Apple Launches Special Edition Ox-Themed AirPods Pro in China for Chinese New Year - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Launches Special Edition Ox-Themed AirPods Pro in China for Chinese New Year

In celebration of Chinese New Year, Apple today launched a special edition version of the AirPods Pro that feature an Ox icon, as 2021 is the Year of the Ox.

chinese new year ox airpods
The AirPods Pro, which are priced at RMB 1,999, are identical to standard AirPods Pro but feature an ox engraved on the charging case. They also ship in a box that has the same ox icon on it.

chinese new year ox airpods 2
In addition to launching new AirPods Pro for Chinese New Year, Apple has a special Chinese New Year gift guide on its website in China, recommending gifts that include iPhone 12 models, MagSafe accessories, the special edition AirPods, Apple Watch, M1 Macs, iPads, and more.

apple wechat ox
Apple unveiled the new AirPods Pro on WeChat. "Here comes a box of blessings for the Year of the Ox," reads the translated announcement, which is also accompanied by several ox-themed graphics and an Apple Music playlist with songs for the new year. In 2021, Chinese New Year will begin on Friday, February 12, 2021.

Apple says that the ox-themed AirPods Pro are in short supply, with a total of 25,400 available. 11,480 of those will be sold in retail stores, while 13,920 are available for purchase online.

Tag: China

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Review Thumb 3

Apple Slashes iPhone 17 Prices in China for Annual 618 Festival

Friday May 15, 2026 7:09 am PDT by
Apple has slashed prices on the iPhone 17 Pro series in China by 1,000 yuan (around $138) in anticipation of the annual 618 shopping festival, one of the country's largest mid-year online retail events. The cuts went live on Friday on JD.com and Tmall, with Apple's official store on the latter platform applying a direct 1,000-yuan discount on the iPhone 17 Pro series. On JD.com, taking into ...
iphone 18 pro blue%402x

iPhone 18 Pro: Dark Cherry, Light Blue, and Dark Gray Chassis Leaked [Update]

Thursday June 4, 2026 5:18 am PDT by
Update: Since publication, new information has come to light suggesting the images have been AI-manipulated and are not in fact iPhone 18 Pro chassis parts. The original article follows. The color options Apple is reportedly planning for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max have appeared online today in the form of images of chassis parts of unknown authenticity....
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:53 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...

Top Rated Comments

Erehy Dobon Avatar
71 months ago

I, for one, can't support any particular support of Chinese culture over any other culture. Why is this special?

Speaking from the stance of market(s) -

"According to November data from Counterpoint Research, Apple had just 8 percent of the market share in China during the third quarter of 2019, down from 9 percent during the same time period in 2018. Huawei is the market leader with a 40 percent share, trailed by Vivo, Oppo and Xiomi"

As an AAPL holder since 1999, I don't really care about this. I do care about market diversification - manufacturing efficiencies, and an edge over competitors in emergent markets and unrealized spaces. This, to me, looks like some kind of appeasement. Does the combined tax+labour offset in China really impact your COG to such an extent that China, your *minority* market gets special and highly unique branding?
...

5) wtf.
This is borderline jingoistic hypocrisy.

First of all, China is Apple's largest market by revenue and has been for over ten years. It's not important for Apple to be the dominant brand in any specific market, they just want to be the dominant brand at the high end, where the lion's share of the profits are. This includes the United States of America and every other industrialized nation (UK, France, Germany, Japan, etc.).

You claim to be an AAPL shareholder since 1999 [sic] and yet you don't seem to realize that most of Apple's phone handset competitors ship the majority of their volume in dumbphones (a.k.a. "feature phones") and low-end smartphones, often at a loss.

Second, by your criteria Apple should ditch all regionally specific promotional activity. That would meaning dumping Black Friday sales in Western countries.

Remember that southeast Asian countries don't recognize Christmas as an official holiday. This includes Japan (which gets the Lucky Bag promotion) and China (which get this type of lunar new year promotion).

Why should Western nations get Christian-themed promotions and shut out the rest of non-Christian world (which happens to have a majority in population)?

And what about back-to-school promotions? Not every country starts the school year in the fall (August-September-October).

Please feel free to expound on your reasoning why regional Apple sales divisions can't use some of their discretionary promotional budget in an appropriate and timely manner to increase sales.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCoe13 Avatar
71 months ago
This is nice and all but... why is there an ox coming out of the ox?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
71 months ago

I, for one, can't support any particular support of Chinese culture over any other culture. Why is this special?

There are roughly 50 million ethnic Chinese people living outside China/HK/Taiwan, and many of them are not even citizens of PRC nor born in China. So let's be clear first that Chinese culture != CCP/PRC.

Besides, how is this different than Apple releasing pride watch band or celebrating black history month?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kildraik Avatar
71 months ago

This is nice and all but... why is there an ox coming out of the ox?
Because we’ve moved on from bats. Duh.

Kidding. Year of the Ox.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Johnny907 Avatar
71 months ago

Good marketing tactic, Chinese New Year is a time for giving in their culture.
So is Christmas in many other cultures. Where are the Christmas edition AirPods? Or Hanukkah for that matter?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
71 months ago
These look cute. Liking the custom box printing!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)