We’ve been waiting quite a while now for the new Beats Studio Pro and finally they seem to be coming. When can we expect them, but also, where are the AirPods Max 2?
Rumors about the Beats Studio Pro seem to be coming true. The headphones were noticed in a U.S. FCC document. These are the regulatory papers that are often handled just before a product’s launch. It is estimated that the new Beats will be released before this summer.
Apple Beats Studio, but no AirPods Max 2.
The new Beats Studio Pro are otherwise hardly a surprise. The headphones first surfaced in a leak in last month’s iOS beta. In the meantime, we did wonder if Apple was still working on over-ears instead of in-ears anyway.
That new Beats are really coming anyway makes sense, by the way; Beats Studio 3 came out six(!) years ago. After the first headphones went on sale in 2017, Apple did tweak a few things, but the essence of the concept hardly changed. Not surprisingly, the “old Beats” now feel quite outdated compared to the competition.
You can whistle for new Max for now
The same goes for the AirPods Max. We raved about the first version (despite the fact that it is quite heavy), but it is now time for its successor. However, it seems Apple has no plans to release it for now.
That makes sense, since you see the AirPods Max on the streets more and more (although not as popular as the AirPods Pro 2). There is simply no need yet for a new version, which would also likely cost more than 600 euros.
The overpriced AirPods Max. (Image: Super Snapper)
What we know about the new Beats
We don’t have exact specs yet, but previous leaks have suggested that the Beats Studio Pro will be a more affordable alternative to the aging AirPods Pro Max. Code discovered in the iOS 17 beta, for example, suggests that these headphones will get personalized spatial audio.
It also gets improved noise cancellation, indicating that it likely has the same H2 chip as the AirPods Pro 2 or a Beats variant thereof. That represents a huge upgrade over the Beats Studio 3, especially since this older technology does not support transparency mode, let alone anything more advanced.
The Beats Studio 3 was launched with a price tag of $399, and it is to be expected that the Beats Studio Pro will be priced similarly. That makes them considerably more affordable than Apple’s AirPods Max, which still cost 629 euros.
