Apple’s Beats is getting ready to launch truly wireless Powerbeats earbuds in April, CNET reports. CNET’s source, who it says is close to the retail channel, says the new earbuds will reportedly use Apple’s new H1 chip which are used in the new wireless charging AirPods, and have the same always-on Siri voice assistant. It’s also expected to have a longer battery life than the AirPods, which have around five hours of listening time.
CNET points out that the timing of the new wireless Powerbeats lines up with when the BeatsX were announced, which was shortly after Apple first introduced AirPods in 2016. Rumors of higher-end AirPods have been circulating since last year, suggesting that they would be noise-canceling, over-ear headphones. The wireless charging AirPods announced this week don’t quite line up with what the rumors have been suggesting, but the Powerbeats could certainly target a market that’s looking for more features than what the AirPods offer. The current Powerbeats are sweat-resistant and offer a more secure fit than AirPods, to start.
There’s no pricing information yet, although the Powerbeats3 Wireless (which are still joined by a cord) currently retail for $199.95 on the Beats website, but are available for as low as $99 on Amazon, signaling that an update may be coming. If the rumors are true, the new cordless Powerbeats3 would be the first in the entire Beats lineup to be truly wireless earbuds.
