In September, along with the reveal of the headphone jack-free iPhone 7, Apple announced the release of new wireless earbuds called AirPods. At the time, Apple said they would start shipping in late October. That timing has now come and gone, and it isn’t yet clear when, exactly, the AirPods will arrive.
At the end of October, an Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch, “We don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers.” More recently, in a November 11 research note obtained by Pitchfork (originally reported by MacRumors), Barclays analysts wrote, citing Asian supply chain sources, “We did hear that the AirPods should finally start production in December but units are fairly small at 10-15M to start.”
As of this post, the AirPods aren’t listed on Apple’s holiday shopping guide, and a product listing simply says the AirPods are “currently unavailable.”
An Apple spokesperson contacted by Pitchfork declined to comment beyond the statement from the end of October.