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Apple Announces New Line of Beats Headphones With W1 Wireless Chip

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Apple and Beats today announced a new line of wireless Beats by Dre headphones powered by Apple's new W1 chip. The chip allows the new headphones, like Apple's new AirPods, to take advantage of easy, instant pairing to an iPhone.

beats
The new Beats Solo3, Powerbeats3 and BeatsX can be paired to an iPhone by powering them up and holding them near an iPhone. The headphones will pair with your iPhone and simultaneously connect to your Apple Watch and Mac.

The Solo3 and Powerbeats3 are updates to Beats' two signature lines of headphones: the over-the-head casual listening Solo line and the athletically-focused Powerbeats line. The BeatsX, however, are a new line of headphones aimed at being a more mobile everyday pair of headphones.

All three headphones come with Fast Fuel, a fast-charging solution that can deliver more power with 5 minutes of charging. 5 minutes of charging delivers 3 hours of playback for the Solo3, 2 hours of playback for the BeatsX and an hour of playback for the Powerbeats3.

The Solo3 headphones are available for $299 on Apple.com. The Powerbeats3 and BeatsX will be available for $199 and $149, respectively, later this year.

Top Rated Comments

NT1440 Avatar
125 months ago
How much you want to bet Apple will block wireless headphones that have not been licensed to use the W1 chip?
Block how??

As in not allowing Bluetooth devices that aren't Apple/Beats? That's a firm no. Silly idea at best.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fall Under Cerulean Kites Avatar
125 months ago

NO to removing the 3.5mm audio jack. You can leave those fancy AirPods to the portrait video shooting generation.
No kidding! Oh hold on. Someone’s calling my land line and call waiting is clicking. I think my modem is going to drop………. #*(&*(&#JKLH889u3klj&*(#il#y879#HIUA#hiu #*& 7#&**&#H&*H*#&
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fall Under Cerulean Kites Avatar
125 months ago
So is Apple gonna have a whole alphabet of chips now? Geez.
Interesting question. What naming scheme would you propose? Certainly you must have a better idea!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
124 months ago
I'm a little confused also. If you look here ('http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MNEN2LL/A/beats-solo3-wireless-on-ear-headphones-gloss-black?cid=app_Solo3Wireless_HomePage_US_AOS_Solo3Wireless') at the specs, it looks like just plain old BT.



If you scroll down to the compatibility section is lists about every Apple BT device ever all the way back to the first iPhone. So I'm confused about what this M1 chip is adding to the picture?
It looks like (at least for newer devices running iOS10) that the W1 chip dramatically increases battery life in the headphones (from 12 to 40 hours for the Solo 3s) and makes the setup process easier. Now when you pair with one device it automatically pairs it with all of your others.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
124 months ago
For those of you who were hoping for new Macs I feel deeply sorry for you. Even if I don't care about Macs. You were always mentioning it.
If you don't care about Macs, what is your preferred computer operating system? Nothing beats the elegance of Macs, but Linux comes very close.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
124 months ago
I'm actually pretty bummed they don't use lightning to charge. Seems like a rather odd choice. Still gotta keep that mini-micro-whateveritis USB cable around :(
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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