Apple's Chinese Suppliers Are Making AirPods Max in Vietnam

Apple's Chinese supply partners saw off competition from Taiwanese rivals to bag the majority of orders for Apple's newly unveiled AirPods Max over-ear headphones, a new report today claims.

airpods max internals 1
According to DigiTimes, Chinese manufacturers Luxshare Precision Industry and Goertek won the majority of ‌AirPods Max‌ orders, despite Taiwan-based Iventec's involvement in the early development of the headphones.

The Chinese makers beat Taiwanese rivals to the AirPods Max orders, even though Inventec Appliances had reportedly participated in the early development of the device, said the sources.

Inventec is already a major Apple supplier of AirPods Pro and it's not clear exactly why it lost out on orders of ‌AirPods Max‌, but it's possible the Taiwan-based manufacturer's production lines lacked the diversification needed to assemble the new devices, which were reportedly delayed multiple times because of production issues.

DigiTimes' sources suggest that both Luxshare and Goertek are actually producing ‌AirPods Max‌ at their plants in Vietnam, underscoring Apple's plan to accelerate the relocation of its related supply chains out of China, without necessarily moving on from its Chinese partners.

‌AirPods Max‌ are now backordered until March on Apple's online store, although Apple and third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon could theoretically have stocks replenished sooner.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Neutral)
Related Forum: AirPods

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

iBluetooth Avatar
68 months ago

I'm sure the parts assembly worth no more than $150-$200.. if not even cheaper. I'll not be surprise to hear ridiculous ratio to the insane overpriced $549!
Your sure! You have no idea of what the parts cost. It's not overpriced if the sound quality matches or exceeds the other headphones in this price range. What is overpriced is the Bose plastic headphones with low quality sound, or the Sony ones with good sound, but horrible voice mice as people speaking on it sound like inside a can. Why, do people focus on the price as I know that Apple sound engineers are extremely good, after hearing the Homepods. At least these include 9 microphones and two cpus for generating the sound. Which will probably be superb, but people complain of the price.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
68 months ago

Your sure! You have no idea of what the parts cost. It's not overpriced if the sound quality matches or exceeds the other headphones in this price range. What is overpriced is the Bose plastic headphones with low quality sound, or the Sony ones with good sound, but horrible voice mice as people speaking on it sound like inside a can. Why, do people focus on the price as I know that Apple sound engineers are extremely good, after hearing the Homepods. At least these include 9 microphones and two cpus for generating the sound. Which will probably be superb, but people complain of the price.
Thank you!! Lmao every single negative post I see focuses on the price and they speak NOTHING about the build quality or sound (which they haven’t tested). I really don’t get it.

All of these people hate Apple yet still buy their stuff...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NotTooLate Avatar
68 months ago

I’m concerned about the battery more than the price. I like to get as much use out of my Apple products that I can and currently, my AirPods are two years old and the battery makes them almost useless and the batteries cannot be replaced. I don’t want to make a $549 investment for the same thing to happen in two years. I know that they can be wired but without power, none of the technology will function making these a basic pair of headphones. I’m just not yet convinced that spending that kind of money on a first generation product on headphones, people keep comparing them to Bose and Sony etc. but they forget that those companies have been making headphones a lot longer than Apple.
" the batteries cannot be replaced" - The batteries are replaceable and are serviced by Apple.

"but they forget that those companies have been making headphones a lot longer than Apple." - not a good way of looking at things , look at Tesla , or M1 , or countless other examples , when you are at the top , companies have a benchmark to clear , and there is no reason to believe Apple cant clear that benchmark with enough resources invested.
Its not like its their first go at an Audio product ....
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The_Gream Avatar
68 months ago
Can’t people just wait and see anymore, before they use their fingers to look like bags of hot air?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
68 months ago

Genuinely baffled by so many comments supporting headphones when no has even heard them.
How is saying “try them before you hear them” being ‘supportive’?

You think it makes sense to essentially judge a book by its cover without even giving it a chance when there are other products priced the same or HIGHER?

Baffling.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macaday Avatar
68 months ago

I'm sure the parts assembly worth no more than $150-$200.. if not even cheaper. I'll not be surprise to hear ridiculous ratio to the insane overpriced $549!
Genuinely baffled by so many comments about these being insanely overpriced when no one has even heard them. If they are only as good as the Sony XM4's then yes, they are over priced. If they are better, then they are worth more. Perhaps we should wait and see? Apple have a pretty good track record now of great sound (not audiophile sound) with HomePod & AirPods Pro.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)