The AirPods may finally be available to buy, but another high-profile Apple headphone won't see the light of day until 2017.
Apple on Tuesday confirmed that the BeatsX neckband-style wireless sports earphones would be delayed until February. Rumors to that effect first circulated Monday.
Without giving a reason for the delay, Apple PR simply sent CNET a link to the updated BeatsX product page, which now lists February as the ship date.
Beats had updated its on-ear Beats Solo3 Wireless and Beats Powersbeats3 wireless sports headphones with Apple's new custom Bluetooth chip, the W1, which is more energy-efficient and boosts battery life significantly. However, the $150 BeatsX is a totally new model that was designed with the help of Apple engineers.
CNET is one of the few publications to have gotten an early look -- and listen -- to the BeatsX. I was impressed with the new headphone and thought it could be a cheaper, better alternative to the AirPods. It does sound better, with substantially more bass response.
In other words: You might want to hold on to those Apple Store gift cards for a couple of months.