Apple’s AirPods will once again dominate the market for truly wireless headphones in 2020, according to a market research firm. And sales will hit 100 million units this year.
The only real question is which company will come in second in this market.
Apple’s current AirPods Pro supply woes could soon get much worse, thanks to the new coronavirus spreading throughout China.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Apple ordered suppliers to produce 45 million AirPods units to catch up with the huge demand. Then, manufacturers shut down production lines through February 10 due to the fast-spreading virus. Now a new report cautions that suppliers might not have enough components to fulfill Apple’s order when production resumes.
A mistake announced too soon or not, an iOS app for the expected new version of Samsung’s wireless earbuds was released on the Apple App Store Tuesday, seven days before the products expected announcement.
Order AirPods Pro today from Apple.com and they won‘t arrive before March 3. And other online retailers are also out of stock. Apple has struggled to meet demand for these wireless earbuds since they launched, and there’s no sign it’s catching up.
That said, there’s a way many people can get AirPods Pro without a wait.
When Apple reported an all-time record for quarterly revenue Tuesday, it got a big boost from one of its smallest products: the AirPods Pro.
Despite severe supply constraints, the new wireless earbuds helped Apple sell $10 billion worth of wearables and accessories in the holiday quarter, a 37% jump from a year ago, the company reported. Revenue for the wearables sector grew 17% to a new all-time record of $12.7 billion.
The first Apple earnings report of 2020 was a smashing success that shattered most of Apple’s previous records. Thanks to shockingly strong iPhone sales and a surging wearables business that is bigger than the Mac and the iPad, Apple managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations.
Apple CEO Tim Cook held a call with investors after the numbers came out to dive deeper into the impressive quarterly results. Cook dished on everything from the success of Apple TV+ and problems with AirPods Pro supplies to the Wuhan coronavirus affecting China. If you didn’t get a chance to join the call, don’t worry, Cult of Mac has you covered with all the need-to-know info.
Images of Apple’s brand-new Powerbeats4 headphones have been spilled for the first time in today’s iOS 13.3.1 update.
The sporty buds look near identical to Powerbeats Pro, but like their predecessors, they won’t be completely wireless. They are expected to pack Apple’s newest H1 chip with hands-free “Hey Siri” support.
If you and a friend both have AirPods or Beats headphones, you can share audio coming from a single iPhone or iPad. This is great for listening to the same music track or podcast, or — most useful I reckon — watching a movie together. Apple makes it really easy for you to share your audio stream with someone else. In fact, you could say it’s easier than doing it the old way, because A) there are no wires to get tangled and B) there’s no splitter adapter to lose.
Here’s how to set up audio sharing on AirPods.
AirPods Pro’s brilliant noise cancellation feature gives them a huge advantage over regular AirPods. Except when that noise cancellation feature doesn’t work properly.
A growing number of users say their buds aren’t blocking out background noise as effectively as they once did. And testing confirms that to be the case.
If you have a pair of AirPods Pro, then you know all about noise cancellation. That’s kind of the whole point of Apple’s top-tier AirPods, from the noise-sealing silicone tips to the software Ear Tip Fit Test. You probably also know that you can deactivate noise cancellation, and even quick-switch modes by squeezing the shaft of one of the earbuds.
But what if you never want to disable the excellent active noise cancellation on your AirPods Pro? Maybe you keep accidentally deactivating the feature (like I do). Today we’ll see how to switch off the shaft-squeezing shortcuts — and how to access them from your iPhone’s lock screen instead.
As of iOS 13, you can have your iPhone read out incoming iMessages through your AirPods. And this — along with their awesome sound and noise-canceling abilities — is my favorite feature of the AirPods Pro. On paper, it’s a small feature in a long list. But in everyday use, Announce Messages with Siri makes a huge difference in how I use my iPhone.
Apple sold almost 60 million AirPods wireless headphones in 2019, according to a market-analysts firm. That’s a dramatic increase from the 35 million the company is estimated to have sold the year before.
