AirPods Pro 2 Tipped For 2022 As Demand Stumbles

Apple launched AirPods Pro back in 2019, and it didn't take long before rumors of a follow-up started making rounds. However, thus far, we haven't seen Apple reveal the second-generation AirPods Pro, and according to a new report today, we may have a while yet to wait. That's according to one prolific Apple analyst who thinks that we won't see AirPods Pro 2 launch until sometime next year.

The analyst is none other than Ming-Chi Kuo, who predicted in a recent note to investors (as reported by MacRumors) that we won't see AirPods Pro 2 until sometime in 2022. While Kuo didn't elaborate on that prediction, he did note that demand for the original AirPods Pro will be "lower-than-expected" throughout the rest of 2021, leading him to revise his forecast for total AirPods Pro sales from 75-85 million down to 70-75 million.

Kuo thinks that launching a second-gen follow-up to the original AirPods Pro could help boost total sales over the 100 million mark in 2022, which would be a big win for Apple. The big question is what AirPods Pro 2 will offer that the original AirPods Pro doesn't already. Recent reports claim that Apple may not only be looking at redesigning AirPods Pro, but also implementing new health tracking features as well.

It's worth pointing out that this isn't the first time Kuo has predicted a 2022 release for AirPods Pro 2. He made a similar prediction back in April 2020, saying at the time that he didn't expect AirPods Pro 2 to enter mass production until late 2021 or early 2022.

So, for now, it looks like Kuo is confident that 2022 is the big year for AirPods Pro 2. Assuming Kuo is correct, we probably shouldn't expect to hear anything about them at Apple's iPhone reveal event in the fall. We'll see what happens from here, but those of you holding out for a pair of second-gen AirPods Pro 2 may still have a long wait ahead.