AirPods sales could shoot up 40% this year

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airpods
AirPods are tiny, but they’re big business.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s wireless earbuds are selling better than most people realize. The company is on track to sell 50 million pairs by the end of this year, according to an industry analyst.

That’s up from 35 million in 2018. The product only debuted in 2016.

Dan Ives from Wedbush made the prediction of 50 million AirPods will be sold in 2019. It’s 25% higher than an estimate by Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart earlier this year.

Apple doesn’t reveal how many of these accessories it sells. CEO Tim Cook said recently “We continue to see phenomenal demand for AirPods,” but nothing more specific.

AirPods are a golden goose

The division of Apple that includes these “hearables” along with Apple Watch and HomePods took in $5.5 billion during the second quarter of this year, a year-over-year increase of 48%.

AirPods sell for between $199 and $159 when not on sale. If Apple really moves 50 million units in 2019, it could take in $8 billion in revenue from these accessories.

Especially if unconfirmed reports come true and AirPods 3 are released before the end of the year. A few details of these have leaked out, with noise cancellation supposedly being in the offing.

Via Fortune

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