Google and Amazon to Release Rivals to AirPods Next Year [Report]

Both Google and Amazon are planning to release wireless earphones that will rival Apple's AirPods next year, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo says that AirPods are Apple's most successful current product and other companies will try to follow in its footsteps.

We believe that the AirPods are more than just earbuds for Apple and will become increasingly important in Apple's ecosystem for the following reasons. (1) They increase the switching costs for users to Android from the iOS ecosystem. (2) This is an important device for voice assistant/AI services because it can easily enable the voice assistant. (3) The ear is a perfect sensing area for detecting various health data. It may integrate with the Apple Watch to offer better health management in the future.


It's thought that Google and Amazon will become Apple's biggest competition with the two companies releasing rival products in the second half of 2019.

We believe that AirPods' success has drawn Google and Amazon's attention and these two companies will launch AirPod-alike products in 2H19. The combined shipments of two brands will likely reach 10–20mn units in 2H19. Goertek (assembly) and Unitech (Rigid-flex PCB) are sole suppliers for Google and Amazon. We think that Google and Amazon are Apple's main competitors because Google is the most influential brand in the Android ecosystem and Amazon has the best voice assistant service.

Kuo believes that Apple is planning to update AirPods with wireless charging capabilities in early 2019 and will introduce an all-new design for the earphones in early 2020. With fewer than 5% of iPhone owners using AirPods there are 'great potential growth opportunities'.

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