And Apple took the lion’s share of 2019 sales of totally wireless (TWS) headsets.
Apple’s AirPods Pro are just fantastic, especially if you hack them to fit your ears even better. But those interchangeable silicone tips are just one (or two) more thing to lose, or to break. The good news is, Apple will sell you replacement silicone tips for your AirPods Pro. The bad news is, you can’t just order them up from the Apple Store, or from Amazon.
There are several ways to check the remaining battery life on your AirPods and AirPods Pro. You can flip open the AirPods’ case, and wave it near your iPhone or iPad to see a pop up battery screen. Or, if the AirPods are currently connected to your iPhone, you can swipe to the batter widget in the Today widget screen. But did you also know that you can check your AirPods’ battery from your Apple Watch?
I sent my first pair of AirPods Pro back to Apple soon after buying them. Why? Because they were too small for my ears. Even with the biggest silicone tips fitted, I could never get too green checkmarks on the Ear Tip Fit Test. But, thanks to an absurdly simple hack, I’m back in the game. Now my AirPods Pro past the fit test every time. More importantly, noise really is sealed out, and the AirPods Pro are super comfy.
By now, you already know how to customize the regular stuff on your AirPods and AirPods Pro. You just find them in the list of connected Bluetooth gadgets, and tap the i button to see a list of handy settings. But what about deeper-level customization? Like most things in iOS, there’s an extra set of advanced AirPods Pro settings inside the Accessibility settings. You even change double-squeeze speed of the AirPods Pro stems if you want to slow things down.
Let’s take a look.
Apple stopped selling the iPhone 3GS, its third ever iPhone model, in 2012. The last version of iOS it supported was iOS 6.1.6, released February 21, 2014. But — wouldn’t you know it — this old phone still works with Apple’s cutting edge AirPods Pro.
For anyone who remembers the struggle with finding and installing drivers to try and get new tech to work with old tech, it’s pretty awesome. And proof positive of why Apple talks about making devices that “just work.”
It’s finally possible to protect your iPhone from drops without adding extra plastic to our overflowing landfills.
Incipio, one of the largest smartphone case makers on the planet, is backing the plant-based plastics with its slim new iPhone 11 cases made out of Organicore, a 100% compostable material that can decompose in a compost pile in just six months.
The holiday shopping season is behind us, but demand for AirPods Pro still exceeds supply. Orders placed on Apple.com won‘t ship before early February.
But those who live in a large metropolitan area have an option that could get them Apple’s new in-ear headphones much sooner.
Apple is seemingly having a supplier shakeup to kickstart the 2020s — with Cupertino shifting production for some of its biggest products to other manufacturers. Including adding another supplier for its ultra-popular AirPods Pro.
According to longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi, Apple will be making changes to the suppliers of the AirPods Pro, the S-series chips for the next-gen Apple Watch, the iPod touch and the non-cellular iPad.
Apple is struggling to keep up with demand for the AirPods Pro, says Citi analyst Jim Suva. And it’s “not due to manufacturing issues.”
Speaking with CNBC, Suva noted how there was a “several week delay” for customers to get AirPods over the holiday season. According to Suva, this is due to such strong demand for the products that Apple simply “can’t keep up.”
This week on The CultCast: Apple is entering the space game with their own fleet of satellites… but why? We discuss. Plus, we wrap up 2019 with our final picks for Best of the Year!
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This week on The CultCast: From the hottest gift of 2019, to our favorite tech and travel locations, catch our picks for Best of the Year!
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Some AirPods Pro owners report an unusual smell emanating from the plastic and rubber casings of Apple’s hot new earbuds. Of all things, they say they detect a whiff of … blueberries.
One expert tells Cult of Mac the aroma could be deliberate, or simply a result of chemical compounds in the plastics.
Apple’s charging case for AirPods Pro is fine if you like shiny white plastic, but Twelve South today launched AirSnap Pro with a very different look. This leather case wraps around Apple’s new hearables, both protecting them and adding more color options.