods 3" pricing will be higher than AirPods 2, with the current generation remaining at the same price point. Alternatively, he suggests that the pricing for AirPods 3 may be the same as the current AirPods, with the latter getting a cut.

Kuo isn't expecting AirPods shipment volumes to grow in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, he is expecting a growth of up to 15% in the first calendar quarter of 2022, mostly on the strength of the new model.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    goodbyeranchgoodbyeranch Posts: 247member
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. Maybe with AirPods 3? They're more popular with athletes and young folks than AirPods at any of the gyms I go to - and I go to a lot.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    goodbyeranchgoodbyeranch Posts: 247member
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
    For premium design and features, just like they did with AirPodsMax
  • Reply 4 of 9
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,881member
    1TB, damn. These days with all the iCloud services I only use 50GB on my device. I don't see myself going above the minimum any time soon.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
    For premium design and features, just like they did with AirPodsMax
    AirPods Max were never a Beats product.  I doubt they'll mix the lines, they both have markets that they're targeting, and that's a useful distinction.
    goodbyeranchfastasleepn2itivguynadriel
  • Reply 6 of 9
    goodbyeranchgoodbyeranch Posts: 247member
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
    For premium design and features, just like they did with AirPodsMax
    AirPods Max were never a Beats product.  I doubt they'll mix the lines, they both have markets that they're targeting, and that's a useful distinction.
    Cool man. And over ear headphones were a Beats product, not an Apple prodcut. Then they were. Go figure. Have a nice day.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 9
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,337member
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
    For premium design and features, just like they did with AirPodsMax
    AirPods Max were never a Beats product.  I doubt they'll mix the lines, they both have markets that they're targeting, and that's a useful distinction.
    Cool man. And over ear headphones were a Beats product, not an Apple prodcut. Then they were. Go figure. Have a nice day.
    Apple now has their own 3 headphones styles for those wanting the convenience and ease of use within the ecosystem along with premium sound. Beats these days seem to be moving toward the Android crowd that want the Beats name and an Apple product, but don't want to commit to IOS devices or the ecosystem. I think this evidenced by the new Beats studio buds. Totally new chip instead of the H1 used by the Apple airpods line that allows Android users one touch pairing.

    spheric
  • Reply 8 of 9
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    crowley said:
    goodbyeranch said:
    I see Apple folding the PowerBeats Pro form factor into the Apple brand at some point. 
    What purpose would that serve?  They seem to doing well enough on their own.
    For premium design and features, just like they did with AirPodsMax
    AirPods Max were never a Beats product.  I doubt they'll mix the lines, they both have markets that they're targeting, and that's a useful distinction.
    Cool man. And over ear headphones were a Beats product, not an Apple prodcut. Then they were. Go figure. Have a nice day.
    Oh!  I'm sorry, I though you were saying they'd bring PowerBeats under the Apple brand; I now see that I misread you and you're talking about the form factor, not the brand.  Apologies!  

    Yeah, I suppose we could get an AirPods Sport or something like that.  I'm not sure there's as much scope for a premium sports headphone though, nor is there that much differentiation or premium design Apple can add into such a form factor.  Also the ear hook things don't strike me as a direction Apple would want to go with their core AirPods brand.  

    I could well be wrong though, as I was those in earlier posts  :s
    spheric
  • Reply 9 of 9
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    I’d like a 1TB option in the new AirPods, to carry all my music without also needing to carry an iPhone.
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