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DigiTimes: Next-Generation AirPods to Enter Production as Early as October

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Apple's suppliers are gearing up to assemble next-generation AirPods as early as October, according to industry sources cited by DigiTimes, suggesting an updated version of the earphones could arrive in time for the holiday shopping season.

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An excerpt from the report:
Apple's supply chain makers reportedly have kicked off volume production of related components for next-generation AirPods that will enable ODM production partners to begin mass assembly of the gadgets as early as October to meet year-end shopping season demand, according to supply chain sources.

Given the supply of current AirPods model still remains tight, it will remain an issue whether Apple could maintain sufficient supply of the next-generation AirPods, whose structural changes might affect yield rates at production lines, according to market watchers.
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In April, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said two new AirPods models would likely go into mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, with Luxshare, Goertek, and Amkor serving as primary suppliers.

Kuo believes one of the new AirPods models will feature an "all-new form factor design" and a "higher price" than the second-generation AirPods, which cost $159 with a standard charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. The other model is expected to be a more iterative update with the same pricing.

If new AirPods do launch later this year, they will likely be the more iterative pair that Kuo referred to, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the higher-priced AirPods with water resistance and noise cancelation to launch as early as 2020. It's unclear what features would be part of the iterative update.

In March, Apple released second-generation AirPods powered by an Apple-designed H1 chip, enabling hands-free "Hey Siri" functionality and up to 50 percent more talk time compared to the original AirPods. The second-generation AirPods feature the same outward design as the original.

Article Link: DigiTimes: Next-Generation AirPods to Enter Production as Early as October
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/09/10/new-airpods-assembly-as-early-as-october/
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Perfect timing. My day 1 AirPods have finally started showing the battery issues that some people had been complaining about some months back. My L AirPod often shows over 50% battery then suddenly gives me the low battery warning and dies soon after.

My mics haven’t worked properly for almost a year but I never bothered to get them replaced. I guess I’m buying new AirPods for Christmas.

The one thing I’m surprised with is that I still have them at all. Such small, light devices are at a high risk of being lost. It really goes to credit Apple’s use and storage flow with the AirPods case that you store them in the same place where you charge them and the behaviour training you get by wanting to have them always charged. When they’re not in my ears, they’re in the case and never get lost.
 
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ipedro said:
Perfect timing. My day 1 AirPods have finally started showing the battery issues that some people had been complaining about some months back. My L AirPod often shows over 50% battery then suddenly gives me the low battery warning and dies soon after.

My mics haven’t worked properly for almost a year but I never bothered to get them replaced. I guess I’m buying new AirPods for Christmas.

The one thing I’m surprised with is that I still have them at all. Such small, light devices are at a high risk of being lost. It really goes to credit Apple’s use and storage flow with the AirPods case that you store them in the same place where you charge them and the behaviour training you get by wanting to have them always charged. When they’re not in my ears, they’re in the case and never get lost.
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I broke down and ordered some new ones last week... go figure.
 
So I wonder if the all new design is to allow for noise canceling? I'm not sure how they'd achieve that with the current design where you're not guaranteed to get a good seal?
 
I miss when Apple had reasonable prices.

Their prices started getting noticeably nutty ~3 years ago, and their response to falling sales was:
1 - Stop disclosing sales.
2 - Double down on increasing prices. Headphones contain $10 in components and plenty of competitors come in below $50? Forget about that! Charge $80! No wait, $160! No - $200! Wait, higher <insert new price here.>

Can we take a moment and remember - you’re buying headphones. They’re not a magical new product category. They come in the box with every iPhone. They came in the box with every iPod 18 years ago. Adding Siri lowered the quality. Adding batteries made them dramatically less reliable. And somehow people are okay with paying over double the price for an unquestionably worse product than what Apple offered a decade ago.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
I miss when Apple had reasonable prices.

Their prices started getting noticeably nutty ~3 years ago, and their response to falling sales was:
1 - Stop disclosing sales.
2 - Double down on increasing prices. Headphones contain $10 in components and plenty of competitors come in below $50? Forget about that! Charge $80! No wait, $160! No - $200! Wait, higher <insert new price here.>

Can we take a moment and remember - you’re buying headphones. They’re not a magical new product category. They come in the box with every iPhone. They came in the box with every iPod 18 years ago. Adding Siri lowered the quality. Adding batteries made them dramatically less reliable. And somehow people are okay with paying over double the price for an unquestionably worse product than what Apple offered a decade ago.
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Yea sure...there are not in ear wireless no cords easy to use sound quality better than airpods under 100$
And yea the first macbook air was reasonable priced at starting price 1799$ and so on
Apple haven’t changed
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
I miss when Apple had reasonable prices.

