Apple is slashing its planning production of its AirPods series of wireless earphones by about 25 to 30 percent this year. The move arrives as growing competition has led to the decline of sales of its popular earbuds.
According to a NikkeiAsia report, the news arrives from sources close to the matter, which believe that the company is expected to make anywhere between 75 million and 85 million units in 2021. This is noticeably lower than the 110 million units that was previously projected for the year. The lowering of productions units is an indicator that the company is wary of the falling demand for its AirPods lineup, which has been the brand’s fastest growing product line since its launch with double digit percentages of growth since 2016.
As per one of the sources, “The most significant order reduction is for the second quarter toward the start of the third quarter. The levels of inventory [in warehouses] and in-store stocks of AirPods are currently high … and demand is not as strong as expected.” Although, the Cupertino based giant is hoping that the new iteration of AirPods that is set to launch later this year will help boost the sales of its products.
Back in 2020, Apple shipped around 72.8 million units of AirPods in total, dominating the wireless Bluetooth true wireless earphones market with a 31 percent market share. Furthermore, its wearables and other accessories also accounted for 11 percent of Apple’s total revenue last year, or about 12.97 billion US Dollars. But despite its lead in the market, its sales expectations still fell short as the company had reportedly asked suppliers to make over 80 to 90 million units of AirPods.
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