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Apple announced the “AirPods Max” wireless headphones on the 8th. The new product will go on sale on the 15th. The asking price is more than double that of similar products on the market. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted that purchase interest for on-ear hearing aids has waned and is concerned about the prospects for the product.
CNBC reported that AirPods Max is suitable for consumers who don’t like to use in-ear headphones like AirPods. The new product supports Siri voice commands and can be quickly paired with the iPhone. AirPods Max has a “transparency mode”, so users can still hear the surrounding sounds, such as those from trams, after wearing headphones. In addition, the new product has a “spatial audio” function and the sound sounds like it is coming directly from an iPad or iPhone. AirPods Max has a built-in sensor that can detect whether the user is wearing headphones. Once the headphones are removed, the music will stop playing.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 8th that Apple products never win on price and AirPods are so popular that Apple has established a bold strategy. When AirPods first came out in late 2016, the asking price was $ 159, which was much higher than similar products. However, the excellent sound quality and ease of use of AirPods made the product will stand out. AirPods are now the number one revenue stream for Apple’s wearable devices, with revenue growing 25% to $ 30.6 billion in the last fiscal year.
However, Apple’s high-price strategy doesn’t always work. The first smart speaker, HomePod, launched in early 2018, priced at $ 350, more than double the market-dominant Amazon Echo. As a result, HomePod sales were lousy. Futuresouce Consulting estimated that HomePod’s market share was just 4% in 2018, after which Apple was forced to cut prices. In November of this year, Apple even announced the HomePod Mini, priced at just $ 99.
The Wall Street Journal believes that AirPods Max can follow in the footsteps of HomePod. NPD Group’s Ben Arnold said the current average price for similar over-ear wireless headphones is $ 230. In addition, the obvious consumer preference for in-ear headphones has caused sales of such products to continue to decline, and revenues in the first ten months of this year have fallen by 45% annually. It’s hard for Apple to reverse the trend with new super high unit prices. In addition, the wave of work from home will continue into next year, and the reduced demand for travel can also be detrimental to the purchase of new products.
(MoneyDJ News authorized reprint of this article; source of first image: Apple)
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