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'AirPods Studio' design potentially revealed in iOS 14.3 beta

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Apple's widely rumored "AirPods Studio" headphone design has potentially leaked in the form of an icon discovered in the latest iOS 14.3 beta release.

Spelunking through Apple's iOS 14.3 beta code, which was quickly pulled after an initial release on Thursday, 9to5Mac spotted an abstract drawing of what could be the rumored over-the-ear headphone design.

Seen below, the unnamed icon bears a striking resemblance to supposedly leaked photos of a high-end Apple headphone that sports a two earcups attached to a headband with metal arms. Leakers have claimed that pivots on the arms allow the earcups to swivel, similar to designs seen by Grado and Bang and Olufsen.

AirPods Studio Icon

A patent filing unearthed in September backs up those claims, detailing a headphone with unique features like proximity sensors for controlling playback. Separate reports claim a U1 chip will be included for orientation awareness.

"AirPods Studio" was rumored to launch in November, but that date was pushed back to March due to alleged production issues. Those problems might also result in the culling of key functionality, though it is unclear what features will be cut from the final design.

Apple has signaled that it will soon expand its audio device lineup. In October, for example, the company removed a swath of third-party headphones and smart speakers from the online Apple Store and physical Apple Store outlets. Apple sometimes pulls products that might compete with new and upcoming releases. In 2014, for example, the company ceased sales of Fitbit wearables following the release of Apple Watch.

8 Comments

supadav03 11 Years · 503 comments

The design, shape-wise is fine, but I really hope the outsides aren’t shiny chrome looking. That is just going to be a fingerprint magnet & look so gross on your head all smudged up. 

2 Likes · 0 Dislikes
crowley 16 Years · 10431 comments


Seen below, the unnamed icon bears a striking resemblance to supposedly leaked photos of a high-end Apple headphone that sports a two earcups attached to a headband with metal arms. 

Do they? They're both showing headphones I guess, but they look pretty significantly different to me.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
entropys 14 Years · 4397 comments

I am thinking of buying some solo pros (on a massive sale in Brisbane at the moment) as March is too far away.

mike1 11 Years · 3465 comments

supadav03 said:
The design, shape-wise is fine, but I really hope the outsides aren’t shiny chrome looking. That is just going to be a fingerprint magnet & look so gross on your head all smudged up. 

That finish was rumored to be a premium version, maybe stainless steel that is similar to the Apple Watch stainless steel finish

mike1 11 Years · 3465 comments

entropys said:
I am thinking of buying some solo pros (on a massive sale in Brisbane at the moment) as March is too far away.

I would buy these in a heartbeat for traveling, but alas, Don't foresee doing any flying before March anyway.