Kuo: mass shipments of second-generation AirPods Max and AirPods with a $99 price target will likely begin in the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025
Mass shipments of second-generation AirPods Max and more affordable AirPods will likely begin in the second half of 2024 …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s AirPods roadmap has previously mixed iterative updates with a redesigned, higher-priced model in its earlier two-model plan. By 2021, Kuo was also attributing a projected shipment decline to intensifying competition, making a lower-priced entry point strategically meaningful rather than a simple line extension.
The forecast pairs a refresh of AirPods Max with a $99-targeted AirPods model, widening the range Apple would cover within the same audio family.
First-order effects
- Apple would add a lower-priced AirPods tier while preparing a second-generation AirPods Max, giving the company distinct products at the entry and premium ends of its lineup.
- Component and manufacturing partners would need to support two separate AirPods production ramps in the forecast shipment window.
Second-order effects
- Competitors that benefited from the competitive pressure cited in the earlier AirPods shipment outlook would face a more direct Apple offer at the lower end of the category.
- A $99 target would make price segmentation a more prominent competitive lever for wireless-earbud brands, while AirPods Max remains Apple’s premium counterweight.
Third-order effects
- If Apple sustains this two-end strategy, the AirPods business becomes less reliant on a single mainstream price band and more organized around tiered upgrades and entry products.
- The pattern points to a maturing wireless-audio market in which product-line breadth is used to defend share against expanding competition.
The trend: Apple is responding to a more competitive AirPods market by broadening its lineup across entry-level and premium price points.