iPhone 7 apparently debuting alongside new wireless EarPods by Beats

Oscar Raymundo for Macworld:

There’s a reason why the iPhone 7 is getting rid of the 3.5 mm headphone jack. According to 9to5Mac, Apple is developing new wireless EarPods powered by Beats. These Bluetooth-equipped earphones are rumored to debut in the fall alongside the new iPhone 7.

Apple’s $3B purchase of Beats is starting to make more and more sense. While company could have certainly built their music service from scratch (and in the case of Apple Music, they probably should have) and simply evolved the design of their existing headphones/ear pods, why not take a company that did both those things relatively well already and bring them into the fold?

Assuming that there’s any validity to all this, I’m interested to see what the headphones end up looking like. Will they retain the familiar Beats branding and style or are we going to start seeing the shift into a more Apple focused aesthetic?

While developing these new EarPods, Apple has reportedly done away with the mini-USB charging port that’s on the current Powerbeats Wireless. Instead the new EarPods will come with a carrying case that’s also a rechargeable battery to recharge the EarPods whenever they’re stored away.

Super cool idea, I hope we see some similarly efficient ideas from the iPhone itself.