AirPods Pro 3 May Be Key to Reigniting Apple’s Sales Growth
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While sales of Apple’s AirPods appear to be flatlining in the United States, Apple’s highly anticipated launch of its AirPods Pro 3 later this year should give sales a much-needed boost, says a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
According to CIRP, around 44% of iPhone owners located in the United States now own Bluetooth earbuds, up from the 41% of owners who reported owning them in 2024. Among those Bluetooth earbud users, 59% say they use AirPods, up a small bit from 57% in 2024. However, the 2025 numbers have shown a return to the 2023 level. CIRP says roughly 26% of all iPhone owners in the U.S. today use AirPods.
While the new data shows Apple is recovering a bit when it comes to its share of the Bluetooth earbuds market among iPhone users, it is concerning as it shows no real growth beyond Apple’s previous heights. While the size of the overall market is slowly expanding, Apple is merely holding on to its piece of the pie, not grabbing an additional portion.
While Apple has a firm grip on the earbuds market when it comes to iPhone users, the company’s AirPods lineup faces growing competition from Bose, Samsung, and other earbud manufacturers. AirPods Pro 2 were released nearly three years ago, in September 2022.
The AirPods Pro 2 at release featured an H2 chip, improved noise cancellation, and more. In September 2024, Apple received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) https://www.idropnews.com/news/airpods-pro-2-get-fda-approval-for-use-as-hearing-aids/222219/for AirPods Pro 2 earbuds to act as over-the-counter hearing aids.
Hearing aid-related features include active hearing protection, a hearing test, and a hearing aid feature. Users take a hearing test using their AirPods Pro 2 earbuds and iPhone, and can then view a summary of their test results, which is stored privately and securely in the Health app, and can be shared with the user’s healthcare providers.
If the tests detect hearing loss, a personalized sound profile is created that allows the AirPods Pro 2 to make dynamic sound adjustments to increase sound as needed.
The hearing aid test and features are available in several countries around the globe.
We’ve been seeing several substantial reductions in the price of AirPods Pro 2 over the last few months, indicating Apple and retailers could be looking to clear out stock of the earbuds to make way for the third-generation AirPods Pro. Or, Apple could be simply looking to increase the volume of AirPods Pro 2 sales for the current quarter. Perhaps it’s a little of both.
During Amazon Prime Day earlier this month, we saw the price reduced from $249 to $149, the largest markdown I can remember for the second-generation model. That price reduction was quickly matched by both Walmart and Best Buy, while Apple maintained its $249 price on its retail website and in its retail stores.
Apple will likely announce the impending release of AirPods Pro 3 later this year, possibly in September, alongside Apple’s new iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro lineups, and Apple Watch models. The third-generation AirPods Pro are expected to offer enhanced sound and improved ANC, heart rate monitoring, and more.
