Apple AirPods Studio price leaked: think very, very expensive

(Image credit: Jon Prosser (via Twitter))

Tech analyst Jon Prosser has a solid track record when it comes to Apple-centric leaks. So today's hot tip is disappointing for anyone eagerly awaiting Apple's 'Hi, Speed' iPhone 12 launch event and expecting the first, official glimpse of its AirPods Studio over-ear wireless headphones.

Prosser's tweet doesn't simply suggest that the premium, noise-cancelling cans will be absent at the iPhone 12 unveiling on 13th October, either. His biggest piece of news is that when the AirPods Studio headphones do arrive, they might just be some of the priciest noise-cancelling headphones we've seen.

According to Prosser, the "luxury variant" leather and metal AirPods Studio headphones will retail for an eye-wateringly expensive $599 – but there will also be a "sport-like" variant, "made of cheaper materials" launching for $350.

AirPods Studio 🎧 The renders that I shared last month seem to be the luxury variant — made of leather/metal.I’m being told they’ll retail for.... $599 😳There will be another sport-like variant made of cheaper materials for $350.They WILL NOT be at the October 13 event. https://t.co/awunRlGrD4 pic.twitter.com/le2cfmlC9POctober 9, 2020

If true, that $599 price-point (approx. £460, AU$827) would make the AirPods Studio around $200 more expensive than the excellent – and What Hi-Fi? 2020 Award-winning – Sony WH-1000XM4, also known as the best noise-cancelling headphones you can currently buy, in our opinion.

A $249 price disparity between the premium and sport models would also be a big surprise, and it makes us highly curious as to what the key differences between the headphones could be.

And why the launch hold up? Well, as spotted by our friends at Tom's Guide, Prosser's source stated that the AirPods Studio won't enter mass production until 20th October, which Prosser supposes makes the new flagship headphones too late for the iPhone 12 event.

As always, when we know more, so shall you...

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Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.

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