"All-new" design sounds intriguing. I wonder if the cups will be independent, and attach to your ears/head in an unusual way.
I hope they give some attention to on-device controls. The Airpods are terrible, the Airpods Pro are just about adequate, and if they start dicking around with touch like the Siri Remote then I doubt I'd get much joy out of them.
Here is where they might go if there is no headband:
No wonder you hate Apple. You watch emotion-based videos from a troll who gets paid to trash Apple.
This is the same guy who hypocritically called Rubik's Cube copycats "knockoffs" but argues that iPhone may not be the most successful product in history because Androids took some of it's sales. These trolls refuse to acknowledge that Apple knockoffs are knockoffs but then remove that logic outside of Apple.
The Saturday tweet by serial leaker Jon Prosser forecasts Apple as "sticking with the 'AirPods' branding for their new over-ear headphones." The audio accessories will apparently be called the "AirPods Studio," have the codename B515, and will cost $349 when it ships.
That's the exact same launch price point as Sony's WH-1000MX3.
Their new WH-1000MX4s should also be launching soon. Should be an interesting match-up, although, I would expect Apple to sell more on name alone.
I have a Beats branded audio system in my car and I’m not convinced Apple understands how any of this works. It’s literally the worst in-car audio system I’ve ever had. My previous car had Fender audio and it was fantastic. As things are now, I’d never consider another Apple audio system or even these AirPods headphones based on my negative experience with Beats.
And I hasten to add I have absolutely no reason to trash Apple without cause. Most of my personal wealth is tied to their stock.
I am guessing a VW driver since they are using Beats branded audio now and previously had Fender branded audio in some of their cars. Our 2019 Jetta has Beats audio. My kids (pre teen and teenager) really like it. I don’t drive the car enough to have an opinion. My wife drives it normally and shed be happy with anything. I think you are not the intended market for Beats audio. (Neither am I). My son really likes it in the car and remarked he wanted to make sure his first car sounded as good. (Not saying it sounds good, just that the market might be young folks).
My Audi PHEV has a B&O branded audio and I quite like it. Very “tunable” for a factory installed audio system.
I'll be checking these out when they get released. If I like them, I'll get them.
I have a personal bias against the beats name, so I'm happy that Apple is putting their own name on these. And yes, that bias probably stems from rap music.
I will be expecting amazing sound quality from them. Anything less than that will be a disappointment. There are no physical limitations for the sound, unlike smaller in ears.
I'm very happy with my Air Pods Pro, but they aren't the best headphones I have in terms of sound quality of course. The sound quality does not compare to larger over ear, headphones, which is no surprise.
In the $350 price range, headphones should sound pretty decent. And since these will be larger, over ear headphones, I am expecting the battery life to be stellar on them.
"All-new" design sounds intriguing. I wonder if the cups will be independent, and attach to your ears/head in an unusual way.
I hope they give some attention to on-device controls. The Airpods are terrible, the Airpods Pro are just about adequate, and if they start dicking around with touch like the Siri Remote then I doubt I'd get much joy out of them.
Here is where they might go if there is no headband:
No wonder you hate Apple. You watch emotion-based videos from a troll who gets paid to trash Apple.
This is the same guy who hypocritically called Rubik's Cube copycats "knockoffs" but argues that iPhone may not be the most successful product in history because Androids took some of it's sales. These trolls refuse to acknowledge that Apple knockoffs are knockoffs but then remove that logic outside of Apple.
A lot of strange conclusions you are drawing there.
1. I don't 'hate' Apple. I probably have more Apple gear than you. I am definitely not a big fan of the Apple of the last few years (I'm not alone there) but what I write as criticism, seems to register in your head as hate.
FWIW, Apple has implemented changes which fit almost like hand in glove to what I have suggested they should do over the last three or four years - in spite of howls of derision from some here who claimed effusively it would never happen. Except it did.
Each resulting successive implementation, which has been pure coincidence of course, has been supported by me, right down to the release of the SE and the rumour of a possible fourth model this year. Credit where credit is due but don't expect me to sit back and give Apple a pass on decisions I don't agree with.
