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.”
The “earwear” product category, made up of devices like the AirPods, is set to explode in the next few years. According to a new report by the International Data Corporation, the market for hearables will increase from 139.4 million units this year to 273.7 million in 2023.
The firm doesn’t break down projected sales by brand. However, with Apple’s market-leading status thanks to AirPods, it’s likely that Cupertino will do exceptionally well.
Apple continues to expand its dominance of a wearable device market that only gets hotter with each quarter.
Thanks to a price reduction on the Apple Watch Series 3 and the launch of AirPods Pro, Apple snagged 35% of the market share in the third quarter, a year-over-year growth increase of more than 195%.
Apple Watch continues to storm ahead of the competition in the North American wearables market. In the second quarter of 2019, it carved a 37.9% market share, according to new figures released by Canalys.
The market research firm claims that Apple shipped 2.9 million units during the quarter. That’s considerably more than those shipped by Fitbit, Samsung, Garmin, or others.
Record-breaking revenue put Apple right in line with Wall Street expectations as the company released its Q3 2019 earnings report today.
The iPhone-maker brought in $53.8 billion in revenue, a number within range of its own guidance and most analysts’ predictions. That set a new record for Apple third-quarter revenue — a slight gain from Q3 2018’s $53.3 billion. CEO Tim Cook touted the company’s subscription offerings for fueling the new all-time high.
Apple Watch has the lion’s share of smart watch sales today, and that’ll hold true through at least 2023, according to a market-research firm. This ultra-mobile computer will stay in the lead as the entire market for wrist-worn wearables grows strongly.
Sales of AirPods and other hearables are also expected see healthy growth in the coming years.
The debut of Apple’s second-generation AirPods didn’t trigger a huge surge in first-day sales, according to new data from a market-research company.
Still, the whole Q1 hearables market grew 40 percent over the previous quarter.
Apple’s wearables business continues to grow like gangbusters.
Sales of the Apple Watch grew 50% compared to the same quarter last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Apple’s Q2 2019 quarterly analyst call Tuesday.
If Apple’s wearables business — which includes the Apple Watch and the popular AirPods earbuds — were a stand-alone company, it would be in the Fortune 200, Cook said.
Forget your wrist. The new location for wearable devices is clearly your waist, at least according to Korean wearables company Welt. At CES 2019, the startup unveiled its smart belt, which promises to track physical activity, measure your expanding waistline, and even perform Apple Watch-style fall detection.
The Welt smart belt does this using a bevy of sensors and a Bluetooth connection. The data gathered is sent to a connected mobile device such as an iPhone.
The Apple Watch may be the world’s top wearable device right now, but that doesn’t mean that Apple’s happy to stop there. According to a newly published patent, Apple has developed its very own fabric, made up of a ridged material to offer a “contrasting appearance.”
The patent is an ornamental one, covering the look of the fabric rather than a specific use case. However, given Apple’s history of investigation into smart fabrics, it’s possible that the material could be used for developing future smart, sensor-equipped clothing.
