Apple is widely expected to revamp its AirPods lineup later this year with multiple new models. In a new investor note on Monday, analyst Jeff Pu corroborated these expectations and said that Apple will release new lower-cost “AirPods Lite” sometime during the second half of 2024.
Pu also corroborates that new AirPods Max are coming later this year.
AirPods Lite
In the report, Pu explains that AirPods production will ramp up later this year “thanks to the launch of a low-cost model.” Pu’s report focuses broadly on the impact of AirPods production on Apple’s overall supply chain and its partners. In total, Pu says that AirPods volume will dip by 4% year-over-year in 2024 to 55 million units due to “muted demand for existing models.”
Pu doesn’t offer any specific details on what to expect from these low-cost AirPods, which he refers to as “AirPods Lite.” Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also reported that Apple is working on a low-cost version of AirPods that will be released in 2024. Kuo has suggested that the so-called “AirPods Lite” could be priced at $99
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has repeatedly reported that Apple is planning to introduce AirPods 4 this year with two different models. Both AirPods 4 models are expected to feature a new design and USB-C charging case, but only a higher-end variant will support features like noise cancellation.
As we’ve explained in the past, it’s unclear whether Pu and Kuo referring to the same lower-end version of AirPods 4 as Bloomberg, or a different product entirely. Presumably we’ll learn more as the year progresses.
Apple currently sells five different versions of AirPods:
- AirPods (2nd generation) – $129
- AirPods (3rd generation) – $169 (with Lightning Charging Case) or $179 (with MagSafe Charging Case)
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation) – $249
- AirPods Max – $549
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