Apple is working on $99 AirPods, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed in his latest note to investors. The company will bring the affordable earbuds into the second half of 2024 and may even delay them further until the first half of 2025. We’ll also see the second-generation AirPods Max, Apple’s wireless overhead headphones, around the same time.
The Cupertino team is currently switching suppliers for assembling AirPods, Kuo added. Hon Teng (FIT), a subsidiary of Foxconn, is taking over from Goertek, which will bring “significant benefits” to the company. It will also share the assembly process with Luxshare ICT for the production of AirPods Max.
Currently, the most affordable AirPods are the second generation version for £139 / $129 / €159. To bring the price down, Apple will likely cut back on some features like the Apple H1 chip. There’s also the possibility of relaunching the AirPods with a new moniker, similar to how Apple reshapes its discontinued iPhones to create the second-generation iPhone SE.
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