Last month we saw Apple delay the launch of their new wireless “AirPods” headphones beyond the late October timeframe the company originally promised during their September debut. Shortly after that we saw reports indicating the new earbuds wouldn’t be available until 2017.
A report today indicates Apple’s wireless headphones will actually be available beginning next week. German blog Apfelpage.de says an employee at Apple reseller Conrad has told a customer AirPod stock will be delivered on November 17, and they will be able for purchase by November 18 or 19:
Hello, I have just talked with an employee of the Conrad Online Store, since I am there on 14.10 the AirPods ordered and I wanted to cancel today. According to information from the employee, they have stockpiles from 17.11, I will then store them between 18-19.November. (Translation via Google Translate.)
The Conrad website still indicates delivery availability of 7 to 8 weeks, so who knows how accurate the information is. It’s possible the employee misspoke.
Apple hasn’t commented on the delays except for this statement:
“The early response to AirPods has been incredible. 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,”
Apple’s AirPods are a premium wireless headphone solution, which are Bluetooth connected, and powered by Apple’s own in-house W1 chip. The earbuds are completely wireless, with no cords connecting them to the device, or to each other.
Pre-production samples of the earbuds have been in the hands of reviewers since September, and have gotten generally good reviews.
