14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is building its very own high-end headphones to compete with the likes of Sony and Bose, but according to a new report, the company is struggling with a number of design issues hitting the internal prototypes.
Bloomberg writes that the headphones are specifically aimed at the premium market, but according to people familiar with the matter, the company has a hard time completing the design.
No specifics were provided, but the cited source says this isn’t entirely unusual, as similar challenges were encountered when designing the HomePod as well, though it’s not clear if this could lead to a delay of the headphones or not.
It appears, however, the work on this new headset has been “on-and-off over the past year,” and currently all options are being considered, including even killing off the project entirely. There’s a chance, however, that Apple will evaluate some other designs as well.
$500 price tag?
As for specifics on the headset, they’re missing nearly entirely, though previous reports indicated there’s a good chance Apple is going for features like wireless support and noise cancelling technology. This is something to be expected from high-end headphones, but Bloomberg claims that wireless pairing functionality similar to the one of the AirPods is likely to be offered.
Apple is reportedly trying to compete against Bose and Sony with this new product, so pricing could be similar to their flagship devices, which today is approximately $350. Apple would obviously charge a premium for the headphones, and some sources suggest that a $500 price tag is very likely.
As with everything Apple, the company hasn’t dropped a single hint about a new high-end headset, but more information is expected to surface in the coming months. The target now appears to be the holiday season of 2018, so Apple could at least preview the headphones in the fall when the new iPhone generation will also be introduced.