Apple Over-Ear Wireless Headphones Release Date, Specs: Sources Hint Possible Delay; Features And HIgher Price Tag Teased
New details about Apple's latest foray into the audio business have emerged.
Several days ago, the well-known and trusted Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo claimed that the company is working on top-of-the-line over-ear wireless headphones.
This has been corroborated by sources that spoke to Bloomberg who claim that the Cupertino giant is looking to give top players in the market like Bose and even Beats by Dre, which they acquired in 2014, a run for their money.
The over-ear wireless headphones are expected to be a top-tier product to be offered in the high-end market. They will come with noise-cancelling capabilities, as well as wireless functionality like the surprise hit that is Airpods.
At the moment, there is no word yet on the pricing. To set expectations, high-end headphones from companies like Beats, Bose, and Sony usually cost at least $350. The ones from Sennheiser could go as high as $500.
Macrumors posits that Apple's noise-cancelling over-ear headphones might come with a slightly higher price tag if the iPhone maker uses the same pricing scheme as that of the HomePod, which costs $100 more than its closest rival product from Sonos.
The Bloomberg sources did emphasize that there is still a possibility that the over-ear headphones will not see the light of day. Apple has been working on the product on and off since they started their efforts, dealing with issues similar to the ones they went through during the development of the HomePod.
While the plan is to release the over-ear headphones by the end of the year, these challenges could force the tech giant to delay the launch if not ultimately pull the plug on it altogether. In fact, sources say that at this point in the development, it is still possible for Apple to change the design of the noise-cancelling over-ear headphones.