The Apple AirPods will apparently have a sibling before the year ends, as famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the company is working on high-end over-ear headphones.
The new device will expand Apple's audio accessories line, giving customers a wider range of options for the audio output device to use with their iPhones and iPads.
Apple Over-Ear Headphones Coming Soon
Kuo, a reliable source of information on Apple products, predicted in an investors note seen by AppleInsider that the company will soon launch branded high-end, over-ear headphones.
The device is apparently not a successor to the Beats Studio 3. Apple acquired Beats in 2014, but it looks like the new headphones will instead fall in the same line as the AirPods.
According to Kuo, the headphones will have an "all new" design. Over-ear headphones traditionally come in two forms, namely open-back headphones that sit on top of the wearer's ears and closed-back headphones that envelop the wearer's ears. If Kuo means that the product will not fall in these two categories, it is unclear what Apple is planning to do.
Kuo wrote that Apple will look to launch a product with the same convenience provided by the AirPods but with better acoustic qualities. This likely means that the new headphones will also be wireless, though that was not specified in the note to investors. It is also unknown if Apple will introduce new audio hardware in the new headphones.
Kuo believes that the new Apple headphones will not launch until the fourth quarter of this year. Such a release date would make the product available just in time for the lucrative holiday shopping season. Kuo, however, expects the new over-ear headphones to be more expensive than the AirPods, so Apple fans might want to start saving up for it now.
New Apple Products In The Works
The high-end over-ear headphones are not the only new Apple product cited in recent reports. The AirPods, for example, will reportedly launch a model this year that enables hand-free Siri activation. Another new AirPods model is expected to be released next year with water-resistant features.
Apple is also said to release next month the $200 AirPower wireless charging pad. It is said that it will work with the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and Apple Watch, and that it may charge up to three devices at the same time. There are also reports that Apple will soon launch two new iPad models, though details on those have so far been scarce.
