Apple to launch budget AirPods Pro, says report

Image courtesy: Reuters (File photo)

San Francisco: Tech Giant Apple is reportedly planning to launch budget Airpods Pro-Lite variant by mid-2020.

Taiwan's Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) will likely be the main supplier of the new AirPods Pro Lite and the new model will employ a system-in-package (SiP) chip constriction, Digitimes reported recently.

The new version of AirPods would be priced between the standard $159 (Rs 11,430) AirPods 2 and the high-end Pro that retail for $249 (17900).

However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo originally predicted Apple is prepping to introduce a new high-end wireless headphone during the first half of the year.

According to the famed Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple sold $6 billion worth of AirPods in 2019 and is set to rake in $15 billion in revenue from the true wireless hearables in 2020.

Apple could sell as many as 85 million AirPods next year, making AirPods the company's third-largest business after iPhones and iPads by 2021.

The size of the global market for true wireless hearables is expected to touch 120 million units this year and 230 million units in 2020, growing 90 percent year on year (YoY), according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple is expected to show a significant turnaround in Q4 this year fuelled by AirPods Pro.