Will Beats Studio Wireless II Headphones Be Announced At Apple Event This Week?
It’s been three years since the release of the Beats Studio Wireless headphones. These were considered the first wireless headphones that actually offered decent sound, but the price tag was $400. CNET gave the Beats headphones four stars.
“The new Beats Studio headphones are lighter, sturdier, and better-sounding than the original Studio headphones. They offer a comfortable fit and active noise cancellation, which works well but not great. The noise cancellation is powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery that offers up to 20 hours of battery life.”
The Beats Studio Wireless headphones have been one of Beats’ biggest sellers over the past three years, and Beats fans have been awaiting new updated wireless ones. It looks like they will finally get their wish. Slash Gear has the news.
“The French website iGeneration actually received an email from Beats PR that stated new headphone models from the brand would be unveiled on September 7th, alongside the iPhone 7. An image of the email was also published, but the site was asked by Beats to remove it, all but confirming its authenticity.”
It is believed that Beats could finally announce the follow-up to the Studio Wireless. They could announce other headphones as well. It’s an outside possibility they will announce wireless earbuds, especially since the new iPhone 7 will leave off the headphone jack.
According to Business Insider, Beats originally started last decade, when Universal Music’s Jimmy Iovine wanted to move on to something hardware-related after seeing how well Apple’s Steve Jobs did with the iPod. He was already friends with rapper Dr. Dre and bumped into him by chance. This is when the idea for Beats began.
Iovine said Dre told him that his lawyers wanted him to sell sneakers. Iovine answered by telling Dre he should sell speakers instead. Then, they decided on a name and a marketing plan, and they were soon in business. The full name of the brand is Beats by Dr. Dre, and the fact that it had been successful for four years is why Apple wanted to get involved.
A couple years back, CNN wrote an article on the success of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and their influence on the audio world.
“Indeed, according to the NPD Group, a marketing research company, Beats controls 27% of the $1.8 billion headphone market — and 57% of the market for ‘premium’ headphones, ones that cost $99 or more. On- or over-the-ear Beats retail from about $200 to $400, so you can easily spend as much on the headphones as you can on your MP3 player or contracted phone.”
However, like anything that has been a great success, there has been a backlash against Beats. A lot of people think Beats are the perfect example of style over substance. Audiophiles think Beats headphones are the worst thing that ever happened to audio.
In May of 2014, Guardian columnist Samuel Gibbs wondered what Apple had to gain from purchasing Beats. He described their designs as big, flashy, and bold — an excellent example of style over substance. He seemed to agree with others that people who purchase Beats are paying a lot of extra money for middle-of-the-road sound quality.
As Gibbs noted, the idea of Beats was to make it cool for people to wear big, flashy, and bulky headphones. Whether one likes that style or not, Beats achieved its goal. Companies such as Sony, Sennheiser, and even Bose have copied the flashy style of Beats By Dr. Dre headphones. Perhaps naysayers will be surprised with the new Beats headphones that will be announced in partnership with Apple on Wednesday.
[Image via Daryl Deino]