I am not 'tied' to Apple. I have an Android and see Androids all around me. I have an XR at home too. I can appreciate the advantages that Android brings to my use cases. I know a lot about both platforms. You, however, are tied to Apple, if only by elimination.
You have no clarity in your perspective and as a result that is where you stumble . You are blinded to reality and that has been demonstrated over and over again as you jump to conclusions and are proven wrong.
If all Android devices are 'knock-offs' in your opinion, copying Apple patents left, right and centre, you are limiting your options very severely. Can you see that? You don't even seem to know what is happening on Android.
2. I do not watch 'emotion-based' videos. LOL. YouTube recommends content on its main screen based on my search activity and previous watched videos. Just like it does for everyone else . Sometimes I will watch one of those videos if they seem interesting. I really don't give a hoot about what the person thinks about Apple. I'm not watching for that kind of opinion. I'm watching for the product and the opinion on that.
Can you see where your rushed conclusions have failed you yet again?
The video wasn't even about Apple!
Perhaps I should draw my own conclusion on what you are thinking now? That the company is ripping off an Apple patent and they are therefore evil.
I have a Beats branded audio system in my car and I’m not convinced Apple understands how any of this works. It’s literally the worst in-car audio system I’ve ever had. My previous car had Fender audio and it was fantastic. As things are now, I’d never consider another Apple audio system or even these AirPods headphones based on my negative experience with Beats.
And I hasten to add I have absolutely no reason to trash Apple without cause. Most of my personal wealth is tied to their stock.
I am guessing a VW driver since they are using Beats branded audio now and previously had Fender branded audio in some of their cars. Our 2019 Jetta has Beats audio. My kids (pre teen and teenager) really like it. I don’t drive the car enough to have an opinion. My wife drives it normally and shed be happy with anything. I think you are not the intended market for Beats audio. (Neither am I). My son really likes it in the car and remarked he wanted to make sure his first car sounded as good. (Not saying it sounds good, just that the market might be young folks).
My Audi PHEV has a B&O branded audio and I quite like it. Very “tunable” for a factory installed audio system.
The previous Fender sound system had great range and didn’t require a lot of working with the onboard EQ to achieve “barely listenable” status. The Beats system reeks. I have no idea how anyone could think it’s an improvement.
So are you thinking that Apple designed these vehicle systems and put them out under the Beats name. Beats made the car audio deal with Chrysler in 2011 Apple acquired Beats in 2014. Chrysler LLC makes multiple brands of cars ( Chrysler, Dodge-Jeep RAM Fiat). I may have missed some.
My point is I highly doubt Apple bought Beats and then stepped in and redesigned these car audio systems and put them back out still with the Beats name. Leaving you with the garbage you are using today. It doesn’t seem likely at least to me it doesn’t. I could be wrong?
LMAO, yeah that's a big AS IF! Apple could be selling time machines, for real!
You watch emotion-based videos from a troll who gets paid to trash Apple.
This is the same guy who hypocritically called Rubik's Cube copycats "knockoffs" but argues that iPhone may not be the most successful product in history because Androids took some of it's sales. These trolls refuse to acknowledge that Apple knockoffs are knockoffs but then remove that logic outside of Apple.
I will say that guy is a buffoon. Without the Internet he'd be hawking the Used Car devision at Crazy Uncle Ralph's Autodrome Emporium. Or maybe selling Miracle Genuine Carbuncle Auto Wax specially formulated to bring back the factory sheen of your junkyard hoopty, at the county fair.
He's a loudmouth asshole appealing to the 15yo and inner 15yo of undiscerning individuals. I'm always wary of somebody who always wears a ballcap and also uses it as a prop. This guy is low style and less substance. But he found his audience and makes money. He's no doubt a peach of a guy off-air.
I have a Beats branded audio system in my car and I’m not convinced Apple understands how any of this works. It’s literally the worst in-car audio system I’ve ever had. My previous car had Fender audio and it was fantastic. As things are now, I’d never consider another Apple audio system or even these AirPods headphones based on my negative experience with Beats.
