Apple’s upcoming AirPods Pro 2 are set to enter mass production in Vietnam in the second half of this year, according to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst also revealed that the earbuds will retain the Lightning port for charging as some recent rumors pointed to the charging case featuring USB-C connectivity.
AirPods Pro 2 to be manufactured in Vietnam instead of China
In a new thread on Twitter, the respected analyst reveals his estimate that the AirPods Pro 2 will enter mass production in the second half of 2022. Kuo also says that the earbuds will be produced in Vietnam which will mark a “successful case of mass production of Apple’s major products outside China.”
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Cupertino tech giant has told suppliers it wants to move production away from China. Kuo says the shift in production for the second-generation AirPods Pro is due to its “relatively not complicated supply chain and Vietnam’s better production environment.”
While production will be shifted to Vietnam, it is believed that Apple will continue to test manufacturing for AirPods 2 in China. “The NPI [New Product Introduction] of AirPods Pro 2 is still in China,” he writes, “implying it’s not easy to establish a complete non-China production site.”
About the features of the AirPods Pro 2, Kuo says that he predicts the next-generation earbuds will retain their Lightning charging port, not USB-C. His statement comes after it was reported that the tech giant could remove the Lightning port from the iPhone in favor of USB-C connectivity, possibly by 2023 with the iPhone 15 lineup. Adding to the report, Kuo said that Apple could also switch more of its products from Lightning to USB-C like AirPods, Magic Keyboard, and more.
If Kuo’s prediction is accurate, the second-generation AirPods Pro will continue to feature Lightning connectivity. We will simply have to wait until 2023 to see if the tech giant switches its products from its proprietary Lightning port to USB-C connectivity.
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