“Speaker maker Sonos Inc. is planning to expand beyond the home with high-end headphones, according to people familiar with the plans,” Mark Gurman and Debby Wu report for Bloomberg.
“The wireless, over-the-ear headphones are still in the early development stages and could be launched by next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private plans,” Gurman and Wu report. “High-end pairs often cost $300 or more, and Sonos is expected to target a similar price range, the people added.”
“Sonos will be competing in a growing but crowded headphone market that includes Bose Corp., Sennheiser, Apple Inc. unit Beats, and Skullcandy Inc.,” Gurman and Wu report. “Apple is planning its own over-ear headphones for as early as the second half of this year, people familiar with the plans told Bloomberg in June.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Makes sense for the world’s leading headphone maker to offer their own Apple-branded over-ear headphones.
SEE ALSO:
Apple is the world’s leading headphone maker – November 5, 2018
Eeeeshh,,,, So obvious it hurts… X 100 other products!
Quality band radio frequency quality headphones were available in the 1970s. Now I expect the transfer medium to be Bluetooth when Wireless Fidelity was the expected replacement back around 2000. Beats, Skullcandy, Bose, Sonos are not mid or high end. It’s best to look to those manufacturers that are part of the Hi-Rez groups that have their own manufacturing and technology capabilities as the wi-fi fits with those specifications of dynamic range, transient response and frequency response as well as the well worn out subjective review. Prices are coming down for spectacular music listening experience at prices that Apple would have for mediocre pop hardware, software and transmission down to the chip level.
Going with Bluetooth and simple correction algorithms make for a great deal of music on one storage unit but is terrible for any future expansion in which Apple would have to start over if it wants to remain competitive especially if one looks at the Far East and what is being manufactured there.
Wow, Apple releases the first $1,500 headphones. Cancels hobby headphones 1 year later.
The most expensive headphones in the world, including the amplifier, are over $50,000.
Apple doesn’t make particularly expensive products when compared to competitor’s similar products. Apple phones, for example cost about as much as Samsung’s comparable models. And Samsung is coming out with a foldable version that might go for as much as $1,500-$2,000.
I hope you don’t think $1500 is the most one can spend on a pair of cans. Maybe Apple will surprise with a planar magnetic offering at a reasonable price. Or maybe not.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. Beats is the worlds biggest headphone manufacturer. They are also quite profitable. What possible advantage can Apple gain with their own branded models?
The most expensive Beats model is the wireless Studio 3, at what is for high end phones, a rather modest $350. All I can see happening is Apple diluting that brand, and sucking sales away. To what purpose? Beats are sold everywhere now. I don’t see Apple getting more distribution then that.
Some of us would not be seen dead wearing Beats headphones that’s why………