And I hasten to add I have absolutely no reason to trash Apple without cause. Most of my personal wealth is tied to their stock.
I am a music producer and mixing engineer. A few years ago I went out and bought the top of the line Beats headphones for just north of $500. Tried them out for 60 seconds, and then returned them.
They were such absolute crap I was offended to have had my time wasted like that. I went right back to my trusty ATHM50s and have still not found a better set of phones.
MY wealth is also with AAPL. But now I am starting to doubt for Apple's future because the Beats acquisition was clearly done for marketing and money. There is no fathomable reason why a company as adept at innovating and not cutting corners as Apple should ever have gone anywhere near Beats (a company whose name was chosen by a toolbag record executive long before the actual product was ever decided upon).
Personally I think Beats really suck. I think Apple buying Beats was a really bad move. I expect the opposite from new Apple headphones but we’ll see if they are as good as Sennheiser which is the same price bracket.
I agree Apple could’ve basically bought the Beats name and image and replaced their lousy engineering with a purchase or licensing agreement with a German audio company.
Beats are dreadful.
If you want high-end audio start with British or Scottish. NAIM, LINN, etc., certainly not a bunch of half-deaf ex-rappers.
I have Etymotic ER-4S in-ear ‘phones and Grado over-ear headphones.
Got AirPod Pros in early March for working in clients’ offices so I could hear people talking to me, because the Etymotics block everything. That plan worked out real well… 😥
They’re great for vacuuming my apartment and home office, though!
First off, I like the look of the Beats Solo Pros. I've never listened to any Beats product so know them only by reputation. Basically, that they made cheap, bass-heavy thump thump products for the kids. There've been several reports that quality has improved. Again, I have no experience in their products before or post Apple acquisition, so no judgement so far. Well, I do like the look of the Beats Solo Pros depicted above.
At $349, I wouldn't expect a lot from the proposed Apple cans. They will be BT and not AirPlay (WiFi). That will be disappointing. AP/WiFi means easier moving form source device to device, and more importantly - audio everywhere in the house, without dropouts, and possibly less latency. I wouldn't have to carry the phone around, and I could listen to my Mac while moving around. That doesn't work so well with AirPods.
As Apple doesn't support aptX of any flavor, WiFi would provide for potentially better audio with bandwidth supporting hi-res files.
I'd be happy if they where just higher-performance headphones, not headsets, no active noise cancellation, and no Siri (but there will be Siri). I've got a few wired circumaural headphones for really critical listening. These Apple cans would only have to be really good not great, to get my money. An app that provides some equalization (yes, "audiophile purists" hate it) would be welcome. Apple could make some wave-form shaping voodoo that considers your individual ear bits' shape, but like the HomePod, you're limited to what Apple thinks is best. What's new.
I wish consumer "flagship" headphones didn't mean active noise-cancellation. It's a specific function that not everyone can benefit from. Can it be switched off in the WH-1000MX3s? A quick look shows them to be well regarded. A set of cans are no value to me if when noise cancellation is turned off the remaining audio is subpar.
AirPod audio quality is fine if you manage expectations. Saying it's great is like saying there're no better headphones for listening to music than ATH-M50s.
This sentence in article "Given the pricing it is plausible for active noise cancellation from the AirPods Pro to be a feature in the AirPods Studio."
At $350, if it is not equivalent to Bose or Sony's noise cancellation over ear headphones than Apple should not consider making it. But, you know !! It will be better than others with everything they have and more. That is how Apple captures the market share.
At $349, I wouldn't expect a lot from the proposed Apple cans. They will be BT and not AirPlay (WiFi). That will be disappointing. AP/WiFi means easier moving form source device to device, and more importantly - audio everywhere in the house, without dropouts, and possibly less latency. I wouldn't have to carry the phone around, and I could listen to my Mac while moving around. That doesn't work so well with AirPods.
Doesn't AirPlay require the devices to be on the same wireless network? For use outside the house that'd mean either the iPhone or the headphones would need to act as a hotspot? Sounds fiddly and/or battery intensive.
