Smartphone owners these days are holding onto their devices for longer periods of time than ever before, which is why it’s not all that surprising that iPhone sales have been on a little bit of a decline in recent years. In spite of that, Apple has managed to keep quarterly revenue steady — and at times, increase it — thanks to tremendous growth from two areas: Services and its burgeoning Wearables, Home, and Accessories division.
That said, the success of Apple’s AirPods warrants some specific attention, especially given that the wireless earbuds continue to be incredibly popular with consumers. Recently, Apple updated its AirPods line with the AirPods Pro, a new pair of wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation, along with improved audio performance and a new design that promises to be slightly more comfortable than the previous iteration.
Since hitting store shelves a few weeks ago, demand for Apple’s AirPods Pro has reportedly been through the roof. In fact, Apple is anticipating such strong demand that we’ve seen reports indicating that the company is planning to double production from 1 million to 2 million units per month.
Most recently, the Nikkei Asian Review relayed that Apple already asked key suppliers to significantly boost production:
In a threat to its usual suppliers, Apple has asked little-known Luxshare-ICT to double production of AirPods Pro earphones at its Chinese facilities to 2 million units a month, sources said. Apple has also asked Luxshare and fellow Chinese company Goertek to boost production at their Vietnam-based factories of the lower-cost AirPods, the world’s best-selling wireless earbuds.
Notably, the Nikkei report echoes a similar report that surfaced over at Bloomberg just a few days ago:
The $249 AirPods Pro have surpassed expectations and demand for them is pushing Apple’s assembly partners against capacity and technical constraints, a person familiar with the matter said. Multiple suppliers are competing for the business of manufacturing the Pro earphones, though some are still building up the technical proficiency.
Speaking to the overall popularity of AirPods in general, it’s been reported that AirPods shipments in 2019 will easily double the number of AirPods shipments Apple saw in 2018.
