AirPods are the hottest item of Black Friday 2019, which makes sense since Amazon slashed prices so low it seems like a mistake. In something of a wild and admittedly intriguing rumor, Digitimes is reporting that Apple is considering bundling its popular AirPods with the iPhone 12 next year. Digitimes’ track record with respect to Apple rumors is somewhat spotty, so you’ll definitely want to take this story with a grain of salt.
Interestingly enough, the report adds that other smartphone manufacturers are also considering bundling wireless earbuds with their devices next year.
As intriguing as this report is, we wouldn’t bet on it actually coming to fruition. Apple next year, with the release of its 5G iPhone, won’t really need much help when it comes to boosting iPhone sales. Recall, Apple is expecting to sell upwards of 200 million iPhone 12 units next year, a significant jump from previous estimates of 175 million. That being the case, what does Apple have to gain from bundling AirPods — which retail for $159 — with every new iPhone?
What’s more, with AirPods more popular than ever before, why would Apple just start giving away a product that consumers have no problem paying for?
Sure, Apple could just raise the price of the iPhone accordingly, but why would Apple do anything that could potentially impact iPhone sales in an adverse way? Further, Apple didn’t become the most profitable company in history by just giving away products consumers are eager and happy to pay for.
All in all, this particular rumor just doesn’t seem to add up. The only possibility, and this itself may be a stretch, might see Apple bundle AirPods with its iPhone 12 Pro models.
Apple has certainly been touting a wireless future, and while it’s certainly possible AirPods may come bundled with new iPhones some time in the next few years, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll see it happen in 2020.
