Despite being listed on Apple’s website as “coming this Fall,” Apple’s new BeatsX in-ear headphones won’t be available for months, according to a retailer.
An email being sent out to customers by authorized Apple reseller B&H Photo Video says consumers can expect the new wireless headphones no earlier than February.
“We regret to inform you that the manufacturer has informed us that they still do not know when they will begin shipping this item but they do know that it will take at least 2-3 months,” B&H wrote. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this delay has caused you.”
As MacRumors points out, this gives an estimated shipping date of February or March, provided that Apple is able to stick to this deadline. It is possible Apple will not pass shipments to B&H Photo Video immediately, and could ship BeatsX headphones earlier through its own stores or other retailers, but that would be unusual behavior.
The news follows a recent news report that Apple’s AirPods — which were introduced at the company’s iPhone media event in September along with BeatsX — may miss the crucial 2016 holiday shopping season entirely.
Is Apple W1 chip the problem?
AirPods and BeatsX headphones both use Apple’s W1 chip, which the company says will boost wireless performance.
“All the groundbreaking things AirPods can do are driven by the custom-designed Apple W1 chip,” says Apple’s AirPods page. “It produces extremely efficient wireless for a better connection and improved sound. And the W1 chip manages battery life so well, you can listen for 5 hours on a single charge. It’s performance that’s unheard of in a device this small.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is having problems getting sound to hit the AirPods’ twin earpieces at the same time. That’s supposedly the reason for the AirPods delay.
Could a similar problem be affecting the BeatsX in-ear headphones? While it’s certainly preferable that Apple would delay shipment rather than rushing a faulty product to market (a problem we saw with Samsung’s disastrous Note 7), this is certainly one of the biggest launch fails we’ve seen from Apple in years.
