When asked about how well the Apple AirPods are doing just after their launch, Tim Cook said they were “a runaway success”, he also added that Apple is “making them just as fast as we can”. Bold statements, no doubt, but do we have any concrete proof, or the numbers to back that up?
Prima facie, that seems to be true, because just within a day of their launch on the 13th of December, the AirPods were already on backorder, with a 6-week delay and you can’t grab your AirPods in-store until mid-February. However, does this really mean that the AirPods are so incredibly popular? Not necessarily.
The product’s availability is not a good indicator of popularity. It simply shows how many units Apple was able to produce before launch and how fast it can make them. Hence, Mr Cook’s statement seems to be just a general positive PR type of remark. Apple didn’t respond when asked for more details regarding the sales figures of the AirPods.
We probably won’t know how well the AirPods are doing, but we don’t think it’s very spectacular, or else Apple will be showing off sales numbers and bragging about it. When Apple presents its quarterly earnings in the coming month, we think that the AirPods are probably going to be included under Apple’s “Other Products” category, stacked and thrown together with the sales revenue from iPods, Apple Watches, Beats, Apple TVs, and other accessories. It appears that this seems to be Apple’s strategy in general, for products that perform poorly or just unspectacularly, since it gives Apple room to fail without tarnishing its image.
About the Aut
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A Dentist-To-Be Dabbling in Tech Journalism:
Zayne is a writer who reports for VR-Zone, Stuff Singapore and The New Paper on all things tech-related. Follow this geek on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!
