"Hey Siri" support and possibly wireless charging case alongside AirPower charging mat.
KGI: Apple Developing High-End Over-Ear Headphones, Launching Late 2018 at the Earliest
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research note outlining his expectations for Apple's "acoustic accessories" pipeline, claiming the company is working on both updated AirPods and "own-brand, high-end over-ear headphones" with an "all-new design." The new over-ear headphones are said to debut in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest.
Beats Studio3 Wireless and current AirPods
Kuo's prediction on upgraded AirPods follows a similar report just a few days ago from Bloomberg. Kuo says the new AirPods should launch in the second half of this year.
Apple to have own-brand, high-end over-ear headphones with all-new design; to be as convenient as AirPods with better sound quality; shipments to begin 4Q18F at earliest; Primax & SZS will be the key suppliers & will benefit from high ASPs. We believe that after AirPods and HomePod, Apple’s next addition will be high-end over-ear headphones, making its acoustic accessory lineup more complete. Existing suppliers Primax and SZS will be Apple’s partners on this new product. Primax will receive assembly orders on its familiarity with the acoustic business, and SZS is likely to use MIM technology advantages as leverage to become the exclusive or main MIM part supplier. The new headphones will be priced higher than AirPods and should help boost the business momentum of Primax as the assembly provider.
Kuo's prediction on upgraded AirPods follows a similar report just a few days ago from Bloomberg. Kuo says the new AirPods should launch in the second half of this year.
We think the main difference of the upgraded AirPods, which won’t look much different from current AirPods, will be the wireless charging case and the adoption of an upgraded W1 chip. We believe that the charging case will adopt different processes for the external appearance and to meet thermal requirements from wireless charging, the hinge price will rise 60-80%.Beyond this year's update for the AirPods, Bloomberg claimed this week that Apple is working on a subsequent AirPods update that would bring water resistance to the earphones, but that model wouldn't arrive until 2019 at the earliest.
Related Roundup: AirPods
Tag: Ming-Chi Kuo
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Caution)
[ 282 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
10 months ago
Apple, can you focus little bit more back on Macintosh?
They recently came out with new MacBooks, new iMac, new iMac Pro, and are working on the new Mac Pro. Other than Mac mini, what exactly would you consider "focusing" on the Mac?
10 months ago
I can't wait for more "audiophile" complaints. How dare they call something high end if it doesn't cost more than $10,000
10 months ago
Name ideas:
iEars
eyeEars
AirPods Plus
AirPods Max
Maxi Pods
Beaten to Dreath
Head iPhones
iEars
eyeEars
AirPods Plus
AirPods Max
Maxi Pods
Beaten to Dreath
Head iPhones
10 months ago
Let’s be real here. By going by apple’s recent track record, we won’t see these in 2018. No doubt they will be delayed, like pretty much every product they announce.
10 months ago
Let’s be real here. By going by apple’s recent track record, we won’t see these in 2018. No doubt they will be delayed, like pretty much every product they announce.
How can a rumor get delayed?
10 months ago
I would be absolutely shocked if these could hold a candle to my audio technica ath m50x’s. And of course, we cant forget that they would presumably cost twice as much, too.
M50x really isn’t that great. It’s mid-fidelity at best.
If they provide truly high-end sound Apple’s offering will sound way better. I think they have the team established to create the best wireless headphone on the market.
10 months ago
Apple can truly revolutionize this space, and I believe they have the potential to do so. If I manufactured headphones right now I would be very scared.
10 months ago
Apple can truly revolutionize this space, and I believe they have he potential to do so. If I manufactured headphones right now I would be very scared.
Knowing Apple, it'll probably cost $600, be wireless only, only work with Apple products, and have some kind of Siri invoking feature... so I don't think other manufacturers are shaking in their boots just yet.[ Read All Comments ]
The App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, and other Apple services appear to be experiencing downtime right now, with multiple MacRumors readers reporting outages across multiple systems.
When...
WaterField Designs is a San Francisco-based company that makes a range of different cases and bags for Apple's product lineup, from the iPhone and iPad to Macs, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
...
With the release of AirPlay 2 earlier this year and the follow-up addition of Dolby Atmos support for Apple TV with tvOS 12, there have been significant improvements in the home entertainment...
If you connect your Mac to an external display, you may find that the Mac's on-screen and keyboard volume controls are disabled. That's because HDMI, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt connections...
Feral Interactive today announced that the third game in the rebooted Tomb Raider series, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, will be coming to macOS and Linux computers in 2019. As usual with Feral's...
Apple removed Tumblr from the iOS App Store late last week because the Yahoo-owned social network failed to filter prohibited content, it emerged today.
The Tumblr app for iPhone and iPad went...
In late August, a new accessory brand called Nimble emerged from a trio of former Mophie employees, offering customers various charging devices that are all built and shipped with a focus on the...
Satechi today announced the launch of a new Aluminum Type-C PD & QC Wireless Charger that's designed to charge iPhone and Android devices at their maximum wireless charging speeds.
For...
