Oliver Haslam on April 6, 2022, 12:18 am

Kuo: AirPods Pro 2 Set To Replace Original Model In Second Half Of 2022

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple is set to release an updated version of the popular AirPods Pro earbuds in the second half of the year.

The same report notes that we can expect Apple to discontinue the original version at the same time, avoiding a mistake it made with the current third and second-generation AirPods.

That mistake, says Kuo, was to keep the AirPods 2 around while the AirPods 3 went on sale. That two-tier approach appears to have caused people to not buy the newer AirPods 3 with Apple now slashing its orders for the updated version.

AirPods 3 orders for 2-3Q22 have been cut by 30%+. Due to the failed product segmentation strategy, demand for AirPods 3 is significantly weaker than for AirPods 2. AirPods Pro may get discontinued after Apple launches AirPods Pro 2 in 2H22 to avoid repeating the same mistake.

Apple tends to keep older versions of its products on sale at a lower asking price, allowing for more options. But that doesn’t seem to have worked in the case of the new AirPods and Kuo believes Apple may avoid making the same mistake when its refreshed AirPods Pro go on sale later this year.

It might also suggest that the second-generation AirPods might be removed from sale sooner rather than later, particularly if they are impacting sales of the more costly, more capable version.