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Suppliers say Apple's AirPods Max won't be nearly as popular as regular Airpods

By Joshua Swingle

Published: Dec 11, 2020, 6:12 AM

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Suppliers say Apple's AirPods Max won't be nearly as popular as regular Airpods

Apple raised eyebrows when it announced AirPods Max earlier this week. Not because the product was unexpected, but rather because it decided to price the headphones at $549. Suppliers are now saying this pricing will dramatically limit the product’s popularity.

AirPods Max won't make much of a difference to suppliers

Taiwan-based Compeq and Unitech have been shipping rigid-flex boards to be used inside AirPods for quite some time and have also been chosen to supply the printed circuit boards used inside AirPods Max.

But sources speaking to DigiTimes have revealed that neither supplier expects a significant boost in sales. The AirPods Max over-ear headphones “are positioned as a niche segment” product with a higher price and lower sales volume.

Compared to wireless earbuds, the segment in which AirPods and AirPods Pro compete, over-ear headphones sold less than half the number of units globally last quarter — 45 million vs 20 million units, to be precise.

Demand for AirPods Max seems to have exceeded Apple's expectations

DigiTimes also points out that traditional brands such as Sony, Bose, and JBL are the firm market leaders and also offer products at much lower price points, meaning Apple is unlikely to experience the level of success it has seen in the past.

There does seem to be some good news, though. Unlike the HomePod, which Apple expected to be a massive success but ultimately failed, demand for AirPods Max seems to have exceeded expectations.

Most of the AirPods Max variants are currently backordered through March 2021. It’s worth noting that there may not have been as much stock as usual due to the pandemic, but such a massive delay is still a good sign.