It looks like Beats’ first true wireless earbuds since the PowerBeats Pro (pictured above) are nearly ready for showtime.
After popping up in various places in recent weeks, the Beats Studio Buds have now emerged in the Taiwanese National Communications Commission (NCC) database, as spotted by MacRumors.
Although part of the Apple family since 2014, Beats has retained its own identity and it doesn’t look like the Beats Studio Buds will be rebadged AirPods. The look is wholly different, as you can see from the photos, with a stemless design. That compact build ensures they won’t take up much space, as the accompanying angle ruler for scale demonstrates.
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Another picture shows a single Beats Studio Bud without a tip, suggesting that multiple options will be provided to ensure a snug fit and better noise isolation.
Both the Beats Studio Buds and the accompanying charging case (pictured below) have a prominent Beats logo embossed upon them.
Interestingly, the accompanying document states that the case will charge via USB-C, and not Apple’s proprietary Lightning cable which is not only used for AirPods and iPhones, but also the PowerBeats Pro. That’s perhaps a sign that, going forward, Apple sees Beats as the way of reaching users beyond the Apple ecosystem.
Although pictured in black here, MacRumors says that Beats Studio Buds will also be available in red and white colour schemes. Indeed, we’ve already had a look at the white version, which basketball star and Beats enthusiast LeBron James carelessly wore in an Instagram photo shoot shared with his 87 million followers last month.
It’s not unusual for companies to share products with celebrity evangelists ahead of time, and you may remember Apple’s Mac Pro appearing in one of DJ Calvin Harris’ Instagram Stories before it officially launched. Given James gifted the entire USA basketball team Beats headphones back in 2008, it’s perhaps unsurprising that he’d get first dibs on product samples.
We’ve reached out to Beats for comment on the leaked Studio Buds and will update this piece when we get a response.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.