A leaked system icon from iOS 14 strongly hints that Apple is readying the release of its own over-ear headphones (via 9to5Mac). It has long been rumoured that Apple would produce its own bigger audio product after the success of the AirPods, the first generation of which was released in 2016.
The icon looks to show quite substantial, studio-style over ear headphones that could be larger than the existing Beats headphones line. The latest wireless Beats headphones including the Powerbeats Pro have Apple’s quick pairing Bluetooth chip inside ported over from the AirPods.
Powerbeats Pro actually display their own icon within iOS when connected, so although this new leak could well be Apple over-ear headphones, it might end up being a new pair of over-ear Beats seeing as the model icons are also included in current iOS versions.
With a black and white icon leaked, there should be at least two colours of these mystery ‘phones.
The recent Beats Solo Pro are the closest thing to high-end Apple-branded headphones yet with the same noise cancellation and Transparency mode found in Apple’s AirPods Pro.
9to5Mac said that the icons they found were in code from a December 2019 iOS 14 build, so it’s unclear when we might see the headphones. There’s still an Apple event rumoured for later this month, but with the coronavirus outbreak it could mean that it, and June’s WWDC, will be cancelled. It’s unclear if this will affect Apple’s product release schedule.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.