After having been spotted at a Walmart store in New York yesterday, the Powerbeats earphones have officially debuted today (via The Verge) for $149.95. Beats claims its latest wireless earphones can stay up to 15 hours of listening time, among other capabilities.
The Powerbeats actually look like the truly wireless Powerbeats Pro announced in April of last year. However, the latest earphones use a neckband design, allowing you to hang these around your neck.
The new earphones succeed the legacy Powerbeats 3 and pack a number of upgrades from their predecessor. Aside from the longer listening time (from 12 hours in the Powerbeats3), the latest Powerbeats are powered by Apple’s H1 (the same chip used for the Powerbeats Pro). This allows for quick pairing and hands-free “Hey Siri” controls.
With the Fast Fuel technology, the earphones can be charged for five minutes to give these up to 1.5 hours of playback. And while the Powerbeats do not come with a charging case, these are shipped with a Lightning cable instead. The earphones are also compatible with iOS" Audio Sharing feature, which means you can pair two sets of Beats headphones to an iPhone.
There’s a power button on the left earbud while the right earpiece has the volume rocker, track, and call controls. Available in black, red, and white color options, the Powerbeats will go on sale on March 18 via Apple, Best Buy, and other retailers.