iPhone 12 may not come with EarPods in the box

This is being done to increase the sales of the AirPods.

Apple has shipped EarPods with its iPhones since the launch of iPhones back in 2007. (Pixabay)

Apple's next generation iPhone 12 series has been in the news for quite some time now. From design to the price, reports in the past have given us a fair glimpse of what we should expect when Apple launches the iPhone 11 successor in fall this year. Now, a new report talks about another critical aspect of the phone: the earbuds.

According to noted Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, Apple will not be shipping the EarPods in the box with the iPhone 12 series smartphones. This, he says, is being done to drive the sales of the Apple AirPods that are sold separately.

Apple has shipped earpods ever since the first generation iPhones were launched back in 2007. However, the TF Securities analyst in a note to the analysts said that Apple is expected to leave out the wired earphones. This in effect would create a strong demand for AirPods shipment later this year. He also expects a slight increase in the AirPods shipment that will be driven by an end to ‌AirPods‌ inventory depletion in the second half of the year, MacRumours reported. He also expects Apple to offer a promotion offer on the purchase of AirPods later in 2020.

As far as the shipments are concerned, Kuo said that AirPods shipments are likely to fall by 29% owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. This trend is likely to be replaced by strong AirPods demand in the third quarter of the year coupled with a strong demand for the AirPods Pro. Overall, he expects Apple to ship around 93.8 million units of AirPods this year.