William Gallagher
A redesigned version of the AirPods is now expected to be assembled in Vietnam and released in the first half of 2021, with New AirPods Pro to follow in the second half.
Following a previous trial run of manufacturing current AirPods with Vietnam's GoerTek company, the local supply chain reportedly says that more companies are expecting orders from Apple. The companies are believed to be assembly ones who may be contracted to GoerTek.
According to Digitimes, the new orders are to include ones for the as-year unreleased next generations of both the AirPods and the AirPods Pro. Unnamed sources within the Vietnamese supply chain are saying that a new, third-generation AirPods model will be released the first half of 2021.
The same sources are saying that a next generation AirPods Pro will follow in the second half of the year.
Apple's use of Vietnam companies comes as all technology companies are working to reduce their reliance on Chinese firms. It may also help with avoiding or reducing US tariffs on Chinese imports.
Before the trial run with GoerTek began in July 2019, Vietnam factories already had experience assembling Apple's older EarPods. However, the trial was the first time that a company outside China had assembled the AirPods.
Digitimes has a poor reputation for predicting Apple products, but a far greater one for sources within the supply chain. This current report matches earlier ones about a third-generation AirPods coming in 2021, but new AirPods Pro have previously been predicted for 2022.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
5 Comments
i can see a boss or manager slapping a working and shouting "Mhaow" "Mhoah" if there are any problems or slow production of these EarPods.
movie fans from 1979 will understand this comment.
Unfortunately, unless "redesign" means something it hasn't to date, neither AirPods nor AirPods Pro fit my ears. To be fair, the Pro version take longer to unseat and slip out whilst sitting on my couch, but even the best fitting tips unsealed and became loose after a couple of hours wear, less if I started walking around. No way they were going to stay in while biking or walking. And yes, I did try all three tips, following the fit test instructions, in several different orientations. Sadly, my ears refused to cooperate with Apple's perfect design.
Fortunately, my wife's ears were more amenable; she absolutely loves them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. "Apple can't make them fit everybody." Which is why less expensive, poorer performing earbuds stay in my ears all freaking day without a problem.
Maybe you should do a bit more research and fact checking before hitting the publish button.
Goertek is a Chinese company with a plant in Vietnam, not a Vietnamese company.