Apple’s huge iPhone keynote tomorrow won’t give any stage time to the company’s Beats-branded headphones.
Despite being the largest headphone brand in the world and inking a sweet new deal with the NBA, new Beats headphones aren’t planned to be revealed at Apple’s biggest event of the year.
The only new headphones that will share the spotlight with the iPhone XS will be made by Apple, according to sources that spoke to The Verge. A new version of the AirPods could their debut tomorrow, though it seems unlikely given the latest buzz.
Apple has also been rumored to be working on its own set of premium over-the-ear headphones. Those would compete with Beats’ own offerings so it will be interesting to see how Apple markets them if they ever do come out.
Beats has come out with a new set of headphones every year since Apple acquired it in 2014. This could be the first year that streak is snapped though. Most of the Beats lineup has received iterative updates, but the last major new product the company released was the BeatsX back in 2016. The only other big updates have been the Powerbeats 3, Solo 3 and Studio 3 all getting Apple’s custom W1 Bluetooth chip.
Certainly, Apple didn’t acquire Beats just to watch it slowly die. The company is still a huge force in the marketing and culture worlds with people like LeBron James, Neymar, Michael Phelps and a roster of other stars helping it remain the world’s most popular headphone brand.
