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Will next year be the year of AirPods?
While the success of the original AirPods wireless earbuds has drawn an absolute deluge of challengers, pretenders, and knock-offs, the originals still maintain a fairly cushy position of repute, and their enhanced version, the AirPods Pro, are held in even higher regard. Despite being two years old at this point, the AirPods Pro are still a quality pair of wireless buds, more than capable of holding their own against most if not all newcomers. However, as is the case with all products, all things must come to an end, and according to a new rumor, that end may be soon.
According to reputable tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning to release the AirPods Pro 2 as soon as 2022. To be more specific, Kuo said that AirPods Pro sales will “decline in the short term” in 2022, but will swiftly rebound to the hundred-millions in 2022. This takes a bit of speculating, of course, but unless Apple starts giving away their own stock with AirPods Pro purchases, I can’t think of much else that would inspire such a boost besides a new model.
Apple will debut AirPods Pro 2 next year according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo https://t.co/OKNdAO2LKW
— iMore (@iMore) June 30, 2021
Speaking of new models, additional rumors have suggested that Apple could release the AirPods 3, the new version of the base AirPods model, by the end of the year. Alleged reports have claimed that parts suppliers have already begun shipping out AirPods components in bulk to Apple assembly lines, which means they’re anticipating a large quantity of orders for a new product.
Apple, naturally, has not commented on these rumors, so it’s best to keep some healthy skepticism in mind. The company does have an iPhone event scheduled for September, so if they’re going to drop any big reveals on us in the near future, it’s a safe bet that they’ll do it there.
