2023 isn’t shaping up to be a particularly big year for Apple, supposedly because of the VR/AR headset, but that means 2024 may have a lot more in store for us. According to one report, this could include the AirPods Max 2 and the newly-rumored affordable AirPods.
This comes from long-time supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a series of tweets who notes both sets of headphones are likely to begin mass shipment in late 2024 or early 2025.
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My latest survey indicates that Hon Teng (FIT) – a Hon Hai/Foxconn Group subsidiary – may be set to take over from Goertek as the new supplier for AirPods assembly. This move will bring significant benefits for Hon Teng.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) January 12, 2023
Interestingly, the original rumors for the cheap AirPods, or AirPods Lite if you prefer, claimed that the buds would be launching at some point in 2023. Kuo’s tweets would dispute that and mean there may be a significantly longer wait before the AirPods Lite are actually here.
As for the $99 price tag, that would make a huge amount of sense. The cheapest AirPods on the market right now are the $129 Apple AirPods 2. Not only would $99 be a noticeable price decrease in comparison, but various deals and sales have also seen the second-generation buds drop to that price. In fact, Amazon has the AirPods 2 on sale for $99 at the time of writing.
Kuo didn’t offer any additional details for the AirPods Max 2, and it’s not clear what additional features they might offer. We’ve heard speculation that a cheaper, lighter pair of AirPods Max could launch later this year, though it’s unclear whether they would qualify as “true” second generation. They could easily be the AirPods Max equivalent of the Apple Watch SE, for all we know.
There’s some speculation that the AirPods Max 2 could get touch controls, and we’d expect a bunch of upgraded hardware to come with it. An upgrade from the existing H1 chip, Precision Finding as seen in the Apple AirTags, alongside improvements to the design and audio technology inside. None of that really screams “cheaper,” certainly not from a company like Apple.
There’s a bunch of conflicting information out there at the moment, which complicates things. Without some extra clarification from several other leaks, or Apple itself, there’s no way of knowing when we should expect these new products to arrive. We’re just going to have to sit tight and wait this one out.
This article originally appeared on tomsguide.com
About the Author
Tom is the Tom’s Guide’s Automotive Editor, which means he can usually be found knee-deep in stats on the latest and best electric cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. It’s a long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining that Ikea won’t let him buy the stuff he really needs online.
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