UPDATED 03:05 EDT / JANUARY 11 2016

NEWS

Apple, Beats working on wireless ‘AirPod’ headphones, rumored to launch with iPhone 7

Apple, together with Beats Electronics, is working on a new set of Bluetooth, wireless headphones with a potential release date alongside the much-rumored iPhone 7, according to 9to5Mac.

Sources say that the completely wireless “earbud” headphones will be similar to Motorola, Inc.’s Hint headset or Bragi’s new Dash earbuds (pictured above) that were revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week.

Apple, or rather a company called Entertainment in Flight, LLC that Apple has used in the past when filing patents, filed a patent for the name “AirPods” on September 22, 2015, and this is likely to be the name used for Apple’s new headset.

Similar to Bragi’s Dash earbuds with a built-in call-answering button, the rumored Apple AirPods will have similar functionality to activate Siri and manage calls. The accessory will include a noise-cancelling microphone system, and similar to both Motorola and Bragi, Apple is likely to design different-sized ear sleeves.

The rumored wireless headphones will not feature a charging port but will rather come with a carrying case that doubles as a rechargeable battery to power up your headphones when not in use.

The rumored AirPods will reportedly sell separately as a premium alternative accessory to the iPhone 7’s Lightning-enabled EarPods.

Rumors have been making the rounds that the iPhone 7 will not have the standard 3.5mm headphone jack but rather a Lighting connector.

Unwanted upgrade?

With the news becoming less of a rumor and more of a definite, iPhone users are becoming furious. A petition, which has already attracted 227,843 signatures at the time of writing, is available on Sum of Us in an attempt to avoid the loss of the headphone jack.

The petition states, “Apple is ditching the standard headphone jack to screw consumers and the planet.”

If you feel strongly about the lack of the headphone jack on your next iPhone, you can add your signature to the petition on Sum of Us.

In addition to the loss of the headphone jack, other rumors include the loss of the Home button, a water-resistant design and the incorporation of the Touch ID sensor into the iPhone’s display. There is also a new Liquidmetal chassis and an A10 processor with 3GB of RAM. The iPhone 7 Plus is also rumored to have a larger 3,100mAh battery and 256GB of internal storage.

Image via: Bragi

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