Fake Apple AirPods 3 Are Already Floating About

Frequent analyst of Apple products Ming-Chi Kuo said last month that the AirPods 3 will only enter production in Q3 of 2021. But it looks like that doesn’t stop counterfeits of the thing to break into the market early. Some have already ended up in the hands of consumers, too.

A couple of TikTok videos of the fake Apple AirPods 3 have already shown up on Twitter. And they look pretty much exactly as the images that have shown up online two months or so back. One of the videos even shows it being connected to an iPhone. It is even recognised as the “AirPods 4th generation”, bizarrely enough.

On one hand, it’s probably not all that surprising to find fake products in the wild. Even with unreleased stuff like the AirPods 3, making counterfeits are possible as long as images of them are floating about. But on the other, it is indeed strange than an iPhone recognises it as something that doesn’t officially exist.

At any rate, if you’re in the market for a new pair of TWS buds, definitely beware of counterfeits. And especially if you’re looking for the Apple AirPods 3 specifically, since they’re not actually even made yet, let alone out in the market.

Apple AirPods 3 Will Only Enter Production In Q3, Analyst Says

The Apple AirPods 3 has been the subject of many rumours for the past month. Images claiming to represent the TWS buds appeared last month, with accompanying rumours that it will launch sometime this month. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, on the other hand, has said that they won’t even be made until the third quarter of this year.

According to AppleInsider, Kuo said that Apple has scheduled for the production of the AirPods 3 for the aforementioned time window. This also serves as a retraction to a previous prediction he made, when he thought that the new AirPods will launch in the first half of 2021. That being said, he did not explain the reason behind the later-than-expected production of the TWS buds.

If this is accurate, then that’s one less thing to expect in the rumoured upcoming Apple event next week. Naturally, if the Apple AirPods 3 will only enter production in Q3, an announcement next week would be too early. Instead, it would probably be showing up with the iPhone 13, assuming it remains a year-end announcement.

But at any rate, Apple has yet to say anything about the upcoming event, or indeed the AirPods 3. If an event is indeed being planned for next week, we should hear about it pretty soon.