Apple May Launch AirPods Pro With USB-C Charging Later This Year: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple is working to introduce AirPods Pro with USB-C charging case later this year, says famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo noted that Apple will continue to sell AirPods 2 and the AirPods 3 with the lightning charging port.

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Apple is working to introduce AirPods Pro with USB-C charging case later this year, says famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The tech giant is planning to introduce the second-generation AirPods Pro later in 2023 and mass shipments are likely to start in the second or third quarter of the year, according to information by Kuo of TF International Securities.

According to the famed Apple analyst, the Cupertino, California-based tech major will continue to sell AirPods 2 and the AirPods 3 with the lightning charging port, but the AirPods Pro (second-gen) will come with a USB Type-C port for charging.

"I think this is likely the USB-C version of the AirPods Pro 2, with mass shipments expected in 2Q23-3Q23. By the way, Apple currently appears to have no plans for USB-C versions of the AirPods 2 & 3," Kuo tweeted.

To recall, the second-gen AirPods Pro launched in September last year came with a lightning charging case.

Kuo had earlier said Apple may be readying a budget AirPods TWS and a new AirPods Max for release in the second half (H2) of 2024. The tech giant's next generation of AirPods will likely begin mass shipments in H2 of 2024 or H1 of 2025. The new AirPods are likely to cost $99, which roughly translates into Rs 8,000 and will be around Rs 6,000 cheaper than the lowest-costing AirPods model in India that retails at Rs 14,900. To recall, analyst Jeff Pu, earlier in January, had said that Apple may be working on affordable AirPods that may be called AirPods Lite.

Meanwhile, Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, has recently won an order from Apple to manufacture AirPods, news agency Reuters reported, citing two sources. The Taiwan-based company plans to build a factory in India to produce true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds. This deal marks Foxconn's entry into the AirPods supply chain and highlights its efforts to diversify production away from China.

According to one of the sources, the decision to set up production in India was made at the request of Apple.

Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd., a Foxconn subsidiary, is expected to invest more than $200 million in the new India AirPods plant in Telangana and plans to begin production by the end of 2024 at the earliest.