Apple’s slick new over-ear wireless headphones may come this year

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New headphones could offer AirPods tech in a different form factor.
Photo: Beats

Apple’s AirPods are great and everything, but some folks out there prefer their headphones to be over-ear models, rather than earbuds.

Fortunately, that audience may well be in for a happy 2018 — since Apple is reportedly planning to release new “high-end over-ear” headphones this year.

The report comes from renowned Apple analyst KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims that they will boast an as-yet-unspecified all new design.

Although not explicitly stated, they may also feature the same wireless tech as the regular AirPods, but with the over-ear form factor adding better acoustic qualities.

Kuo doesn’t give a shipping date estimate, although suggests that we will be waiting until the fourth quarter of 2018 to get our hands (well, ears) on them.

No word on exact pricing, either. However, they are almost certainly going to be positioned at a higher price point than the regular AirPods, due to the high spec components.

We’re also interested to see whether they will boast Apple’s branding or that of Beats, which currently produces Apple’s wireless over-ear headphones. We’re hoping for the former!

New regular AirPods coming, too

Kuo additionally backs up a report from last week, suggesting that Apple will introduce an updated version of its regular in-ear AirPods in the second half of 2018.

Kuo thinks the exterior design will go unchanged, but that Apple will make tweaks in the form of an upgraded W1 chip and inductive charging case. In its report, Bloomberg suggested that Apple’s 2018 (and early 2019) improvements for AirPods will include “Hey Siri” support and a new water-resistant design.

Finally, Kuo suggests that Apple is enlisting a new supplier to help it deal with rising AirPod production requirements. He claims that shipments of assembled devices will jump 60-80 percent in fiscal 2018. Overall, he thinks Apple will ship 24-26 million units in 2018.

Via: Apple Insider

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