FCC Document Details New Apple-Developed Wireless Beats Solo2 Headphones

[MacRumors]

The first Beats product to be released under Apple's guidance has been unveiled in documents recently submitted to the FCC, suggesting Apple will soon be releasing a pair of Beats Solo2 headphones that include wireless Bluetooth functionality.

As seen in diagrams, the design of the new wireless Solo2 headphones is nearly identical to Beats' existing Solo2 line. The Solo2 headphones are the company's newest product, released in May, just a day after Apple's Beats acquisition became official.

The Beats Solo2 headphones will contain Bluetooth and BLE radios, allowing them to function wirelessly. Beats currently offers a wireless version of its more expensive Studio headphones, but its Solo2 line is somewhat more affordable. The company's current non-wireless Studio headphones retail for $300 while the wireless version retails for $379, suggesting Solo2 wireless headphones could sell for approximately $279 if it uses the same markup.

At $3 billion, Apple's Beats acquisition is its largest in history, and Beats' line of successful headphones was said to be one of the driving factors behind the purchase. Beats' aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity, and they are very popular with athletes and the younger demographic. A survey released shortly after the acquisition was finalized suggested that a large percentage of students believed Beats would make Apple more "cool."

The new Solo2 wireless headphones remain under FCC review for the time being and a potential release date is unknown.

Article Link: FCC Document Details New Apple-Developed Wireless Beats Solo2 Headphones

 

[farewelwilliams]

this, for billions of dollars?

 

[DJJAZZYJET]

This could be the turning point for crappy sounding overpriced beats headphones.

Oh who am I kidding...

 

[iphonehype]

What will sound quality be like? IMO nothing beats Bose and I find Dr Dres very poor quality comparing to budget headphones, forget comparing them to high end headphones!!

 

[iLoveiTunes]

this, for billions of dollars?

Yes, if you are that Naive.

 

[JDee]

IMO nothing beats Bose

I'll pretend I didn't hear that.

 

[slicecom]

What will sound quality be like? IMO nothing beats Bose

lol Bose is almost as bad as Beats. Cheap components and horribly overpriced for what you get.

 

[gibbz]

this, for billions of dollars?

Electronics with healthy margins are right up Apple's alley. I also think $3 billion was to get the name, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and Trent Reznor.

 

[dannyyankou]

I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

 

[coolfactor]

This could be the turning point for crappy sounding overpriced beats headphones.

Oh who am I kidding...

Is this commentary from the echo chamber, or do Beats headphones really lack in sound quality? How can that be if they are making such high margins on the products? Is it all about the brand, and they could care less about the quality?

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lol Bose is almost as bad as Beats. Cheap components and horribly overpriced for what you get.

Got a comparison to point to?

 

[darkslide29]

Electronics with healthy margins are right up Apple's alley. I also think $3 billion was to get the name, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and Trent Reznor.

this, for billions of dollars?

As well as Beats Music streaming service, from which they were able to acquire the existing contracts with the music labels and simply transfer ownership.

If they bought spotify, any buyer who does so only gets the company. All contracts with the labels must be re-negotiated from scratch. Apple is said to have asked about licensing fees and were not given a price that they liked. So they bought Beats, who already had a price structure in place that they liked.

 

[pubwvj]

I can't even come close to grasping the concept of spending that much money on a pair of head phones. The sound isn't that much better. Not worth $300. The company is not worth $3Billion. Apple should have spent this money on something useful such as legacy software support that would have kept the hundreds of thousands of older software programs able to work in Yosemite. That would have been useful.

 

[gadgetguy03]

Is this commentary from the echo chamber, or do Beats headphones really lack in sound quality? How can that be if they are making such high margins on the products? Is it all about the brand, and they could care less about the quality?

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Got a comparison to point to?

It's all a matter of preference. Bose is marketed towards older consumers like me and Beats are marketed to the younger generation.

 

[CelestialToys]

What will sound quality be like? IMO nothing beats Bose and I find Dr Dres very poor quality comparing to budget headphones, forget comparing them to high end headphones!!

Grado, Beyer Dynamic, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Shure, Sony, and countless other companies all make headphones that put Bose to shame.( and often for far less money)

Bose are the same overpriced junk as Beats, but instead of being marketed towards teens they're marketed towards an older audience.

 

[Nozuka]

I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

they did. they are not crap anymore. just way too expensive for what they offer.

but most people would be perfectly happy with them.

 

[thekeyring]

this, for billions of dollars?

Obviously not..

 

[nope7308]

And I bet they'll still sound like crap.

Anyone who is serious about audio knows that that kind of money is better spent elsewhere.

 

[jbyun04]

The Solo2 are actually a decent set of cans. Still a little expensive, which is one of the main complaints about it, but it's definitely better than the Solo and Solo HD.

 

[RockSpider]

I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

As soon as Apple buys a company it gets better.

 

[nepalisherpa]

Bose can be a hit or a miss. My car's Bose sucks butt; however, Bose Soundlink Mini at home is awesome for its size.

 

[darkslide29]

As soon as Apple buys a company it gets better.

The Solo2 are actually a decent set of cans. Still a little expensive, which is one of the main complaints about it, but it's definitely better than the Solo and Solo HD.

I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

LOL, I am as big an Apple fan boy as anyone here, but Apple acquiring them didn't cause or guarantee improvement in Beats.

As jbyun04 said, the Solo2 are a much improved Beats headphone. It isn't as bass heavy as its solo and solo hd predecessor. They're making improvements.
Enough to spend $300? I don't know. That's a personal choice. But they are getting better if the overly bass heavy sets of cans was the issue before.

 

[Mike MA]

I had hoped for something more to come from this acquisition except new headphones...time to offer some streaming services to the rest of the world.

 

[NameUndecided]

Almost irrelevant to the topic: I really kind of want to find some broken Beats and see if I can transplant some Koss speakers into them. I am a sucker who wants the design, but I just don't want that [lack of] sound quality.

I wonder if this is doable...

 

[danrazz]

Why wouldn't Apple put a small hard drive, shuffle like size, in the ear muff of the Beats Solo headphones? Set it up for WiFi synching when you charge the headphones at night. Seems like a no brainer to me...

 

[Robert.Walter]

Now if apple would offer a decent BTLE affordable headset.