Apple will reportedly have AirPods Studio built in Vietnam as it reduces its reliance on China

AirPods Pro and Beats Solo Pro (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple's rumored AirPods Studio headphones will reportedly be built in Vietnam.
This as Apple continues to reduce its reliance on China.
Shipments to Apple are expected to start arriving as soon as next month.

Rumors of an Apple-branded over-ear headphone project have circulated for months with recent rumors claiming the company has gone with the AirPods Studio branding. Now a new report claims that Apple has two manufacturers ready to get production underway in Vietnam.

The report from The Information has Apple partners Luxshare and Geortek lined up to begin production soon enough to potentially have shipments in Apple warehouses as early as next month.

Apple has been trying to reduce its reliance on Chinese manufacturing since the United States administration went into a trade battle with the company last year. The recent coronavirus outbreak hasn't slowed Apple's plans, either.

AirPods Studio are set to be impressive, $349 studio-quality headphones that feature Apple's W1 chip for instant pairing and device switching. Active noise cancellation technology will also be included. One Bloomberg report has also claimed that interchangeable earcups will be part of the design, too.

Leaker Jon Prosser has previously said that a launch as soon as next month's WWDC isn't out of the question.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.