Apple could sell upward of 3 million AirPods units during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping holidays, claims Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Ives bases his guesstimate on Apple Store checks, inventory levels at a number of retailers, and more. Overall, Ives thinks Apple will sell more than 65 million AirPods units this year — and even more will follow in 2020.
AirPods have been a blockbuster hit for Apple in a way that few other products have been. Their design, which I thought looked kind of goofy when I first saw it, has become an iconic look ripped off by countless other companies. It’s cool in the same way that the iPod’s white earbuds were cool in the early 2000s.
The fact that they would be a big hit over two giant shopping days is no shocker. A recent study found that AirPods are at the top of U.S. teens’ wish lists this holidays. Shipping times on Apple.com currently suggest that people ordering now likely won’t receive their earbuds until after Christmas.
AirPods: Black Friday and beyond
Apple recently reportedly doubled its monthly AirPods Pro production from 1 million to 2 million units per month. AirPods’ success translates into money for Apple’s supply chain. The company that manufactures AirPods for Apple is Asia’s best-performing stock of the year. Heck, rival manufacturers — that don’t even work with Apple — have seen a big boost, simply based on the potential they might pick up Apple business in the future.
Ives notes that there will be “various shortages” for AirPods Pro for the holiday season. But he writes that production appears to be “ramping steadily in anticipation of this dynamic.” Next year, he thinks Apple could sell 85 million to 90 million AirPods.
Will you be treating yourself to AirPods this holiday season? Did you shell out for any over Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Let us know in the comments below.
