Apple AirPods release date delayed because wireless earphones aren’t ‘ready’, company says

The announcement came just a day before Apple was set to announce new MacBooks, and soon after it released its worst results in 15 years

Apple AirPods are displayed during a media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016 (REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach)

The future isn’t ready to arrive just yet. Apple has announced that its AirPods – the wireless earphones that the company were set to release this month – aren’t “ready”.

The AirPods were first unveiled along with the iPhone 7 at an event last month. And the two were part of the same pitch – just as Apple had done with dropping the headphone jack, the AirPods were meant to signal that the company was ready for the wireless future.

The AirPods built from the ground up for Apple’s new vision of listening. Not only do they not have wires to plug into the phone, they don’t have wires between them either – consisting of two little bits of plastic that plug into each ear.

As well as playing music wirelessly from a phone, the earphones have special hardware that allows them to connect to other devices like Macs or Apple Watches, if they’re in range.

But the new wireless earphones aren’t ready and so won’t be going on sale this month, Apple has now said.

“The early response to AirPods has been incredible,” an Apple spokesperson said. “We don’t believe in shipping a product before it’s ready, and we need a little more time before AirPods are ready for our customers.”

It isn’t clear what is wrong with the earphones or when they’ll be released.

The news comes at a intense time for Apple. It was announced just one day before Apple reveals its new MacBooks – an event that some thought would include the release of the AirPods, too – and soon after Apple announced its worst results in 15 years.

Some early versions of the AirPods have already been given out to journalists, including to The Independent. It doesn’t seem that any of those review units have undergone substantial issues.

Apple has already begun shipping the new chip that powers the AirPods in its Beats headphones.