Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple suppliers will enter mass production for AirPods Pro 2 in the second half of 2022

This morning, Ming-Chi Kuo sent a series of tweets regarding the AirPods Pro 2 as follows:

1. AirPods Pro 2 will enter mass production in Vietnam in 2:22 a.m., a successful case of mass production of Apple’s main products outside of China.

2. It is very difficult to duplicate the successful experience of AirPods Pro 2 to other products or countries in the short term.

3. The NPI of AirPods Pro 2 is still in China, which implies that it is not easy to establish a complete production site outside of China.

4. For Chinese companies, Luxshare ICT and Goertek, which are assemblers of the AirPods series, setting up facilities in Vietnam instead of India can also reduce potential geopolitical risks.

Kuo linked to a May 21 WSJ report as the basis for point #4. It should be noted that when providing TFI Securities, Kuo never cited outside reports as sources for his predictions.

6. Kuo predicts that the AirPods Pro 2 charging case will still support Lightning, not USB-C.

Side note: Hopefully one of these days “Kuo” will have its site Verified by Twitter with the traditional blue seal so that we know for certain that this site represents Ming-Chi Kuo who works or worked for TF International Securities. Kuo’s richly detailed analytical reports have not been published on the TFI site since at least January 2022. There has been no “official” explanation for his absence. If Kuo is well enough to tweet, then why isn’t his work published on the TFI website like before? Until there is verification of Kuo’s Twitter site and word from TFI regarding Kuo’s absence, we will conclude every rumor Kuo reports with this side note.