Chase Bernath / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple submitted two FCC fillings at the beginning of April, which we assume are for the Beats Studio Buds Plus.
- The filings are for wireless earbuds with model numbers A2871 and A2872.
- We suspect an official announcement this summer.
It seems Apple’s next set of earbuds won’t be a pair of AirPods but, instead, a pair of Beats. Apple owns Beats, and the Cupertino company submitted FCC filings earlier this month for the Beats Studio Buds Plus. These filings list separate model numbers for each earbud (A2871 and A2872).
Apple released the Beats Studio Buds on June 24, 2021, so we expect a June debut for the Studio Buds Plus too. According to 9to5Mac, the Studio Buds Plus will support automatic device switching, “Hey, Siri,” and audio sharing when paired to an iPhone. The Beats Studio Buds had these features, so it makes sense for Apple to retain them on the newer buds. Similar to the original earbuds, the Beats Studio Buds Plus likely will not house Apple’s proprietary H2 chip. Instead, we may see another MediaTek chip like the first-generation Studio Buds.
Without an H2 chip, it’s unlikely the Studio Buds Plus will support features like battery life optimization or spatial audio with head tracking. However, we can expect active noise canceling (ANC) as before. Likewise, we anticipate a slightly bass-heavy sound profile. Hopefully, Apple will improve the ANC on the Studio Buds Plus since it was not very powerful with the original earbuds.
That said, the Beats Studio Buds are a great set of earbuds for listeners who hop between iOS and Android. Hopefully, the Studio Buds Plus will work equally well on both operating systems. If you don’t want to wait around for the Studio Buds Plus rumors to continue to trickle out, the Studio Buds are a great deal. You can usually snag a pair of the original earbuds for less than $100, and they currently cost $99 at Amazon.
The Beats Studio Buds retailed for $149 and came in three colorways (black, grey, and red). This will probably be the case with the second-generation earbuds.
