Apple to Release AirPods Pro 2 Next Year: Kuo

Apple could be set to release the AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds as early as 2022, according to veteran analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

It’s been a long wait for new AirPods earbuds, with no announcements since 2019. And while we may yet get an update to the standard AirPods in 2021, it looks like the wait will go on for those who want a new version of the more expensive AirPods Pro.

According to a research note (via MacRumors), the renowned and generally reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities has predicted that the next generation of AirPods Pro will arrive in 2022.

Kuo says that while Apple’s AirPods business will “decline in the short term (2H21–1H22)” he expects that to be rectified by the second half of the year. Short term, however, lower than expected demand is thought to mean Apple will ship up to 75 million units which is 10 million down on the previous prediction.

In terms of AirPods as a whole, Kuo says that he expects Apple to ship more than 100 million units in 2022, even if the new products don’t feature an “innovative experience.” Such an experience has been talked about before — previous reports have suggested some form of health tracking could be added to AirPods Pro specifically.

As previously reported, the next standard AirPods are expected to be released in the autumn of this year, after disappointingly failing to appear at WWDC earlier this month.

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