Second generation AirPods Max and HomePod mini, maybe it will take longer than expected. It will probably be at least two years before the new models are released. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple could only release the new AirPods Max and HomePod mini between 2024 and 2025.
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In particular, Kuo believes that next year Apple will launch a new model of AirPods Max, the second generation HomePod minis and a new model of low-cost AirPods.
Mass production of these devices is expected to begin in mid-to-late 2024, with availability expected towards the end of the year or early 2025. After the launch of the HomePod 2 and second-generation AirPods Pro, it seems that Apple is taking its time before releasing new audio devices.
The AirPods Max headphones launched in December 2020, so an update in late 2024 would mean this product would remain unchanged for more than four years. It is not excluded that, in the meantime, Apple may release new colors for the AirPods Max.
The HomePod mini launched in November 2021, with Apple then unveiling new color options a year later in November 2021. It also recently unlocked temperature and humidity sensing features via a software update. But even then, we’d have to wait another two years or so to see a new model.
Also in the same period, the low-cost AirPods earphones could be released, a sort of AirPods Lite that the analyst had already talked about in the past. In essence, these would be versions with fewer features than the standard AirPods, with a price that could be around the psychological threshold of $99.