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Apple Working on Beats Studio Buds+ Earphones
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I'd bet no. Beats is likely being stratified to be the 'almost as good as...' line for Apple. No 'Apple chip', and likely no Qi charging. They have to make a distinction between their lessor brand, and their own products. That is why there will always be an AirPod Pro, and likely AirPods too. When I got the Beats Studio I thought that Apple made a mistake. The case seems so 'beefy', like the AirPod Pros. The Beats Fit case feels like there isn't much inside, more like a 'cheap product'. *shrug*
Maybe a good example is GM. How many brands do they sell, and see the difference between them. Same here.
Had the same issue. Can't tell you how many times I thought mine were fully charged, started to workout only to find out they were almost dead. Really ruined my workout.
I feel like more recently though I haven't had that issue. Almost like a software update fixed it. Not sure.
Hopefully it will not be priced much higher than the current model.
As always.
Beats are, since being an Apple brand, part of the Apple headphones lineup, just as much a part of the AirPods lineup as AirPods are.
And every(!) model in a lineup has to have a distinct value/$.
Every model has a balance of price to value that can’t ever be disrupted.
Disruption in a product lineup happens when a lower priced product is unmistakably higher value/$ than a more expensive one.
-But Apple meticulously plans out its lineups years in advance. So disruption never happens.
I keep forgetting that Apple owns this brand and makes these. I have AirPod Pros and would personally never bother with these things…
Beats have become irrelevant since Apple bought the company, not sure why Apple is persisting with them? Unless it's solely for the Android market? Trouble with that is that Android buyers don't look for quality, just price and that's not Apple MO 🤣
Apple is developing a new version of the Beats Studio Buds called the Beats Studio Buds+, signs of which were discovered in the iOS 16.4 release candidate today by 9to5Mac.
Image via 9to5Mac
The Beats Studio Buds+ look similar to the Beats Studio Buds that were initially introduced in 2021. 9to5Mac has suggested that the earbuds will be upgraded to an H1 or W1 chip, but MacRumors has learned that the Beats Studio Buds will continue to feature a Beats chip rather than the H1/W1.
Apple is planning to add improved Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency to the Beats Studio Buds+, which still have some time to go before they see a public launch.
The original Beats Studio Buds were introduced in 2021 and were positioned as a cheaper alternative to the AirPods. The Beats Studio Buds are priced at $150, and the new model is likely to have a similar price tag.
Article Link: Apple Working on Beats Studio Buds+ Earphones
On the contrary, Beats lineup tends to make wireless headphones that are better for working out and I think they continue to be popular for that purpose among iPhone buyers. I have a couple sets of beats Headphones, and a set of Airpods. I never use the Airpods and I wish I hadn't wasted my money on them, but in my case I generally only use headphones when working out, or out for a walk or run and Airpods are useless in those scenarios for me.
Oh, like our car that has a subscription to get most of the features to work? Yeah, so not happy over that. It's total BS...
But I'd doubt Apple/Beats would go that far, but who knows.
Yep. There’s always “something” missing to entice you to spend just a bit more.
I mean, I totally get what you're saying, and the idea behind that, but I feel like at this point Wireless charging would only help sell more products. It is such a small feature to build in, I don't know why they wouldn't. It isn't a "quality" thing, or really a huge distinguisher to their brands. That is more in the battery life, sound quality, and noise canceling, etc. etc.
Pricing segregation.
I mean the AirPod Pro’s and the Beats Fir Pro’s are identical in functionality and were identical in performance (at the latter’s launch) until 3mths in - to protect sales of the former unit.
I do like the good accent with the black case and would’ve preferred this to the black/red of my Beats Fit Pro’s.
It’s time Hi-Res comes to the AirPod Pro’s 2 along with more solid non-shiny colour options.
Back to the car analogy, I drove customers cars into the lift area of a garage for oil changes and other minor repairs, and I was amazed that GM cars would look so similar inside, but their prices would be different. And some of the options that were only available on some GM brands were really rather silly. One brand had crank windows standard, and the next had the new (at the time) electric windows. Also some had AM radios only, and others had A/FM radios, and still some had that and an 8-track (or cassette) player too.
Qi charging might be trivial to you, but it does add a bit of complexity and likely other support circuitry and adding it to a 'loss leader' brand that is standard for their 'premier' brand actually dilutes the brands and I can see Apple being very hesitant to share that technology. Vinyl seats v leather seats... Leather trimmed seats v all-leathers seats. *shrug* But leather says 'luxury', and apparently so does wireless charging?