Apple may be on the verge of launching the Beats Powerbeats 4, based on a US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing that depicts a pair of wireless earphones, called 'Power Beats Wireless' – which look awfully similar to the Powerbeats 3.
We've been expecting an announcement about a new pair of Beats running headphones for a while now, with rumors flying since an icon for the neckbuds was discovered in the latest version of iOS 13.
- Read our Beats Powerbeats Pro review
- Or, check out the Beats Powerbeats 3
- These are the best wireless earbuds you can buy in 2020
The filing describes a pair of wireless headphones with an integrated battery, microphone, and antenna, which feature a Lightning port for charging, red and white LEDs, and integrated volume up and down buttons.
The earbuds feature large earhooks and a neckbud design which connects the two buds themselves, but ditch the cable that connects to your audio source.
While Apple is yet to confirm the existence of the Powerbeats 4, let alone a release date, it's possible that the Powerbeats 4 could be announced alongside the rumored Apple over-ear headphones that we're expecting to launch in the first half of this year.
Ideal running headphones?
The diagrams included in the FCC filing corroborates with an icon found within the latest version of iOS 13 .
The icon, which was discovered by MacRumors, also gave us a glimpse of what the new Apple earbuds will look like – and it appears that the company has taken inspiration from the true wireless Powerbeats Pro when designing the new earbuds.
If these are the rumored Powerbeats 4, it looks like they'll sport a more curved ear hook than their predecessors, the Powerbeats 3. That curved ear hook is one reason we awarded the Powerbeats Pro four out five stars in our review, contributing to an immaculate fit that makes them ideal running headphones.
This wasn't the first time that iOS 13 revealed detailed about the upcoming Beats headphones. In December, 9to5Mac, found strings (sequences of characters) within the newly released iOS 13.3 code that show the Powerbeats 4 will come with 'Hey Siri' support.
This is a feature found in Apple headphones that contain the H1 chip, including the 2019 AirPods, the new AirPods Pro, and the Beats PowerBeats Pro true wireless earbuds.
As well as allowing you to summon Siri with your voice alone, the H1 chip provides Apple earbuds with lightning-fast connectivity and better battery life than the original 2016 AirPods.
Apple hasn't yet confirmed the existence of the Beats Powerbeats 4, so it's worth taking this all with a pinch of salt. However, FCC filings are a fairly good indicator that a product is nearing the end of its pre-production run, and could therefore soon be released to the public.
