Apple may cut AirPods wireless headset production this year by 25%-30%

Recently, it has been reported that Apple plans to cut this year’s AirPods production by 25%-30%, citing increased market competition. Earlier, Apple expected the total production of AirPods this year to be 110 million units, but now it lowers the target to 75-85 million units.

Last month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo lowered his 2021 AirPods shipment forecast by 30–35% to 75–80 million units, implying a year-on-year decline of 10–15%. The reason is that hardware selling points are difficult to differentiate from competitors’ low-priced products, and they lack a strong ecosystem to protect shipment growth.

Image: Apple

Although AirPods accounted for first place in the same type of market last year, it still did not meet Apple’s original expectations. The supplier probably produced 80-90 million AirPods last year. As more users begin to use lower-priced wireless headphones, AirPods are being increasingly squeezed by-products of the same type.

Many mobile phone manufacturers, including Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi, have launched the same type of headset, and some unknown small manufacturers have also participated. All these have intensified competition in the wireless headset market.

Counterpoint Research analysts predict that the overall global wireless headset shipments will increase by 33% this year to 310 million units. Xiaomi, one of Apple’s main competitors in China, had a market share of 12% for wireless headphones last year, doubling the market share in 2019. Xiaomi has become the world’s second-largest manufacturer of wireless headsets.

Via: Nikkei Asia