AirPods shipments are likely to grow 50 percent year-on-year by 2020, according to sources in Apple’s supply chain cited by DigiTimes. AirPods shipments to soar by 50% by 2020Apple’s AirPods are expected to grow 50 percent year-on-year to 90 million units by 2020, according to suppliers involved in the supply chain. In its quarterly earnings report, Apple classifies AirPods revenue as “wearables, home devices and accessories,” so keep in mind that these are just estimates.
AirPods’ 90 million shipments represent a 50 percent increase in 2020, according to an estimate by research firm Strategy Analytics earlier this year, which means 60 million shipments in 2019. But, like estimates, some analysts have questioned the figure. Regardless of the exact number, it’s clear that AirPods are popular, and since its launch last October, the new AirPods Pro has faced long-term shipment estimates in Apple’s online stores.
Apple’s wearables category hit a new record last quarter, thanks to the success of the Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple released the high-end AirPods Pro in October 2019, making a number of improvements to its regular AirPods, including active noise reduction, improved sound quality, water resistance, sweat-proof ingenuity and a new in-ear design.
The AirPods Pro costs $399, compared with $279 for regular AirPods with wireless charging cases. Last week it was rumoured that the new entry-level version of the AirPods Pro would go into production in the second quarter of 2020, but gave no further details. Presumably, the headset will eventually become the third generation of regular AirPods, with the same design and sound quality as the AirPods Pro, but without active noise reduction.
