If you've been anxiously awaiting Apple's new AirPods, you shouldn't have to wait much longer. Announced in September alongside the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the Bluetooth earbuds were originally supposed to launch in October.
The news comes from MacRumors, which received a copy of an email to Tim Cook demanding a release date for the device, and his response:
Customer's comment: "Give us a release date. I really bought in to the wireless vision you painted. Now I'm stuck waiting with my EarPods but can't charge my 7 at the same time which I need to do at work. Let us know if it's a month or 6 months, because then I'll just buy some other wireless headphones."
Tim Cook's response: "Thanks for your note. Sorry for the delay---we are finalizing them and I anticipate we will begin to ship over the next few weeks."
AirPods were supposed to be among the first devices to use Apple's new W1 processor, which would allow for an easier pairing process. But since the headphones were delayed at the end of October, two of the Beats-branded headsets - Solo3 and PowerBeats3 - have beat (pun intended) AirPods to market. In fact, the third Beats product to use the W1 - and the cheapest, BeatsX at $149 - is still listed as "coming this fall", while AirPods simply say "currently unavailable".
Apple notably removed the 3.5mm headphone jack when it launched this year's series of iPhones. While the company is aiming for a wireless world, it gave customers wired headphones anyway, which plug into the Lightning port. Of course, the firm will have a tough time pushing that wireless agenda until its flagship wireless products come to market.
13 Comments - Add comment