Prior to the new AirPods announcement, rumors
pointed that a more durable coating and black color option would finally grace
Apple’s wireless earbuds. While Apple did not bring those features to the
second gen AirPods, it looks like the upcoming PowerBeats Pro will. The official
design of the new wireless Beats and their charging case were found hidden in
the brand new iOS 12.2 update.
The new model features a charging case with a
Lightning connector on the back, similar to the AirPods. We should expect
identical pairing process and features like hands-free “Hey, Siri” thanks to
the new H1 wireless chip. The larger size of the PowerBeats could lead to
improved battery life compared to the AirPods and like previous models, they
should offer some form of waterproofing.
Pricing is still unknown yet given the fact that the
top of the line AirPods with wireless charging case retail for US$ 200/€ 175, we
can probably expect these to cost more. Previous rumors pointed to an April
release.
