Apple’s AirPods offer wireless sound with a peerless, compact design. The tremendously popular accessory doubles its sales numbers every year.
By Chand Bellur
December 25, 2019 at 4:56 p.m. PDT
Apple Sold $6 Billion Worth of AirPods in 2019
2019 has been a good year for Apple. As the Cupertino company pivots to subscription services, facing declining iPhone sales, they managed to create yet another breakthrough product. Although AirPods can’t hope to be as fruitful as the iPhone, the miniature wireless earphones are immensely profitable.
By the end of 2019, AirPods raked in a whopping $6 billion in revenues. The new AirPods Pro feature advanced noise cancellation and an innovative audio transparency safety feature. Customers are clamoring for Apple’s newest wireless earphones, with an ever growing wait list.
Apple Watch All Over Again
Apple’s success with AirPods is a familiar story. The tech giant employed a similar strategy with the Apple Watch — build something fashionable. Much like the Apple Watch is a fashionable status symbol, AirPods dangling from one’s ears are similarly in vogue.
I feel like a dork in my PowerBeats Pros, even though they’re stylish and capable wireless earphones. The AirPods are Apple’s Air Jordans. For many people, there’s simply no substitute, as irrational as it may seem.
Myriad wireless earphones have flooded the market from companies such as Amazon, Bose and Google. As with Apple Watch competitors, it will prove difficult to beat a product so entrenched in our culture.
People know what AirPods are, but may not even know that Amazon makes a competing product, let alone what it’s called. It’s as if Apple has both market and cultural hegemony.
AirPods Expected to Earn $15 Billion in 2020
Wall Street analyst Toni Sacconaghi predicts that Apple will sell $15 billion worth of AirPods in 2020. This equates to 85 million units. This would more than double Apple’s $6 billion in AirPods revenues for 2019.
Apple’s stock price clearly reflects both the success of new products and the transition into subscription services. Much like the iPhone, AirPods will eventually reach market saturation. Subscriptions, however, offer steady, reliable revenue streams. The combination of subscription services and new, innovative products should provide continued growth for Apple.