Apple Not Expected to Announce Any New Beats Products at Wednesday's Event

For the past several months, rumors have provided a glimpse of what to expect at Apple's special event on Wednesday. Now, we may know of at least one category that won't see any stage time tomorrow.

beats w1 headphones
The Verge, citing a source close to the situation, reports that Apple does not plan to announce any new hardware from its Beats subsidiary at its "Gather Round" event at Steve Jobs Theater on Wednesday. The only new headphones expected are an updated pair of AirPods with "Hey Siri" support.

If the report is accurate, that means Apple fans should keep their expectations low for any new Beats headphones, or a lower-priced HomePod rumored to arrive in the form of a Siri-enabled Beats speaker.

Apple acquired Beats for $3 billion in 2014, and since then, the company has routinely refreshed the headphone lineup. However, it has yet to do so in 2018. The current lineup revolves around the Beats Solo3, Powerbeats3, and BeatsX, released in 2016 with Apple's W1 chip for easy pairing.

Beats also launched Studio3 over-ear headphones with the W1 chip in 2017, followed by urBeats 3 with a Lightning connector, but for the most part, the headphone lineup is nearly two years outdated.

With so many rumored products in Apple's pipeline through the remainder of this year, it's not much of a surprise that Beats might not see any stage time at its September event. The keynote is expected to revolve around new iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4 models, new AirPods, and AirPower charging mat availability.

It's unclear when Beats may be updated next. Apple certainly has enough on its docket for an October event, if it holds new iPad Pro models with Face ID and a wide range of new Macs until then, and perhaps it could fit in some Beats announcements too. Or, a simple press release would do the trick.

One wildcard is rumored Apple-branded, high-end over-ear headphones, which Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said could be released in the fourth quarter of 2018 at the earliest. Apple could certainly unveil the headphones tomorrow, although we've heard nothing specific to suggest that might occur.

Apple's keynote begins Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, at Steve Jobs Theater, situated on its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino, California. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event, with a live blog starting around 8:15 a.m. Pacific Time, and live tweets via @MacRumorsLive.

Apple will be live streaming the event on its website and Twitter.

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Top Rated Comments

Blackstick Avatar
89 months ago
Fine by me, they're garbage headphones for the money you spend.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
89 months ago
I think I speak for most here when I say that I am absolutely gutted.

:rolleyes:
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jagolden Avatar
89 months ago
Beats are a disservice to Apple. The sound is atrocious, the price tags are heinous. The AirPods are the same thing, they sound like absolute garbage and offer $10 sound in a $129 package.
An opinion with nothing to back it up.
Please, list some good alternatives that you prefer.
I think your join date explains it all though. Timing is everything.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
recoil80 Avatar
89 months ago
I'd love to see a new version of AirPods in-ear, would buy them instantly.
As for Beats I'm really happy with my BeatsX and don't need to upgrade any of my headphones so I don't care about Beats stuff not making to the event.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moakesy Avatar
89 months ago
Does this actually constitute a story?

The rumour is that there isn't a rumour about headphones?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMi Avatar
89 months ago
I don't understand all the hate for Beats. How many of you complaining actually tried some of the recent models? The only blaring omission from the Studio3, which are a fantastic sounding pair, is the USB-C charging. They stuck with the order Micro-USB connectors.

BeatsX are also quite good. They use lighting cable, which is great. They sound way better than EarPods.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)