Apple’s Airpods Sales Estimated to Hit 60 Million by End of Year

Back in September, Apple released new products including the long-awaited iPhone 11 and its variations. In October, the tech giant released new Airpods Pro, with a few more features and more costly as well. Since the release, Apple has sold a lot more units than initially planned for in both cases and now, reports show that Apple is in for a bigger end of the year, especially with the Airpods.

At the same time, Apple stock is climbing higher. Now AAPL is trading at around $262. Just to compare: a year ago its price was $172. It started a year even with a lower position of $157. But the last 3 months were rather successful for it. It hasn’t got lower than the $200 level since the beginning of August.

According to sources familiar with the situation, as cited by Bloomberg, the Airpods Pro have performed significantly better than expected, so much that Apple’s current manufacturers are beginning to struggle as they can’t keep up with the demand. The true wireless offering which is now resistant and has a noise cancellation feature costs $249 and is in so much demand that these sources say that businesses interested in Airpod Pro manufacturing are currently in stiff competition. Current estimates suggest that Airpods Pro shipments this year will double to 60 million units.

Airpods have come a long way from the original version initially unveiled back in 2016. Over the years, it’s easily become a favorite and much more preferred that it’s wired predecessors, and also other products from rival companies. As demand continues to increase, Apple is set to record significant growth especially because there might be no considerable competition at least until next year. Microsoft earlier announced that its wireless Surface Earbuds would be released this year. In a recent tweet, however, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay announced that the worldwide launch will now be delayed until spring 2020 to “deliver the best possible experience” for customers. Google’s own offering will also be unavailable until next year, leaving Apple with its position as king of the true wireless products.

It could probably take a minute for any other offerings to displace Apple’s position in this department. Apart from the fact that it’s had considerable experience, the Airpods are also helped by the fact that Apple has a new phone that might prompt more people to purchase Airpods.

Counterpoint Research a few months ago, named Apple has the number one in the worldwide true wireless market. The firm has said that Airpods have been shipped many more times than rivals, even including the Beats Powerbeats Pro from Apple. According to analyst Pavel Naiya, Apple takes a considerable 57% of Counterpoint’s Future Preference for True Wireless with BOSE and Samsung at the second and third positions, accounting for 39% and 33% respectively. Naiya added that:

“Apple also edged rivals because true wireless as a category is the preferred choice over wireless earphones, due to factors like better sound quality, portability, and ease of use.”

For Apple to keep its position, its manufacturers have to find a way to get past production problems currently being faced. Either that or Apple adds to its current list of manufacturers which includes Goertek Inc. and Luxshare Precision Industry Co. both in China, as well as Taiwanese Inventec Corp.