Mike Wuerthele
After popping up in assorted stock trackers on Monday, the BeatsX W1-equipped headphones will be available for purchase in the U.S. on Feb. 10, with a pair of new colors arriving at some point in the future.
The shipping date was announced by the Beats Twitter account. It is unclear if the launch extends outside the U.S.
Specifications remain unchanged, with up to 8 hours of playback from a battery charged through a Lightning port. BeatsX in nlack and white models will be available at launch, with blue and grey versions ultimately arriving.
The $149 BeatsX headphones were first announced alongside the iPhone 7 last September. A number of delays have since befallen them, making the BeatsX the last in the first round of W1-equipped headphones to ship.
AVAILABLE FEB. 10. #BeatsX @TrvisXX pic.twitter.com/5LBNajwoK9
— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) February 7, 2017
The Beats Solo3 Wireless beat the Apple AirPods to market, closely followed by the Powerbeats 3. Apple's AirPods launched in late 2016, with demand still far outstripping supply.
Apple's custom W1 chip found in the AirPods and the BeatsX simplifies wireless Bluetooth pairing, automatically prompting users to connect through a paired iPhone, and sharing the pairing data with other iCloud-connected accessories. The proprietary W1 chip also improves connectivity and range over standard Bluetooth.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
11 Comments
Wait, so these things are charged with a lightning cable, but the PowerBeats3 uses mini-USB?
What's that about?
I'm tempted to get a pair to use with Logic. I am so tiered of forgetting I have wired ones on and walking away from the Mac to change guitars!
Ooh, I like that Blue option. That's swayed me, I was going to get some AirPods at some point, but now I'm going to get a blue pair of BeatsX instead.