Earlier this week, we walked through everything we know so far about Apple’s rumored over-ear headphones. One of the details that will likely go unknown until an official announcement is how much these will cost. What would you be willing to pay?
As we wrote yesterday, Apple’s Beats and AirPods products provide a potential glimpse at how Apple prices its over-ear headphones. AirPods Pro retail for $249, whereas Beats Solo Pro go for $299. Theoretically, Apple’s over-ear headphones will cost even more than that, perhaps at $349 or $399.
We were overall positive on the Beats Solo Pro in our review last year, but noted some comfort issues that could potentially be solved by the over-ear design of Apple’s headphones.
Compared to the rest of Apple’s lineup, that might seem pricey, but when you zoom out and look at the competition, it makes more sense. The Bose QuietComfort 35 retail for $349, whereas the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 retail for $399. Sony’s WH1000XM3 over-ear headphones retail for $350 as well.
Apple’s over-ear headphones have to offer the sound quality to justify their high-end branding and price point, and we don’t yet know anything about the audio hardware inside Apple’s over-ear headphones. But with that in mind, we also know that there will be value in how Apple’s headphones integrate with iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.
We expect Apple’s over-ear headphones to feature the latest H1 chip for fast pairing and switching between devices — if not an even newer version of the chip. This means you’ll be able to switch playback between your Apple products with ease, as well as access “Hey Siri” for hands-free control.
Other things to expect include noise cancellation, Transparency mode, a magnetic design for customization, and more. Check out our full roundup from yesterday for all of the details.
What would pay for Apple’s over-ear headphones? Let us know in the poll below and down in the comments!
