AirPods update: Will a virus outbreak hinder Apple’s plan to ship 45 million pairs of earbuds in H1 2020?

Apple’s truly wireless earbuds became one of its top-selling products, especially following the release of the AirPods Pro in late 2019. The demands are so high that Apple seems to have not totally caught up on it yet in terms of shipments. Additionally, tech companies with most of their suppliers and assemblers situated in China also have to deal with the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak on the industry.

AirPods: Apple wants to ‘drastically ramp up’ the production of truly wireless earbuds

Apple is, technically, not the first company to introduce the concept of a headset without any cord. It can be said, however, that the Cupertino, California-based tech giant was what made this category a worldwide phenomenon. So it is not surprising that Apple is also one of the leaders when it comes to selling truly wireless earbuds.

Nikkei reports that Apple has placed an order of 45 million units of AirPods to its Chinese manufacturers to be reportedly shipped within the first half of the year. Sources of the publication claimed that there has not been a new shipment of AirPods for the past two weeks. But things are expected to change as Chinese manufacturers are purportedly scheduled to resume operations on Monday, Feb. 10.

The same sources pointed out, however, that Apple’s China-based assemblers are not expected to immediately return to its full capacity. They are eyed to produce just 50 percent of their normal yield within the first week. Insiders are also concerned if the parts suppliers would be able to keep up with the manufacturers’ return to work next week.

AirPods supplies: Delivery option is available on Apple.com but with a 4-week waiting period

It can be recalled that there was quite a difficulty in finding a pair of AirPods Pro last holiday season. For weeks, tech fans were greeted with messages that the device was temporarily out of stock even on the official Apple website.

That is still partially the case now in February. United States customers, depending on their location, still have to check if Apple store locations have AirPods supplies while the delivery option is available with a four-week waiting period. Third-party retailers like Amazon has yet to restock on AirPods Pro while the second-generation AirPods are available with a $20 discount.