Apple Could Keep AirPods Max Headphones Around Without 'Meaningfully' Updating Them, Says Analyst: Here's Why

Apple Inc. AAPL has no immediate plans to significantly update its premium AirPods Max headphones, according to Mark Gurman.

What Happened: Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Bloomberg columnist Gurman stated that Apple could keep selling the AirPods Max headphones without any major updates for the foreseeable future.

According to him, the $550 device occupies a peculiar position: it's not successful enough to justify substantial research and development investment, yet it's not underperforming enough to discontinue.

He noted the headphones still cater to a specific audience, as evidenced by their visibility in high-end gyms in cities like Los Angeles and New York.

At this point, Apple has no real plan to meaningfully update AirPods Max. The headphones aren't a hot enough seller to justify new R&D, but they're also not a big enough flop to kill them. If you've been to an overpriced gym in LA/NYC, you can see the $550 device has a market.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 24, 2024

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Why It Matters: Apple's wearables, home, and accessories category saw revenue of $9.04 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, a slight drop from $9.32 billion in the same period last year.

While Apple leads the true wireless stereo (TWS) market with a 17% market share as of the third quarter of 2024 – this represents a sharp decline from 48.1% in 2019, signaling intensified competition, according to Statista.

Despite the lack of updates, the headphones remain a steady, albeit modest, contributor to Apple’s wearables ecosystem, which includes AirPods Pro and AirPods.

Apple continues to focus on its broader product lineup, with the iPhone leading revenue at $46.22 billion in the fourth quarter, while services revenue grew to $24.97 billion.

The Tim Cook-led company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $94.9 billion, surpassing analyst projections of $94.56 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.64, exceeding expectations of $1.60.

Price Action: Apple stock gained 1.3% on Monday to close at $232.87, but fell 0.18% in after-hours trading. Year-to-date, Apple’s shares are up 25.4%, according to Benzinga Pro data, slightly underperforming the Nasdaq 100 index which is up 25.8%.

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