A cryptic new video ad featuring basketball star Lebron James rapping along with L’il Wayne suggested Monday that the long-rumored return of the discontinued Beats Pill+ speaker could be just one week away.
That’s if the video’s ending reference to “The Predicament 6.25” means the updated speaker, which celebrities have been photographed carrying around recently, will launch next Tuesday.
Updated Beats Pill+ portable speaker: Is it coming June 25?
Rumors have flown recently that the Beats Pill+ speaker Apple discontinued in January 2022 will return. Media picked up various shots of celebrities with the speaker, including James, in the past few months.
But those images weren’t the only clues. Code in iOS 17.5 RC and an FCC filing indicated the new speaker — typical sure signs of an impending release. And now we have a probable date. It appears at the end of the 15-second video, in which James greets Wayne at a party and cranks his tune “A Milli” on a gold Beats Pill+.
The updated speaker, with four physical buttons and a handful of rumored improvements, is expected to come out in gold, red and black colors. It might pack more volume and bass with a revamped woofer. The battery life will be longer than the old model’s, perhaps even up to 24 hours. And it will undoubtedly have USB-C connectors in place of the old Lightning and USB-A ones. It might also include Find My functionality. And of course you can expect a higher version of Bluetooth, as the old model had 4.0 and most new speakers are coming out with 5.3.
And we say the speaker “returns” because Apple dropped its subsidiary’s Beats Pill+ speaker in January 2022 without replacement. But it kept releasing versions with refreshed designs in partnership with various designers and brands like Book Projects and Stüssy. The speaker initially launched in 2015 as an update to the Pill 2.0 speaker.
And as far as price goes, who knows. The old one wasn’t cheap, at $230.
Watch the video:
6/25. @KingJames @LilTunechi pic.twitter.com/NkpLlTeVhJ
— Beats by Dre (@beatsbydre) June 17, 2024
