Apple's AirPods suppliers reportedly expect to ship 90 million units in 2020

AirPods (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple is expecting a big year for AirPods.
So are its suppliers, with a 50% increase in production likely.
That would mean around 90 million being built.

With AirPods stocks having often been a problem for Apple, its suppliers are expecting a big year ahead for the earbuds. According to a preview of tomorrow's headlines, DigiTimes and MacRumors report that suppliers are anticipating a bumper year.

How does a 50% increase on the number of AirPods shipped in 2019 sound?

AirPods shipments to soar 50% in 2020 Shipments of Apple's AirPods are expected to surge 50% on year to 90 million sets in 2020, according to sources at suppliers engaged in the supply chain.

There's no clarification on whether that means all AirPods, including AirPods Pro, but we'd assume that a number that large does cover the whole lineup.

Unfortunately, we don't get to find out exactly how many AirPods Apple sells thanks to the way it rolls them into its "Wearables, Home, and Accessories" category. But an increase of 50% would definitely mean that we shouldn't see as many stock shortages as we have done ever since AirPods first went on sale.

It isn't clear whether these numbers are boosted by the rumored AirPods Pro Lite, a product that DigiTimes itself has suggested will launch this year.

We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more information on this when the full report is made available tomorrow.

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.