Beats Actually Released New Products This Week After All

Apple didn’t mention them during its Gather Round keynote, but the company actually did release new Beats products on Wednesday.

To be clear, the new Beats aren’t new or refreshed products. Instead, they’re new color options for current-generation Beats headphones and earphones to match Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup.

While it’s a small addition to the Beats lineup, the color update does fly in the face of a previous rumor that suggested no new Beats products would be unveiled.

Specifically, new colors were announced for two products, one of which is the premium Beats Solo 3 over-ear headphones lineup.

The $300 Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones now come in sleek and sophisticated satin gold and satin silver — matching the color options for the premium OLED iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max handsets.

But Beats also took the opportunity to debut new earphones to match the colorful new shades of Apple’s mid-range iPhone XR.

The urBeats 3 earphones, which cost $60, will come in yellow, blue and coral, matching three of the six new color options for the iPhone XR.

Additionally, the new urBeats will also sport a Lightning connector so users can plug them directly into their iPhone XR handsets without a Lightning to 3.5mm dongle. (Perhaps because Apple is no longer packaging those adapters with new iPhones.)

Going back to that previous rumor, it isn’t clear whether Beats will actually debut new generations of any of its products this year.

While it’s too early to tell, an October special keynote might be on the docket for this year. If new Beats are indeed coming, then they’ll probably launch alongside other pending products — like new iPad Pro models, new Macs and the still-MIA AirPower charging mat.

The Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones are currently shipping and are available at brick-and-mortar Apple Store locations, while the new colors of the Lightning-based urBeats 3 will launch later this fall.