Personally I think Beats really suck. I think Apple buying Beats was a really bad move. I expect the opposite from new Apple headphones but we’ll see if they are as good as Sennheiser which is the same price bracket.
LOL. The Beats purchase is widely acknowledged in the music hardware/finance circle as a genius move by Tim Cook and Apple. What the general public and pundits didn't understand was that Apple didn't just want the Beats streaming service, but the Beats hardware and iconic brand. The headphone brand is one of the top brands in the world and it has helped Apple become the largest seller of wireless headphones in the entire world, bringing in billions in revenue each year. Older people don't understand the cultural hipness of Beats among younger people worldwide. Indeed, Beats headphones has the largest share of premium (defined as greater than $200) headphones in the entire world. Apple is its usual super smart self in letting Beats run and bring in billions while Apple built a fantastically successful AirPods line that it appears it is just continuing to expand.
Just a few facts that explain why industry people chuckle when they hear the old Internet meme that Apple "overpaid" in buying Beats.
I have a Beats branded audio system in my car and I’m not convinced Apple understands how any of this works. It’s literally the worst in-car audio system I’ve ever had. My previous car had Fender audio and it was fantastic. As things are now, I’d never consider another Apple audio system or even these AirPods headphones based on my negative experience with Beats.
And I hasten to add I have absolutely no reason to trash Apple without cause. Most of my personal wealth is tied to their stock.
I am a music producer and mixing engineer. A few years ago I went out and bought the top of the line Beats headphones for just north of $500. Tried them out for 60 seconds, and then returned them.
They were such absolute crap I was offended to have had my time wasted like that. I went right back to my trusty ATHM50s and have still not found a better set of phones.
MY wealth is also with AAPL. But now I am starting to doubt for Apple's future because the Beats acquisition was clearly done for marketing and money. There is no fathomable reason why a company as adept at innovating and not cutting corners as Apple should ever have gone anywhere near Beats (a company whose name was chosen by a toolbag record executive long before the actual product was ever decided upon).
So the rumours are true: the infection rate of STUPIDITY-21 has overtaken COVID-19.
As anyone with a clue knows, the Beats deal was done, as with most of Apple’s acquisitions, to acquire expertise and contacts in the music industry, along with a streaming service that was ready to go. The billion dollar revenues from the audio line was a nice to have. And still is.
So tell me, Mr Industry Audiophile, do you think Apple, as adept at innovating and not cutting corners as it is, shouldn’t be have been hiring experts in the film and tv industry? Do you think Cook and Cue should be scripting and directing the TV shows themselves?
You watch emotion-based videos from a troll who gets paid to trash Apple.
This is the same guy who hypocritically called Rubik's Cube copycats "knockoffs" but argues that iPhone may not be the most successful product in history because Androids took some of it's sales. These trolls refuse to acknowledge that Apple knockoffs are knockoffs but then remove that logic outside of Apple.
I will say that guy is a buffoon. Without the Internet he'd be hawking the Used Car devision at Crazy Uncle Ralph's Autodrome Emporium. Or maybe selling Miracle Genuine Carbuncle Auto Wax specially formulated to bring back the factory sheen of your junkyard hoopty, at the county fair.
He's a loudmouth asshole appealing to the 15yo and inner 15yo of undiscerning individuals. I'm always wary of somebody who always wears a ballcap and also uses it as a prop. This guy is low style and less substance. But he found his audience and makes money. He's no doubt a peach of a guy off-air.
The twilight zone of it all is there's people who ACTUALLY reference him and watch his crap with a serious face.
Comments
No wonder you hate Apple. You watch emotion-based videos from a troll who gets paid to trash Apple.
This is the same guy who hypocritically called Rubik's Cube copycats "knockoffs" but argues that iPhone may not be the most successful product in history because Androids took some of it's sales. These trolls refuse to acknowledge that Apple knockoffs are knockoffs but then remove that logic outside of Apple.
Their new WH-1000MX4s should also be launching soon. Should be an interesting match-up, although, I would expect Apple to sell more on name alone.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lobot
I have a personal bias against the beats name, so I'm happy that Apple is putting their own name on these. And yes, that bias probably stems from rap music.
