Apple to launch affordable AirPods priced under $100 (around Rs 8,100) by 2024: Reports
HIGHLIGHTS
- Apple is working on affordable AirPods as well as the next-gen AirPods Max.
- Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the AirPods will hit mass shipments anywhere between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.
- Kuo also suggests that the new affordable AirPods will retail at sub-$99 (Approx. Rs 8,000).
Apple is working on affordable AirPods, after all. Days after a report of AirPods Lite a pocket-friendly alternative to AirPods surfaced online, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo hints at the gear’s tentative launch timeline and suggests that the next-gen AirPods Max is in the works. The former will hit mass shipment anywhere between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.
According to the analyst, Hon Teng (FIT), a Foxconn subsidiary, is taking over from Goertek and will assemble the affordable AirPods model and AirPods Max. Kuo says this move will bring “significant benefits” to the company. Meanwhile, Luxshare ICT will take some load off Hon Teng and take care of the AirPods Max’s production.
Furthermore, the analyst suggests that the new affordable AirPods will retail at sub-$99 (Approx. Rs 8,000), making it a pocket-friendly alternative to Rs 14,900 AirPods 2 and Rs 20,900 AirPods 3 if you want to get into the Apple ecosystem for the lowest price possible. While there is no word about what this new affordable AirPods could have in store for us in terms of hardware configurations, it will likely be a soup-down version of the AirPods 2, but at this point, your guess is as good as ours.
As for the new AirPods Max, it will come as a successor to the current-gen AirPods Max a flagship overhead headphone in Apple’s audio portfolio. Details of the next-gen AirPods Max are also under wraps, but we can expect some changes here and there over its predecessor.
