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Move Over, AirPods: These Could Be The Best Apple Headphones, Coming Soon

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Apple headphones aren’t just AirPods, you know. Apple also owns Beats, makers of some pretty cool headphones under its own brand. Today, the latest pair of AirPods rivals just reached a significant landmark: they gained FCC approval, as spotted by MacRumors.

Described only as “Apple Inc. Wireless Headset A2015”, no other clues are given by the FCC, but since images of headphones called Powerbeats 4 were discovered buried in the code for iOS 13.3.1, it’s likely that’s what’s referred to here.

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More true wireless headphones, then?

Actually, not quite. If you take a look at the icon found in the iOS software you can see that there’s a bit more to the image than true-wireless would offer. There’s a bit of cable hanging down. This doesn’t mean these are wired headphones, merely that like the Powerbeats 3 that preceded them, that there will be a cable connecting the two earphones. Beyond that, they’ll be wireless.

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So, what’s new?

It’s looking likely that the latest Apple H1 chip will be aboard the Powerbeats 4 and if so, then users will be able call Siri to action by calling her name, not tapping on the headphones.

Why wouldn’t I choose AirPods, though?

There are plenty of people who think that Beats creates headphones that sound better than Apple’s do. The current true-wireless in-ears from Beats, the Powerbeats Pro, have had huge success because the audio quality is so strong.

That all?

No, actually. The over-ear hooks on the Powerbeats 3, clearly to be repeated on PowerBeats 4, have a lot of fans because they absolutely, positively can’t fall out of your ears, no matter how crazy-fast you’re jogging.

And one other thing: Powerbeats 3 cost $199, that’s $50 cheaper than AirPods Pro, so it’s likely the new headphones will come at a similar price.

When will these new headphones go on sale?

Pretty soon. Apple hates – with a passion – anyone else revealing its secrets. So, the fact that the cat is out of the bag here means we can expect an announcement imminently.

MacRumors suggested it’s possible the Powerbeats 4 could be announced in the March event Apple may be holding but I don’t think that’s right. Apple has never announced a Beats product at an Apple event and won’t start now. The two brands respect each others’ identities.

I’d say we can expect an announcement in the first week of March.

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