New Beats Pill speaker rumbles closer after appearance in FCC database

LeBron James with a Beats Pill

Following sightings of an as-yet unannounced Beats Pill speaker, details have appeared in the FCC's regulatory database, suggesting a launch is imminent.

For a speaker that Beats and Apple discontinued in 2022 — after seven years on sale — the Beats Pill keeps briefly coming back in various special editions. Now it looks certain that the speaker will return to the Beats lineup, and most probably soon.

The latest evidence of this is the listing on the Federal Communications Commission's regulatory website. The database lists very many of the reports typically produced during FCC testing, although Apple has requested confidentiality over other documents, probably including ones showing diagrams or full technical descriptions.

Label artwork with oval design, centered 'beats' text in red, surrounded by alignment guides and center markers.

The only diagram shown in the publicly-accessible FCC database is this one indicating where the regulator's label will go

While the device has passed FCC testing, it does not mean that there is any specific timescale before the product is launched. However, it would be unusual for Apple to apply for testing if it did not intend to launch for some time.

Plus the device itself has now been spotted in use by celebrities who have been provided with the Beats Pill by Apple ahead of the launch. They include LeBron James, and F1's Daniel Ricciardo.

The return of the Beats Pill is significant, because at present the company sells only headphones and earbuds, not speakers.