Their prices started getting noticeably nutty ~3 years ago, and their response to falling sales was:
1 - Stop disclosing sales.
2 - Double down on increasing prices. Headphones contain $10 in components and plenty of competitors come in below $50? Forget about that! Charge $80! No wait, $160! No - $200! Wait, higher <insert new price here.>

Can we take a moment and remember - you’re buying headphones. They’re not a magical new product category. They come in the box with every iPhone. They came in the box with every iPod 18 years ago. Adding Siri lowered the quality. Adding batteries made them dramatically less reliable. And somehow people are okay with paying over double the price for an unquestionably worse product than what Apple offered a decade ago.
Click to expand...

I take it you haven’t owned a pair of Airpods? As that is not my experience with them.

Overpriced now, yes. But definitely not poor quality.
 
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Ugh. I need them now.

One of mine died a while ago still under warranty and cheap as Apple is, they only replaced the broken one. Now one runs out of juice while the other one still has like 40% left on a charge.
 
Kuo believes one of the new AirPods models will feature an "all-new form factor design" and a "higher price" than the second-generation AirPods

Removing the headphone jack is the gift that keeps on giving...to Apple.
 
Since these AirPods are done for two years after the purchase I’ll move to some 50€ competitor. It’s simply not worth it. I won’t buy AirPods every two years because the battery fails.
 
ascender said:
So I wonder if the all new design is to allow for noise canceling? I'm not sure how they'd achieve that with the current design where you're not guaranteed to get a good seal?
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Noise canceling would be nice. Add a water resistance, a secondary color (Black), And Just maybe, a capacitive touch feature where you can slide your finger up and down the AirPod to control the volume. (<— Yes, I know, wishful thinking. :D)
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
I miss when Apple had reasonable prices.

Their prices started getting noticeably nutty ~3 years ago, and their response to falling sales was:
1 - Stop disclosing sales.
2 - Double down on increasing prices. Headphones contain $10 in components and plenty of competitors come in below $50? Forget about that! Charge $80! No wait, $160! No - $200! Wait, higher <insert new price here.>

Can we take a moment and remember - you’re buying headphones. They’re not a magical new product category. They come in the box with every iPhone. They came in the box with every iPod 18 years ago. Adding Siri lowered the quality. Adding batteries made them dramatically less reliable. And somehow people are okay with paying over double the price for an unquestionably worse product than what Apple offered a decade ago.
Click to expand...

Price is a misnomer. The problem is unreasonable/ impractical products. (You kind of said that, but just for emphasis
..)

These airpod thingys are designed to be lost, and you pay extra for that feature, not to mention the price of a replacement "pod"...and iphones are designed to need air pods...because no headphone jack.

The old ear buds were cheap and pretty decent...but that dang wire...always getting in the way of the shine! (Its all about being shiny.)

And they are always making everything thinner, when being thinner hurts performance, but makes manufacturing more expensive.

Ive got my fingers and toes crossed...today is the day, or so the rumor goes. We will find out if the new macbook is going to be any better than the old ones. And that is the only reason i show up to this forum!
 
Digitimes always just to make stuff up. Never a source of real leaks.

Why does Macrumors sully it’s brand with rehashing this? Page views can’t be worth it.
 
Probably the only Apple product I love more than my iPhone. I’ve gotten so much use out of my 1st gens and it has been nothing but a positive experience.

I haven’t experienced the battery issue that some have had. But I can’t imagine mine lasting that much longer seeing how much I use them on a daily basis.
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
Can we take a moment and remember - you’re buying headphones. They’re not a magical new product category. They come in the box with every iPhone. They came in the box with every iPod 18 years ago. Adding Siri lowered the quality. Adding batteries made them dramatically less reliable. And somehow people are okay with paying over double the price for an unquestionably worse product than what Apple offered a decade ago.
Click to expand...

I'm unsure what your quarrel is...

First you say that normal headphones still come with iPhones, which is true. Then you say that AirPods are a worse product because they're wireless and they should still be wired - unless you've found a way to have a wireless headphone that doesn't use a battery.

But if you want wired headphones for your iPhone, you get them with an iPhone anyway. If you want wireless headphones, you can buy them.

Are you just unhappy that people buy AirPods? And by the way, they are great products, but each to their own if you don't like them. There are still plenty of wired solutions if that's the way you want to roll.
 
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Bout time. Runtime for my release day AirPods are down to 15/45 minutes L/R.

Looking forward to something new.
 
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