Apple

Mar 17, 2024BF5E-0001Not comparable

Gurman: AirPods 4 production to begin in May

Apple suppliers would begin production of two fourth-generation AirPods models in May 2024.

Mark Gurman reported that Apple suppliers would begin production of two fourth-generation AirPods models in May 2024, pointing to a September or October release. He said the pricier model would add active noise cancellation and a Find My speaker in the case.

How to read this record

  1. What was reportedApple suppliers would begin production of two fourth-generation AirPods models in May 2024.
  2. Who said it, and whenMark Gurman reported it on Mar 17, 2024 in MacRumors.
  3. What happened, and whenAirPods 5 was announced on Sep 9, 2024, 176 days after this report.
  4. The verdict, and whyNot comparableThis measured a different thing from the number the company published, so the two cannot be compared.Why: This concerns an internal plan, target, codename, supplier timing, or production decision that the finished product cannot confirm or deny.
What do these words mean?
Right
It turned out the way this report said.
Partly right
Some of this was right and some of it was not.
Wrong
It did not turn out this way.
Moving target
This was right about the plan at the time. The company then changed it.
Never settled
The company has announced the product and nobody ever confirmed or denied this.
Not comparable
This measured a different thing from the number the company published, so the two cannot be compared.
No outcome yet
Nothing has happened yet that would prove this right or wrong.
Not checked yet
The company has answered this. We have not finished checking this one.
Checked
Checked means the company has since given an answer and we compared it with what was reported. Details still waiting on an answer, details nothing can settle, details where the plan itself changed, and details we have not finished reviewing are all counted separately and are not part of that number.
Moving target
A moving target is a report that described the plan accurately at the time, on a product the company then changed. We count these on their own: it would flatter a reporter to call them right, and it would blame a reporter for a decision that was not theirs to call them wrong.
Reported by
Mark Gurman
We read it in
MacRumors
Product
AirPods 5 · reported as “AirPods 4”
Read it at MacRumors Read the original

The story of this report

  1. Mar 17, 2024Mark Gurman reported it · MacRumors
  2. Sep 9, 2024AirPods 5 was announced · official source
  3. VerdictNot comparableWhat it means, and why, is in the box above.

Who reported it

Mark Gurman · Journalist

187 reports in the Reporting Record. Of the 57 we have checked, 49 held up. The other 130 are not part of that number: 2 moving target, 20 never settled, 9 not comparable, 99 no outcome yet.

Every report from Mark Gurman

What we know now

Our stories about AirPods 5

Other reports about AirPods 5

10 reports about AirPods 5 from 1 source. Of the 9 we have checked, 9 held up.

See all 10 reports about AirPods 5

Questions about this report

Did this AirPods 5 report turn out to be true?
Not comparable. This measured a different thing from the number the company published, so the two cannot be compared. This concerns an internal plan, target, codename, supplier timing, or production decision that the finished product cannot confirm or deny.
Who reported it first?
Mark Gurman reported it on Mar 17, 2024 in MacRumors.
How far ahead of the announcement was it?
That was 176 days before AirPods 5 was announced on Sep 9, 2024.