April acquired Beats, and while there is some overlap, Beats still has some wiggle room to launch what some may see as competing products to the parent company.

Now, according to CNET this could be one of those times. Apple’s Beats brand will reportedly be launching a brand new version of its popular Powerbeats headphones, but with a big change in design. This time around, the new Powerbeats will be truly wireless, or, as described in the article, “wire-free”. These headphones would be designed namely for workouts, rather than the general purpose design of the AirPods. That should help alleviate any concerns of cannibalizing sales between the two headphones.

“Apple may make what it says is the “world’s most popular headphone” — the AirPods — but lest anyone forget, it’s the owner of another headphone company, Beats, which will have its own true wireless competitor hitting the market shortly. A cord-free version of the Beats Powerbeats wireless sports earphones will be announced in April, according to a person close to the retail channel who has previously provided credible information to CNET.”

The option to have a truly wireless pair of workout headphones would be a great option, especially considering the Beats-branded headphones will likely have better base and general sound profile when compared to the AirPods. The new Powerbeats will also be equipped with “Hey Siri” support, something that Apple introduced with its second-generation AirPods this week.

The original report suggests Beats will launch the new Powerbeats in April of this year. However, there is no word on how much they will cost. The current Powerbeats3 is priced at $199.95, so it will likely be around the same price — unless they add a higher price tag due to the truly wireless design.

Our Take

Word on the street is that Apple is working on a new version of AirPods entirely that will introduce noise-cancellation and a water resistant design. That’s definitely new features people want, but these new truly wireless Powerbeats should definitely fly off the shelves this year if they do launch in April. Of course, one has to hope Beats doesn’t price them too high.

We Want to Hear From You

Are you going to wait for water resistant AirPods, or are you already planning on buying truly wireless Powerbeats when/if they go on sale?

[via CNET]