Planning to Buy New AirPods? Wait, Apple Might Launch $99 ‘AirPods Lite’ Soon

If you are in the market for a new AirPods, the latest report from analyst Jeff Pu should come as a piece of good news to you. According to the analyst, Apple is planning to revamp its AirPods lineup, and to do so, it could soon launch AirPods Lite which will start at $99. Jeff Pu shared the information (via 9to5Mac) in an investor note and he says, AirPods Lite could arrive as soon as later this year.

Currently, Apple offers five offerings in its AirPods lineup: AirPods 2nd gen, AirPods 3rd Gen (with MagSafe and Lightning charging case), AirPods Pro 2nd gen, and AirPods Max. While AirPods 2nd gen is the cheapest of the lot, it retails for $129.

2024 will be a major year for the AirPods lineup as noted Apple analysts Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo have also corroborated that the audio products by the company are up for a major overhaul. While Pu has not confirmed what features the new budget AirPods will bring, he says the low-cost AirPods model will usher in production ramp-up.

As per Pu, Apple is suffering from “muted demands for existing (AirPods) models” and the volume is expected to drop by 4% year-on-year in 2024 with 55 million units shipping this year.

In February 2024, Kuo said that Apple will start mass production of the HomePod mini 2, AirPods Max 2, and an AirPods low-cost version.(1/2)I predict Apple’s next important acoustic product refresh time is will be in 2H24-1H25. The following new products will likely start mass production in 2H24 at the earliest.1. HomePod mini 2.2. AirPods Max 2.3. AirPods low-cost version.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo)February 3, 2023

(1/2)I predict Apple’s next important acoustic product refresh time is will be in 2H24-1H25. The following new products will likely start mass production in 2H24 at the earliest.1. HomePod mini 2.2. AirPods Max 2.3. AirPods low-cost version.— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo)February 3, 2023

More recently, Mark Gurman mentioned that there will be two new AirPods 4 models this year. Only the higher-priced variant will offer features like active noise cancellation.

While it is not sure whether Kuo, Gurman, and Pu are referring to the same budget AirPods models it makes sense for Apple to bring a cheaper variant with which it can target those who are entering the Apple ecosystem.

AirPods Max are also due for an update and we might see the tech titan announce a couple of new AirPods really soon.

Anmol Sachdeva

With 6 years of experience as a writer and editor in the tech media industry, Anmol is an enigmatic savant in all kinds of tech. He loves to scour internet for new information. When not conjuring words, Anmol can be found watching Manchester United matches or glued to his MacBook watching re-runs of his favorite TV shows for upteenth time.

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