Apple is rumored to be preparing a set of over-the-ear headphones for release in the first half of 2020 following the raging success of the AirPod.
The information was revealed in a report by reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who reported on a tsunami of new products coming from Cupertino in the first half of 2020.
Even while Apple has Beats making over-ears cans, it makes a lot of sense for the company to release their own.
First, to capitalize on the attraction power of the Apple brand. Sure, the company’s Beats is a popular brand on its own right but, next to Apple — the most valuable and recognized brand in the entire world — they are nothing. Beats’ headphones — including its own AirPods Pro competitors — are a market tick compared to Cupertino’s, which have taken over the world and have become synonymous with and the gold standard for wireless earbuds.
Then there's the fact that the over-ear headphone market is very lucrative. Apple will make a killing out of a new product in this space, especially since it can draw from its Beats experience and R&D.
And lastly, Apple’s wearables are the main driver of Cook’s company revenue and profit. According to its latest financial results, their winnings are off the charts. It’s logical to expect for Apple to keep expanding this category.
The german magazine Curved did a great job at imagining this beast a couple of years ago. Their concept designers channeled Apple’s design language and got inspired by the HomePod design (see above), which kind of makes a lot of sense. For all its sound and Siri failures, the HomePod’s design excels.
The German magazine also speculates that Apple may include displays on the sides — seen here with the Siri animation — which may seem dumb but, come on, you know you want them. Or at least I can imagine all the cool kids wanting cool displays on the sides, especially if Apple allowed users to customize them with graphics, animations, animojis and whathaveyou.
It could be one of those little details that are completely superfluous but mark the difference between nice and “oooooh, awesome” for many people.
The design also imagines the way these headphones would charge. Following the AirPods example, they may come with a wireless charging method as pictured above. That will make sense, but I would like them to have a USB-C port, too, because — unlikes with the AirPods case — you can’t take that charging pod with you.
Of course, this is just speculation and Apple may go in a completely different direction but, as far as concept designs go, the alleged 2020 Apple Headphones may very well look quite similar to this.
