San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Fined $10k for Defying No Beats Headphones Rule
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been fined $10,000 for wearing Apple's Beats by Dre headphones following a ban on the brand after the NFL signed an exclusive deal with Bose.
Kaepernick opted to wear bright pink Beats by Dre headphones following last Sunday's game against the Chiefs, in order to "pay homage to Breast Cancer Awareness." Kaepernick declined to say whether Beats paid his fine, saying "I'm going to let that be unanswered."
Kaepernick, along with a number of other high-profile NFL players, has an endorsement deal with Beats. Last year, he starred in a popular Beats ad that depicted him tuning out the negative comments and boos of opposing fans by wearing Beats noise-canceling headphones.
Bose and the NFL signed a sponsorship agreement before the season began, but last week the NFL decided to ban players from wearing Beats headphones in front of television cameras to support its sponsor. Players are not allowed to wear them when conducting interviews during training camp, during practice sessions, or on game day, from before the event until 90 minutes after play has ended.
This is the second time Beats headphones have been banned from major sporting events. Earlier this year, World Cup headphone sponsor Sony
banned soccer players from wearing Beats headphones within stadiums, and during the London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee ended up banning Beats headphones after a
guerrilla marketing campaign because the company was not an official sponsor.
Popular Stories
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 ...
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...
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
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...
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...
