Apple's next AirPods Pro may be delayed until next year

A report from DigiTimes claims that Apple is "likely to defer" the launch of its new AirPods Pro, perhaps as late as 2021.

According to the piece:

Apple likely to defer new AirPods Pro launch

Apple may have to defer the launch of its new AirPods Pro to the second half of 2020 or even 2021, according to sources at related suppliers.

DigiTimes reported in March that production was resuming on Apple's next AirPods Pro towards the end of Q1 2020. From that report:

Production of an entry-level version of Apple's AirPods device is expected to resume momentum by the end of first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2020, according to upstream component suppliers for TWS devices.

The rumor mill has been swinging back and forth between delayed and on schedule, in part due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on manufacturing.

A recent report from Jon Prosser had alluded to Apple's plans to release a new model of AirPods called 'AirPods X', targeted at the sports/running market and similar to Beats X. He had previously reported that these were pegged for a launch in September/October and that they were "probably what DigiTimes thought was AirPods Pro Lite."

It's possible then that a launch in the second half of 2020 might not be considered a delay unless they were to debut towards November or the holidays. Unless of course, Jon Prosser was factoring in the delay in his prediction. Certainly, we can estimate that Apple's new AirPods, whether they are called the Pro, X, or something else, will not debut until at least September. This latest DigiTimes report might even indicate they may not appear this year at all.