Apple is reportedly preparing a new wearable device, namely AirPods Lite. This device is said to be launched to compete with cheap true wireless stereo (TWS).
This news comes from analyst Jeff Pu who cites industry sources. In his report, Pu claims demand for AirPods will drop by 2023.
Pu predicts AirPods shipments will fall from 73 million units in 2022 to 63 million units in 2023. He says this decline is due to weak demand for AirPods 3 and the possibility that Apple will not release new AirPods this year.
Further in his report, Pu claims Apple is developing AirPods Lite. It is not known what features this product will bring, but Pu calls it wireless earbuds at a more affordable price to compete with non-Apple products, as quoted from 9to5Mac, Tuesday (3/1/2023).
Apple itself currently sells four AirPods variants, namely the second generation AirPods, third generation AirPods, second generation AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. Even though this product is increasingly popular, the price of AirPods is still relatively expensive when compared to TWS from other brands.
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The second generation of AirPods, which is currently the cheapest variant, is priced at USD 129. Meanwhile, the third generation of AirPods is released at a price of USD 169.
If this AirPods Lite is released, it will likely be cheaper than USD 129. Another option for Apple is to lower the price of the second generation AirPods, possibly to USD 99.
Apple itself has just released the second generation of AirPods Pro in September 2022. This TWS brings a series of new improvements, including better noise cancellation and a new charging case with the U1 chip for Precision Finding.
It is currently unknown whether Apple will actually release AirPods Lite. Meanwhile, the successor to the third generation of AirPods or the successor to the AirPods Max is still a mystery.