It looks like Apple’s wireless earphones won’t be ready for the holiday season.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the technology giant continues to delay the availability of its AirPods, which were announced in September with great fanfare as a companion to the new iPhone 7. The newspaper, citing an unnamed source, reported that the delay is being caused by technology problems with how the earpieces receive wireless signals via Bluetooth.
Apple blogger John Gruber wrote in response to the Journal’s report that his prototype AirPods seems to be working fine and that he doubts the Journal’s report that faulty wireless technology is causing the delay. Instead, Gruber speculated that a manufacturing error is to blame.
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Regardless of the reason for the delay, Apple’s AirPods don’t appear to be ready to ship to customers anytime soon, making them doubtful for holiday gifts.
Apple first announced its upcoming AirPods at its iPhone 7 unveiling as a replacement for conventional earphones that require a headphone jack. For the iPhone 7, Apple removed the headphone jack. However, consumers can still use tethered earphones, but they must use a dongle to connect them via Apple’s Lighting port.
The original plan was to ship the AirPods in October, but Apple decided to delay the earphones that month without giving a reason. A spokesperson told technology news site CNET in October that Apple needed “a little more time” to get the AirPods ready for shipping without elaborating.
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Coins2Day contacted Apple and will update this story if it responds.
