Is Apple working on a new line of high-quality headphones?

When Apple bought Beats for more than $3 billion in 2014, they acquired the entire line of Beats headphones, which immediately became staple products in all their stores.

Beats ‘phones are popular, but they’re awful. Terrible. A waste of money. They’re bassy, inaccurate and don’t provide a satisfying listening experience when compared to headphones sold at similar prices. In fact, you can find a ton of models for less that sound much, much better than a pair of Beats.

But with the introduction of HomePod, Apple seems to have acquired some new mojo when it comes to sound reproduction and speakers. HomePod speakers by all accounts sound fantastic and use some pretty nifty technology to drive a lot of audio out of a tiny box.

Now there’s a rumour that Apple is using what they learned designing HomePod to come up with headphones that will “be as convenient as AirPods with better sound quality.” The report goes on today that the new ‘phones might be as ready as the fourth quarter of this year.

Read more at The Verge and the original report here. Meanwhile, stay away from Beats. They’re not worth the money.