Landing AirPods Pro 2 for Christmas might become a whole lot harder soon. That’s because Apple appears to have lost one of its two suppliers responsible for AirPods Pro 2 over a possible production issue.
Reliably supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo highlights a notice from AirPods Pro 2 supplier Goertek received by a “major overseas client” with instructions “to suspend the assembly production for a smart acoustic product.”
Kuo believes that product to be AirPods Pro 2. Additionally, the analyst doesn’t believe demand is the reason for potentially cutting production in half going into the holiday quarter. Instead, he says “suspension of production is more like due to production issues” based on his survey.
Meanwhile, Luxshare ICT has had to expand AirPods Pro 2 production and will be the only assembler for Apple. Kuo concludes that it’s not known if or when Goertek will begin AirPods Pro 2 production again. He also raises the question as to whether or not Goertek could lose other assembly jobs for Apple going into next year.
Finally, Apple is expected to ship 20 million sets of AirPods Pro 2 during the holiday quarter. Kuo sets that expectation with the latest production development in mind. Inventory is still readily available for now, but today’s supplier change could soon be reflected in longer delivery times.
AirPods Pro 2 add enhanced noise cancellation, onboard volume control, and new features for tracking down lost hardware. AirPods Pro 2 first started reaching customers on September 22. Check out our review here.
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