Kuo: AirPods 3 won’t ship until third quarter of 2021

In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will start production of the AirPods 3 in the third quarter of 2021. The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) expects them to ship in the second quarter based on previous reports.

That said, Kuo has one of the best track records around when it comes to forecasting Apple product releases. On the other hand, new AirPods 3 are ready to ship proven Apple leaker “Kang” said on March12.The AirPods Pro update will reportedly have a round design and eliminate the short stem that currently sticks out from the bottom.

Speaking of the AirPods line-up, Kuo describes the AirPods Max as being of “limited help” to the product line, predicting “an annual shipment of about one million units.”