According to writers Mark Gurman and Debby Wu, the upcoming noice-cancelling wireless headphones will target the high-end of the market and could potentially cannibalize some Beats sales. According to people familiar with the product’s development, Apple plans to launch the headphones as early as the end of this year although it has faced development challenges that might push back the release.
Work on the Apple headset has been on-and-off over the past year. The company encountered similar problems with HomePod during its development, including multiple redesigns, according to the people. It’s possible Apple will redesign the headphones again before launch, or scrap the project altogether, they warned, asking not to be identified discussing private development work.
This is how analyst Ming-Chi Kuo described the project in a recent note to clients:
We believe that after AirPods and HomePod, Apple’s next addition will be high-end over-ear headphones, making its acoustic accessory lineup more complete. Existing suppliers Primax and SZS will be Apple’s partners on this new product. Primax will receive assembly orders on its familiarity with the acoustic business and SZS is likely to use MIM technology advantages as leverage to become the exclusive or main MIM part supplier. The new headphones will be priced higher than AirPods and should help boost the business momentum of Primax as the assembly provider.
Apple set a new benchmark with the sound quality of the HomePod, and its likely that the company will achieve something similar with its headphones as well. What do you think? Will you buy an Apple-branded headphone irrespective of its price if it sets a new benchmark in terms of audio quality?
