Apple AirPods may not arrive until January 2017 [Updated]

A little less than a week ago, we found out that Apple had delayed the launch of its wireless AirPods. The move to delay the AirPods was a little surprising, mostly because the announcement came right before they were scheduled to release. Now, it looks like we might be waiting a while for them to arrive, as new reports say they won't be launching until January 2017.

When Apple delayed the AirPods, a spokesperson for the company said they needed "a little more time," before they were ready for release. It would appear that "a little more time" in this case translates to around two months. This report comes from Chinese supplier Inventec, which told Economic Daily News (as reported by DigiTimes) that it doesn't expect to begin shipping the wireless earbuds until January.

We've reached out to Apple to see if it has anything to say about the delay, but at the time of this writing, the company hasn't responded. Confirmation of a January release date likely won't come for some time. It seems safe to expect Apple to push for an earlier release date if at all possible, otherwise it risks missing out on the always-important holiday shopping season.

While You Wait: Apple AirPods Hands-OnApple won't want to miss out on that if it can be helped, especially considering that the AirPods are compatible with much more than just the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Apple has made these AirPods compatible with its phones dating all the way back to the iPhone 5, along with the features that were previewed during the September event.

If you're using them on iPhone, you'll be treated to features like Siri support and simple pairing. Those extra features might persuade iPhone users to pay the AirPods' somewhat high asking price of $159, but we won't know for sure until the actually release. We'll update this post if we hear back from Apple, but for now, prepare to be waiting a little while for AirPods to arrive.

Update: No update from Apple yet, but a source tells SlashGear that the supply chain may have been too pessimistic on this one. Your holiday wish-list might still include some AirPods, but we'll have to wait and see.

SOURCE: DigiTimes