Apple AirPod shipments to nearly double in 2018

Apple AirPods, one of the much talked about wireless earphone accessory by the company since last year, will see a major shipment boost in 2018. The firm is likely to witness double the shipment number with an estimation of 26-28 million units, if we are to believe the words coming out from KGI analysts, Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a latest investors note received by Macrumours, Kuo says that the Apple AirPods might have seen a shipment of 13-14 million units this year.
“We believe demand for AirPods has been strong, and note that the shipping time of the product on Apple’s official shopping website has shortened to 1-3 days, mainly thanks to an improved assembly process and increased capacity from Luxshare as the new assembler […] We expect AirPods to remain one of the most popular Apple accessories in 2018, with shipments likely to rise 100% YoY to 26-28mn units next year,” he said in the quote.

Also mentioned is that Luxshare, a Chinese firm, may become the key assembler of AirPods in 2018. It may have a higher order allocation as compared to the accessory supplier Inventec.

In the last quarter results Apple did not reveal the shipment number of its AirPods but did reveal that its ‘Other Products’ category revenue shot up by 36% year-on-year. For those unaware, Apple places its AirPods under the ‘Other Products’ category along with the Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats, iPods and more.

Apple CEO Tim Cook in last earnings call expressed that he was “thrilled with the momentum” of AirPods. “The combination of music streaming on Apple Music and AirPods is truly a magical experience for people on the go. We’re thrilled with the momentum of these products. In fact, our entire wearables business was up 75 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, and in fiscal 2017, already generated the annual revenue of a Fortune 400 company,” Cook said.