Suppliers of new AirPods worry nobody will buy them because of coronavirus

We've been hearing various reports out of DigiTimes relating to the so-called AirPods Pro Lite earbuds. It's never been clear exactly what they are, but it doesn't matter if nobody buys them. And that's a concern that Apple's suppliers are now starting to ponder.

According to a new preview – spotted by MacRumors – of a report that DigiTimes will share tomorrow, suppliers are concerned that demand of new AirPods will be low because of the worldwide closure of Apple Stores due to coronavirus. Only stores in Greater China remain open at the time of writing.

There has been a ton of talk suggesting coronavirus might impact Apple's 2020 product launches, but it's the lack of demand that has the company's suppliers worried right now. While Apple Stores are closed, its online operations remain open. As do those provided by its retail partners, too.

The common belief is that the earbuds DigiTimes calls AirPods Pro Lite will actually be AirPods that borrow design cues from AirPods Pro Lite. That means an in-ear design, but no active noise canceling technology.

Apple was expected to hold a March media event, but that is now unlikely given the coronavirus outbreak. We'll be waiting to see whether new AirPods are announced via a press release, though.

We'll also get to see the full DigiTimes report tomorrow as well. Hopefully, that will shed some light on the situation!