Inside Apple's Plans for the Future of AirPods
When Apple Inc. introduced AirPods seven years ago, the company was criticized for the product’s design and an accompanying move to jettison the iPhone’s headphone jack.
The outcry is hard to fathom today, when the wireless earbuds are one of the company’s top products and part of everyday life. AirPods generate several billion dollars a year for Apple and provide an extra reason for people to buy an iPhone — or keep the one they already have.
The earbuds also have helped the company’s Wearables, Home and Accessories category outpace both the iPad and Mac in sales growth. Revenue for that group of products — which also includes the Apple Watch, Apple TV and HomePod — has quadrupled since AirPods were introduced, reaching $41 billion last year.
Apple helped popularize AirPods by making rapid improvements. The second-generation lineup had hands-free Siri support and better battery life, and the company added the AirPods Pro with noise cancellation and an over-ear Max model.
Now, Apple is preparing to give the earbuds a fresh boost. It’s exploring major new hearing health and body-temperature features, and is planning cheaper models and a transition to USB-C charging ports. The product also will have ties to the Vision Pro headset due next year. The capabilities will come in addition to already-announced software features that were part of iOS 17, as well as plans for new AirPods Pro and Max models...
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BMW Automotive Training Expert | Empowering Sales Teams & Delivering Customer Excellence
1yTo answer your question in the post, Yes, Apple will definitely return to in person events as it wants the audience to touch and feel the products and market it through their blogs. The only reason why they may chose to continue with virtual events could be error free multiple takes event footage and cost savings(which Apple is not known for but they might leverage that cost towards marketing or R&D, which is a smart business move.
Realtor Associate @ Next Trend Realty LLC | HAR REALTOR, IRS Tax Preparer
1yThanks for posting.