AirPods 3 does not seem to have stirred up much splash since its launch, at least in comparison with the previous generation of products, whether it is the AirPods that came out of nowhere, or the AirPods 2 that followed up, its sales, popularity and product strength at that time are not within the reach of AirPads 3, let alone positioning a higher-end version of AirPods Pro.
It's clear that AirPods 3 sales haven't met Apple's expectations, forcing Apple to revisit its strategy in the AirPods lineup. Tianfeng International industry analyst Guo Mingxi predicts that once the second-generation AirPods Pro is released, Apple will discontinue the original AirPods Pro, which also marks Apple's strategic shift from AirPods 2 and AirPods 3.
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Guo Mingxi said in a tweet that AirPods 3 orders in the second and third quarters of 2022 decreased by 30%+. Due to the failure of the product segmentation strategy, the demand for AirPods 3 is significantly weaker than that of AirPods 2. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, airPods Pro may be discontinued after Apple launches AirPods Pro 2 in the second half of 2022.
Guo Mingji added that this may be a wake-up call for the AirPods product line. Apple needs to understand two things, one is that consumers are not willing to spend an extra $50 for the new selling point of AirPods 3; Second, airPods can only sell for $249 at most without more innovative features.
In terms of product positioning, although AirPods 3 is an iterative product of AirPods 2, consumers have higher expectations for it. Apple had hoped that people would be attracted to the new features and design of the AirPods 3 and would cost more than the AirPods 2. But this is not the case. Kuo said Apple's "segmentation strategy" has failed, and consumers are still largely opting for the more affordable AirPods 2 over the AirPods 3. Despite the addition of spatial audio and other functions, but the cancellation of active noise cancellation, the appearance of no major updates, so that everyone can spend more money to buy AirPods 3 is indeed a bit difficult.
Does this illustrate the success of AirPods 2 in product design and sales from another perspective? For the latest AirPods Pro 2, presumably Apple should learn a lesson and make this new flagship worthwhile. Previously, it was leaked that AirPods Pro 2 will significantly upgrade the H1 chip, improve battery life and support lossless audio. In terms of exterior design, the AirPods Pro 2 or more compact will have a chance to be similar to beats Studio Buds.