I will be expecting amazing sound quality from them. Anything less than that will be a disappointment. There are no physical limitations for the sound, unlike smaller in ears.
I'm very happy with my Air Pods Pro, but they aren't the best headphones I have in terms of sound quality of course. The sound quality does not compare to larger over ear, headphones, which is no surprise.
In the $350 price range, headphones should sound pretty decent. And since these will be larger, over ear headphones, I am expecting the battery life to be stellar on them.
1. I don't 'hate' Apple. I probably have more Apple gear than you. I am definitely not a big fan of the Apple of the last few years (I'm not alone there) but what I write as criticism, seems to register in your head as hate.
FWIW, Apple has implemented changes which fit almost like hand in glove to what I have suggested they should do over the last three or four years - in spite of howls of derision from some here who claimed effusively it would never happen. Except it did.
Each resulting successive implementation, which has been pure coincidence of course, has been supported by me, right down to the release of the SE and the rumour of a possible fourth model this year. Credit where credit is due but don't expect me to sit back and give Apple a pass on decisions I don't agree with.
I am not 'tied' to Apple. I have an Android and see Androids all around me. I have an XR at home too. I can appreciate the advantages that Android brings to my use cases. I know a lot about both platforms. You, however, are tied to Apple, if only by elimination.
You have no clarity in your perspective and as a result that is where you stumble . You are blinded to reality and that has been demonstrated over and over again as you jump to conclusions and are proven wrong.
If all Android devices are 'knock-offs' in your opinion, copying Apple patents left, right and centre, you are limiting your options very severely. Can you see that? You don't even seem to know what is happening on Android.
2. I do not watch 'emotion-based' videos. LOL. YouTube recommends content on its main screen based on my search activity and previous watched videos. Just like it does for everyone else . Sometimes I will watch one of those videos if they seem interesting. I really don't give a hoot about what the person thinks about Apple. I'm not watching for that kind of opinion. I'm watching for the product and the opinion on that.
Can you see where your rushed conclusions have failed you yet again?
The video wasn't even about Apple!
Perhaps I should draw my own conclusion on what you are thinking now? That the company is ripping off an Apple patent and they are therefore evil.
He's a loudmouth asshole appealing to the 15yo and inner 15yo of undiscerning individuals. I'm always wary of somebody who always wears a ballcap and also uses it as a prop. This guy is low style and less substance. But he found his audience and makes money. He's no doubt a peach of a guy off-air.
At $349, I wouldn't expect a lot from the proposed Apple cans. They will be BT and not AirPlay (WiFi). That will be disappointing. AP/WiFi means easier moving form source device to device, and more importantly - audio everywhere in the house, without dropouts, and possibly less latency. I wouldn't have to carry the phone around, and I could listen to my Mac while moving around. That doesn't work so well with AirPods.
As Apple doesn't support aptX of any flavor, WiFi would provide for potentially better audio with bandwidth supporting hi-res files.
I'd be happy if they where just higher-performance headphones, not headsets, no active noise cancellation, and no Siri (but there will be Siri). I've got a few wired circumaural headphones for really critical listening. These Apple cans would only have to be really good not great, to get my money. An app that provides some equalization (yes, "audiophile purists" hate it) would be welcome. Apple could make some wave-form shaping voodoo that considers your individual ear bits' shape, but like the HomePod, you're limited to what Apple thinks is best. What's new.
I wish consumer "flagship" headphones didn't mean active noise-cancellation. It's a specific function that not everyone can benefit from. Can it be switched off in the WH-1000MX3s? A quick look shows them to be well regarded. A set of cans are no value to me if when noise cancellation is turned off the remaining audio is subpar.
AirPod audio quality is fine if you manage expectations. Saying it's great is like saying there're no better headphones for listening to music than ATH-M50s.
Just a few facts that explain why industry people chuckle when they hear the old Internet meme that Apple "overpaid" in buying Beats.
Christ on a bicycle …
The twilight zone of it all is there's people who ACTUALLY reference him and watch his crap with a serious face.