Apple's W1-equipped wireless BeatsX headphones ship Feb. 10

Posted:
in General Discussion
After popping up in assorted stock trackers on Monday, the BeatsX W1-equipped headphones will be available for purchase in the U.S. on Feb. 10, with a pair of new colors arriving at some point in the future.




The shipping date was announced by the Beats Twitter account. It is unclear if the launch extends outside the U.S.

Specifications remain unchanged, with up to 8 hours of playback from a battery charged through a Lightning port. BeatsX in nlack and white models will be available at launch, with blue and grey versions ultimately arriving.

The $149 BeatsX headphones were first announced alongside the iPhone 7 last September. A number of delays have since befallen them, making the BeatsX the last in the first round of W1-equipped headphones to ship.

AVAILABLE FEB. 10. #BeatsX @TrvisXX pic.twitter.com/5LBNajwoK9

-- Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre)
The Beats Solo3 Wireless beat the Apple AirPods to market, closely followed by the Powerbeats 3. Apple's AirPods launched in late 2016, with demand still far outstripping supply.

Apple's custom W1 chip found in the AirPods and the BeatsX simplifies wireless Bluetooth pairing, automatically prompting users to connect through a paired iPhone, and sharing the pairing data with other iCloud-connected accessories. The proprietary W1 chip also improves connectivity and range over standard Bluetooth.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 2 of 11
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    I'm tempted to get a pair to use with Logic.  I am so tiered of forgetting I have wired ones on and walking away from the Mac to change guitars! 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?

    I think the Solo 3 Wireless and Powerbeats were refreshes of existing models while the BeatsX is brand new?

    Rayz2016evilutionwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    levilevi Posts: 344member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?
    the latter two are legacy products, whereas Beats X are newly designed. This maybe relevant to their design choices. 
    Rayz2016albegarcwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    jensonbjensonb Posts: 532member
    Ooh, I like that Blue option. That's swayed me, I was going to get some AirPods at some point, but now I'm going to get a blue pair of BeatsX instead.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    212Tam said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?

    I think the Solo 3 Wireless and Powerbeats were refreshes of existing models while the BeatsX is brand new?

    Ah. Makes sense. 
    albegarcwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    levi said:
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?
    the latter two are legacy products, whereas Beats X are newly designed. This maybe relevant to their design choices. 
    Yes, that does sound right. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    212Tam said:

    I think the Solo 3 Wireless and Powerbeats were refreshes of existing models while the BeatsX is brand new?

    Exactly this. Any way, Apple need to cater for non Apple users which they do with the Powerbeats3.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11

    I got a pair of AirPods and I just love them. They fit well in my ear and I don't have any fear of them falling off.

    The only issue is that, when working out, I tend to sweat a lot, even in my outer ear, so that makes them slip a little. So, for my workouts I still use my PowerBeats 2, but in all other scenarios I use the AirPods.

    watto_cobraKenster999
  • Reply 10 of 11
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,038member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?
    if PowerBeat 3 shipped 6 months after BeatsX with Lightning and came with micro-USB then I'd say that question would have merit. Let's remember that Beats is an acquisition whose sales aren't mostly to Windows users—HW takes time.

    A similar logic applies to the MBP having only USB-C but the replacement time and change over from USB-A to USB-C will likely not push all of Beats' wireless headphones to be charged with a USB-C cable for a couple years. The saving grace here is with both Android-based vendors and Intel wanting to move from the headphone jack to USB-C so the uptick will be faster than the usual Apple having to drag the industry into the future by itself.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 11 of 11
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,077member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?

    What's that about?
    I'm happy about this.   I won't buy anything with MicroUSB.    Its time to move on to either Type C or lightning if its an Apple product.
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