On the same day that it announced the new $200 Fit Pro earbuds, which are receiving universal praise in early reviews, Apple’s Beats brand is thinning out the rest of its product lineup.
As noticed by MacRumors, the company has quietly discontinued the Powerbeats, noise-canceling Solo Pro headphones, and entry-level Beats EP headphones. All three products are no longer available directly from Apple, and while stock may remain at third-party retailers, they’ll be gone once current inventory is sold through.
A Beats spokesperson confirmed the news, but declined to go into detail on why these specific products have gotten the axe. It’s reasonable to speculate that their sales came in well below the company’s more established hits. Clearly the Powerbeats, introduced fairly recently in March 2020, couldn’t match the demand of the true wireless Powerbeats Pro.
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And in the case of headphones, over-ear mainstays like the Solo 3 and Studio 3 are still sticking around, while the on-ear Solo Pros — released after both of those pairs — are the first to be discontinued.
With these changes, according to Beats’ website, its product family now consists of the just-launched Fit Pro earbuds, Powerbeats Pro, Solo3, Studio3, and Beats Flex neckbuds at the bottom of the line. Aside from earbuds and headphones, the company also continues to sell its Pill Plus Bluetooth speaker.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/1/22758312/apple-discontinues-solo-pro-powerbeats-beats-ep