The iPhone 12 may drop the attached wired headset EarPods, which will boost demand for the AirPods 2, Tianfeng International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a report on Wednesday.
Kuo raised his expectation of 2020 AirPods shipments to 93.8 million units, after previously expecting 80-90 million units, and expects AirPods shipments to grow strongly in the second half of the year.
Kuo said the new iPhone (iPhone 12) may eliminate the wired headphones (EarPods) that come with it, driving demand for the less expensive AirPods 2.
He also said that AirPods 2 inventory de-stocking will end in the second quarter of this year, and that Apple may have AirPods promotions planned in the second half of the year.
He expects AirPods shipments to bottom out for the year in the second quarter and see strong growth in the second half.
Weak demand for AirPods 2, affected by the epidemic and inventory decommissioning, led to a 29% QoQ decline in total 2Q20 shipments to 17.2 million units.
However, benefiting from the fact that AirPods 2 demand will pick up from Q3 onwards with AirPods Pro maintaining strong demand, Kuo expects AirPods shipments to grow strongly by 40% QoQ, 44% YoY/17% QoQ, 39% YoY in Q3 and Q4 this year.
