DigiTimes: Apple Considering Bundling AirPods With 2020 iPhones

Apple is considering bundling AirPods with new iPhone models in 2020, according to hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes.

iphone 11 pro box with airpods
The report claims "smartphone vendors including Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi are looking to bundle their new models with TWS earbuds next year," citing unnamed industry sources. "TWS" or "truly wireless stereo" earphones include the likes of AirPods and Samsung's Galaxy Buds.

We're pretty skeptical about this report due to the price of AirPods, which start at $159. It's hard to imagine Apple including such a costly accessory in the box with new iPhones next year without raising the price of the iPhones overall… not to mention that DigiTimes doesn't have a stellar track record with Apple rumors either.

AirPods are also tremendously popular by all indications, so it is hard to see why Apple would give them away for free when millions of customers are clearly happy to fork over a few hundred dollars for them already. In fact, the new AirPods Pro are in such high demand that Apple is reportedly doubling production.

Apple has included basic, wired EarPods with a Lightning connector in the box with iPhones for several years. Those earphones likely cost Apple very little to manufacture, retailing for just $29 on its website.

While this rumor seems questionable for now, it is certainly possible that Apple simply feels it is time to include something more modern than EarPods with its iPhones. AirPods are already said to be the world's best selling truly wireless earphones, and bundling them with iPhones would only extend that lead.

If it were to happen, we would imagine AirPods would only be bundled with higher-end iPhone 12 Pro models. We're still a little under ten months away from those devices, so we'll see if this rumor gains any traction as time goes on.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
Related Forums: AirPods, iPhone

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...

Top Rated Comments

itsmilo Avatar
67 months ago
Others might, I don’t think Apple will. Just look how long it took Apple to include a better charger
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
67 months ago
I hope not. That would really increase the price of the already crazy priced iPhones.

What I hope they would do, is a bundle discount when purchasing an iPhone with AirPods or AirPods Pro.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
67 months ago

Good! I hope they do! In my opinion, Apple should have included them with the iPhone the whole time. If you’re going to remove the headphone jack from your product then you ought to include the proper wireless alternative in the box, not those useless lighting headphones.
How are Bluetooth earphones any more “proper” a replacement for the headphone jack earphones than lightning earphones?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
67 months ago

according to hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes ('https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20191129PD203.html').
That’s a polite way of putting it!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
67 months ago
If you’re going to remove the headphone jack from your product then you ought to include the proper wireless alternative in the box
Except, Apple did provide an alternative, they provided the lightning adapter for those who still wanted to use their wired headphones. (If I want a pair of Bluetooth headphones, I would rather have my own choice of what I want that fits me in terms of style/function.)

not those useless lighting headphones.
I train in the gym five days a week, I’d say at least 80% of headphones I see in the gym are the lightning earbuds, so clearly they’re _not_ useless if consumers are using them.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
67 months ago
I agree bundling wires headphones seems archaic, but the solution isn’t to bundle wireless ones, it’s to bundle none. People can buy some as and when they’re needed. Bundling then with every phone is wasteful.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)