Apple may drop EarPods from iPhone 12 box, analyst says

It would be the first time Apple didn't include headphones with an iPhone.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice

Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.

Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials

More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.

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Joshua Goldman

May 20, 2020 9:39 a.m. PT

apple-iphone-earpods-headphones-music-5 — Apple could potentially boost AirPod sales by leaving EarPods out of the next iPhone box.

When Apple rolls out the iPhone 12, there might be one fewer thing in the box: EarPod headphones. The move could potentially drive sales of the company's totally wireless AirPods, additionally pushed by holiday promotions at the end of 2020, according to a report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple's wired EarPod headphones have accompanied new iPhones since the iPhone 5 release in 2012 and its iconic white, wired earbuds were in the box with every model before that, including the first iPhone. By not including headphones with the iPhone 12, buyers will have to supply their own, which could mean also purchasing a pair of Apple's AirPod or AirPod Pro headphones, currently priced at $159 (£159, AU$249) and $249 (£249, AU$399), respectively.

Kuo's firm, TF Securities International, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

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