Apple's production expansion in Vietnam may go beyond shifting the AirPods supply chain from China to Vietnam, with reports suggesting that Apple will use its Vietnam factory to build the long-rumored earphones.
Apple is reportedly working on its own in-ear headphones called "AirPods Studio," a premium personal audio accessory that takes the existing AirPods brand in a new direction. Aside from the fact that the new product is an in-ear headset instead of an earbud, Apple seems to be making another change, and that's where it's made.
Apple has contacted contract manufacturers Goertek and Luxhare to use its Vietnam factory to produce the headphones, The Information said, citing sources. This will mark the first time that Apple will use the country's factories to produce new products from the start, rather than increasing production.
Vietnam obviously won't be the only country that will be used for headphones, as contract manufacturers will also be using factories in China to produce their products at the same time.
It is unclear what percentage of headphones will be produced in each country.
One of the reasons for developing headphones in Vietnam is to build local knowledge of manufacturing, according to a person familiar with the program. This will include areas ranging from product assembly to manufacturing research, prototyping, engineering and development. Apple is far from starting from scratch in Vietnam, as it already produces Lightning data cables, EarPods and AirPods through its manufacturing partners in the region.
Shifting production to Vietnam has been in the works for some time, as Apple has been considering diversifying its production lines by moving production to Vietnam and other countries.
In January this year, news broke that Apple partner Pegatron was looking for a factory site in Vietnam.
While the "AirPods Studio" is thought to include some form of noise-canceling technology, sources believe it will be similar to the headphones from Sony, Sennheiser and Bose, which are expected to be available sometime in 2020, with the "AirPods Studio" expected to sell for $349.
