- Apple ‘StudioPods’ over-ear headphones tipped to launch soon
- Could cost $399/£399
- Company has patented “headphones including an adjustable band”…
- …as well as “Noise and Wind Cancellation” technology
- Features likely to include wireless pairing/charging and Hey Siri
- Apple over ear headphones could use touch gestures rather than buttons
- StudioPods are likely to cost more than AirPods
Sources (and Apple’s own patent activity) strongly indicate that we will soon see the launch of Apple’s over-ear headphones, to join the popular in-ear AirPods. In this article we look at clues, leaks and rumours related to the so-called StudioPods, including their expected price, release date and technical details. We’ve also got some brilliant-looking concept illustrations.
Release date: When will Apple launch the StudioPods?
The Apple over-ear headphones rumour first came from the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo way back in February 2018. At the time he issued a research note saying: “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.”
If you’re thinking he was way off – it’s 2020 now and nothing has been announced – then hold your horses for a moment. Apple’s interest in developing a set of over-ears was backed up by Bloomberg sources in March 2018 and later in July 2018. Just because we haven’t seen them yet doesn’t mean they’re not on Apple’s product roadmap.
The “people familiar with the product’s development” cited in the first Bloomberg report claimed Apple “plans to launch the headphones as early as the end of this year [2018], but has faced development challenges that might push back the release”, and the second report pushed back the release date to 2019.
Obviously the headphones haven’t yet appeared, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. In February 2020 a placeholder in the Target inventory included a reference to AirPods X Generation at $399. As this price is higher than the AirPods Pro it is anticipated that the placeholder refers to the Apple over-ear headphones.
Multiple Target employees have started reaching out to me about this ?
Showing up in their systems and on UPC scanners is this mysterious “Apple AirPods (X Generation)” listing, priced at $399. ?
Potentially Apple’s over-ear “StudioPods” headphones. Launch soon (March)? pic.twitter.com/NVcqH8As47
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser)
February 22, 2020
That could suggest that a release is immanent, however, Jon Prosser actually doesn’t expect to see these over-ear headphones until WWDC – which is scheduled to take place in June (as on online only event).
You ready for this? ?
Apple Over-Ear Headphones
Codename: B515
(Think Beats 700)
$350
Aimed for WWDCAirPods X
Codename: B517
For sports/running
(think Beats X)
~$200
Aimed for Sept/Oct
Probably what DigiTimes thought was “AirsPods Pro Lite”
End goal: phase out Beats ?
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser)
April 7, 2020
What will Apple’s over-ear headphones be called?
Nothing official has been announced, so we don’t know – but the term ‘StudioPods’ seems to be gaining traction in the media. Funnily enough, it’s the term we started using back in February 2018 when we first started reporting on the rumours, and the name has gained momentum with many reports now using it. Websites have a habit of reporting on each other’s rumours, and these things can run out of control.
Apple calls its in-ear headphones AirPods, of course, which is a way of drawing attention to the lack of wires. We expect a similar feature in the over-ear models, so the prefix Air could reappear – AirCans, AirBeats or even OverAirs? But for us the company is more likely to seek consistency by re-using the Pod suffix that unites so many of its music products: the EarPods, AirPods, HomePod and iPod.
We like the names StudioPods, SoundPods, and AudioPods.
Price
Kuo has claimed that Apple’s new over-ear headphones will cost more than AirPods. (Note that his prediction was made before the launch of the AirPods Pro, so he may have had a lower bound of £159/$159 in mind, rather than £249/$249.
However, the Target listing mentioned above suggests that the StudioPods could cost $399 (which using Apple’s maths would convert to £399).
Bloomberg also expects that the headphones will target the high-end of the market, as is the case with the HomePod speaker (which, incidentally, saw its price drop due to flagging sales).
The new over-ear headphones are likely to rival headsets from the likes of Bose as well as Apple’s own Beats by Dre brand (which Apple bought, along with Beats Radio, for $3bn in 2014).
If you are wondering what the competition costs: the Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II) Wireless Headphones with Noise Cancelling and Amazon Alexa cost £329. The Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless Noice Cancelling headphones with Alexa cost £349. There are lots of cheaper options though.
Design: What will the StudioPods look like?
For a very approximate idea of what the StudioPods could look like, take a look at these illustration from an Apple patent:
Bear in mind, as ever, that patent illustrations are not required to look much like the finished product, only to illustrate the elements being claimed for protection. But it gives a rough idea of where Apple’s thinking is headed.
The above patent, discovered by Patently Apple, relates to noise and wind cancellation and was granted to Apple in November 2018. More on that below.
Concept designs
We mocked up our own StudioPod design based on a pair of Beats headphones. However, there are designers out there with much better illustration and Photoshop skills than us, and Curved.de has posted some great concept illustrations:
And here’s a look at that concept in a video:
Meanwhile, someone at The Apple Post has come up with this possible design.
Patent activity
Apple is clearly thinking about over-ear headphones. A January 2019 patent called simply ‘Headphones’ describes “A pair of headphones including an adjustable headphone band”, which couldn’t be more different from the AirPods.
The patent also mentions noise cancellation, at least briefly:
“In some embodiments, headphones can also include a noise cancellation feature. The noise cancellation feature can be substantially improved if a listener’s ears are completely covered by the ear cups.”
Via MACWORLD