An analyst known for accurately predicting Apple products says that sales for AirPods headphones could more than quintuple over the next few years, CNBC reports.
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities recently released a research note saying that of all the Apple products, sales of the wireless earbuds are growing at the fastest rate. Last year, Apple sold 14 to 16 million pairs of AirPods, Kuo said, but that number will reach 50 to 55 million next year and jump to 100 to 110 million by 2021, the news source reports.
Kuo also predicts that Apple will release a new version of the product in 2019, adding a wireless charging function that will boost sales.
“We believe that there is a greater likelihood of legacy iPhone users buying AirPods than upgrading to new iPhone models,” Kuo said, according to CNBC.
The forecast is a bit of good news for the tech giant.
Amid reports of lower than expected sales for iPhones, Apple announced in November that it would stop reporting unit sales numbers for Macs, iPads, and iPhones. One analyst said demand for iPhones will continue to slow into 2019, a sentiment that Kuo seems to agree with.
The unit sales numbers for AirPods aren’t disclosed by the company as sales from Apple accessories are included in the “Other Products” category, CNBC reports.