Kuo: AirPods Pro, Apple Watch Series 6, and iPod Touch Getting New Suppliers in 2020
Apple will be making several changes to the suppliers of its products in 2020, according to reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
For starters, Kuo expects Chinese company Goertek to begin assembly of AirPods Pro in the first half of the year. The addition of a second supplier alongside Luxshare Precision should help improve supply of the popular earphones, which continue to face multi-week shipping estimates on Apple.com.
Luxshare itself will replace Quanta Computer as the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of S-series chips for the new Apple Watch in 2020, aka Series 6 models if Apple sticks with its naming trend, Kuo added.
And last, Kuo expects Chinese manufacturer BYD Electronic to replace Quanta Computer as the sole assembler of the iPod touch in 2020, as well as obtain at least 10-20 percent of non-cellular iPad orders. Naturally, if this goes well, the company is expected to receive an even larger percentage of orders in 2021 and beyond.
Kuo outlined these details in a research note with investment firm TF International Securities, seen by MacRumors.
Popular Stories
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple is today providing developers with the first betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, with the new software introducing an early version of the Apple Intelligence features. These new betas will be in testing alongside the current iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15 betas. Developers can choose whether to opt into the new betas with Apple Intelligence, or stay on the ...
Apple Intelligence will miss its initial expected launch date to give Apple more time to fix bugs, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. According to individuals with knowledge about Apple's plans, the company now plans to start rolling out Apple Intelligence in software updates by October, arriving several weeks after the launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. This means that Apple...
T-Mobile customers have filed a lawsuit [PDF] against the carrier, alleging that it failed to honor a guarantee not to raise the prices of select cellular plans. The lawsuit, first spotted by Wired, claims that back in 2017, T-Mobile advertised several of its plans with a price lock, but then went on to increase prices starting in May 2024. "T-Mobile ONE customers keep their price until...