Apple Reportedly Targeting WWDC for Over-Ear Headphones Launch, New 'AirPods X' Later in the Year

Rumors of Apple-branded over-ear headphones have been circulating for quite some time, while more recent rumors have mentioned an "AirPods Pro Lite" that could also be in the works, and Twitter leaker Jon Prosser's recent foray into Apple rumors provides a bit more detail on what we might able to expect for these products.

beats studio3 beatsx

Current Beats Studio3 Wireless and BeatsX

On the over-ear side, Prosser says that Apple is targeting a June WWDC debut with pricing set at around $350, putting them in the range of Beats Studio3 and Bose 700 headphones. Prosser says Apple's codename for these headphones is B515, which matches up with leaked icons for these headphones found in an iOS 14 build last month.

As for the "‌AirPods Pro‌ Lite" previously rumored by DigiTimes, Prosser says they are likely what he has heard are referred to as "AirPods X," which should launch in the September–October timeframe. He says these would be similar to the current BeatsX earphones, which are targeted at the sports market. He doesn't specifically say, however, whether the AirPods X would have a wire between the earbuds as BeatsX do. He also says the AirPods X, which carry a codename of B517, will be priced at around $200, which is double the price of BeatsX.


Generally speaking, Prosser believes that Apple's ultimate goal is to eventually phase out the Beats brand, as both of these new Apple headphones are similar to existing Beats products. That will take time, however, as Beats offers a fairly extensive line of headphone options, including the fairly new Beats Solo Pro and the Powerbeats lineup that has seen several recent updates.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Buy Now)
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Top Rated Comments

newyorksole Avatar
65 months ago

This makes me miss Steve Jobs so much. Remember when Apple made just a few insanely great products? Now they’ve got their brand on all sorts of crap.
Yeahhh that was almost a decade ago buddy. You don’t think if Steve was alive today that things at Apple would be much different than they are right now?

The tech industry changed a lot since 2011. At least Apple has solid footing in all of the new areas they stepped into.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Logic368 Avatar
65 months ago
This makes me miss Steve Jobs so much. Remember when Apple made just a few insanely great products? Now they’ve got their brand on all sorts of crap.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imnotthewalrus Avatar
65 months ago

It makes sense that Apple is trying to wind down the Beats brand. They've already absorbed Beats Music into Apple Music. With most consumer headphones going the wireless dual earbud route, it makes sense to sunset the Beats headphones brand, and rebrand any other headphone technology into the Apple brand. I'm surprised the Beats headphone brand has survived as long as it has.
I'm not a fan, but Beats has a loyal fanbase. Apple spent a TON of money to acquire the brand. I see no reason they would just drop the brand.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macloverHK Avatar
65 months ago
Just pronounced "AirPods Ten" in my mind...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
65 months ago
Lets start with the “Jon has a comedy tech channel on the fancy YouTubes, he could never be an actual leaker” comments.
Remember, Jon said iPhone SE on April 14/15, and 9to5Mac said April 3rd. Guess whos quickly becoming more accurate


This makes me miss Steve Jobs so much. Remember when Apple made just a few insanely great products? Now they’ve got their brand on all sorts of crap.
iPod, iPod Mini, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPod Touch.
A product for every use case and price point. How is this any different.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
65 months ago
It makes sense that Apple is trying to wind down the Beats brand. They've already absorbed Beats Music into Apple Music. With most consumer headphones going the wireless dual earbud route, it makes sense to sunset the Beats headphones brand, and rebrand any other headphone technology into the Apple brand. I'm surprised the Beats headphone brand has survived as long as it has.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)