AirPods Studio will likely be Apple's first product to be built from the start in Vietnam
Apple's rumored over-ear headphones, the AirPods Studio, will be produced in Vietnam, reports The Information (via AppleInsider).
Although some of the company's products such as the AirPods are already produced in Vietnam, this would be the first time a brand new product is made there. Usually, what happens is that production begins in China, and then contract manufacturers in other countries are brought on board to keep up with the demand.
Some AirPods Studio units will probably still be manufactured in China
The move comes as tension between the US and China heightens. Apple is also trying to shift iPhone production from the country to other regions such as India.
Apple is reportedly already in touch with contract manufacturers Goertek and Luxshare regarding the production of the AirPods Studio in Vietnam. Sources also say that Apple wants to gain more local manufacturing knowledge and this further indicates that it wants to get to know the domestic scene better for expanding production further. The iPhone maker is particularly interested in knowing more about manufacturing research, assembly, prototyping, and development.
The AirPods Studio headphones would mark Apple's foray in the over-ear headphones category. Its subsidiary Beats is already a known player in the market though.
The upcoming headphones are said to inherit some of the same technologies that made the AirPods popular such as active noise-cancellation. It's also tipped to offer head and neck detection to determine if you have them on and play/pause audio accordingly. Mass production is expected to start soon with a launch sometime in the near future. They will likely cost $349.
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