As most of us are aware, Apple’s new wireless AirPods earbuds are in high demand. A new report indicates AirPods manufacturing partner Inventec is expanding production capacity in some of its Shanghai plants.
The report [by China’s Economic Daily News] noted that Inventec has recently started expanding capacity at its Shanghai plants in order to satisfy increasing demand for the earphones and the plants are currently working overtime to deliver orders.
AirPods, originally expected to go on sale in the fall, were delayed until mid-December, finally going on sale on December 13. Shipping estimates quickly slipped to 4 weeks, and then to 6 weeks, as demand far outstripped supply. While supplies of the popular wireless ear pods were shipped almost daily to Apple retail stores and third-party resellers, the earbuds were a difficult item to find during the holiday shopping season.
During a visit this week to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company’s AirPods were “a runaway success,” and that the company is “making them just as fast as we can.”
In recent days, shipping estimates have reportedly improved for many customers, indicating Inventec is indeed “currently working overtime to deliver orders.” Customers looking to find AirPods in their local Apple Store have a few handy tools available to aid them in their search, such as a website that displays availability in the U.S. via a map, and another website that notifies users via email when the wireless headsets become available in their selected Apple retail store.
