AirPods: 100 billion US dollars in sales in 2026?
Apple should continue to sell a lot of headphones in the coming years. Counterpoint expects a milestone to be reached as early as next year.
Apple AirPods with user.
(Image: Ivan_Shenets/Shutterstock.com)
Apple could succeed in achieving cumulative sales of AirPods totaling 100 billion US dollars in 2026 since their launch in 2016. This is the assumption of market researcher Counterpoint Research. According to this, the iPhone manufacturer's division is expected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2026. Cheaper models such as the AirPods 4, which Apple launched on the market in 2024, will be particularly helpful. However, expensive models such as the AirPods Max also help to increase revenue. Added to this are the models from Apple's Beats division—both over-ears and on-ears and earbuds.
Turnover like Nintendo
Apple itself does not provide sales figures for audio products alone but always puts them in the “Other” category. Most recently, the total turnover of this division, which is called “Wearables, Homes, and Accessories,” was just under 19.2 billion dollars in half a year (figures up to the end of March 2025). Last year, it was already reported that Apple could generate 22 billion dollars in the fiscal year with AirPods alone. That would be more revenue than large corporations such as Spotify, Nintendo, or eBay.
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Counterpoint believes that more health functions in Apple's audio products could further increase sales. The Powerbeats Pro 2 from Beats, which have an integrated heart rate sensor, were the first to do so. Lower prices and entry-level models could also help to better position the products in emerging markets such as India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
New models in the pipeline
However, nothing has changed in Apple's AirPods pipeline for some time. Observers and users have been waiting a long time for the AirPods Pro 3. Apple last updated the second generation in September 2023, but only retrofitted USB-C ports. Since then, new functions have been added via firmware updates, most recently sleep detection.
Users also want a new model of the AirPods Max. Here, too, only the old version is sold, but now equipped with USB-C (including USB-C audio). Technically, however, nothing has changed here, for example, in terms of noise reduction (ANC), and Apple continues to sell the models at the standard price of almost 600 euros.
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