Walk down any public street today and you’ll likely see people with AirPods in their ears. With hundreds millions iPhone users nationwide, it’s not surprising. However, the rise the AirPods has even investors paying attention as year-on-year growth continues every year since the devices were debuted in 2016. Now, AirPods make more money than Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify combined.
According to a blog post from Kevin Rooke, investment specialist and co-founder blockchain marketing agency agency0x, Apple Apple sold an estimated 60 million units in 2019 and also introduced a higher-priced AirPods Pro for $250, more expensive than the Gen 2 AirPods ($200) or the Gen 1 AirPods ($150). By Rooke’s estimations, AirPods revenue was $12 billion in 2019, making up 4.5% Apple’s iPhone revenue.
To illustrate an even more astonishing reality what $12 billion a year looks like, Rooke created the infographic below:
The AirPods product is growing triple digits every year, as well — In 2018, revenue grew 133% over 2017, and in 2019 revenue was up another 128% over 2018. In 2020, that trend is expected to continue. Rooke suggests AirPods could even make more money than Uber (the entire company) this year.
What does this mean for music listeners, consumers, and musicians, producers? Like the car test, you’re going to have to start keeping AirPods in mind for your mix downs and mastering since such a large population consumers use those products daily to listen to your music.
What does this mean for investors? Invest in AirPods/Apple now before you regret it.