The latest mobile operating software for iPhones and iPads was released earlier today, with iOS 13.3.1 primarily bringing fixes to things like bugs in Screen Time and the iOS Mail app. If you’ve got any of Apple’s recent iPhones or iPads, you should definitely update to the latest version of iOS right away. Meantime, an intriguing detail has also been revealed in tandem with this release — which has been found to include icons that seemingly give us a look at the design of Apple’s new Bluetooth earbuds, the Powerbeats 4 wireless earphones.
Based on the image found in the update that you can see below, it seems the Powerbeats 4 design will include elements of both the Powerbeats Pro and Powerbeats3 earbuds. It looks like we’ll be getting earhooks that wraparound, as well as an in-ear design with a wire connected to the earhook (though they will be Bluetooth).
The Powerbeats 4 are expected to include features along the lines of the AirPods 2 (and the Pro version) and should be priced in line with the previous generation — the Powerbeats 3 currently costing around $200. No word yet on a release date, though.
Apple on Tuesday made a big deal of touting its wearables business that includes products like these during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call, and for good reason. For the first time ever, revenue in this category has outpaced that of the Mac ($10 billion for the just-ended holiday quarter, compared to $7.1 billion+ that Apple garnered from Mac sales). During the company’s earnings call with analysts Tuesday afternoon, CEO Tim Cook raved that Apple’s wearables business is tantamount in size to that of a Fortune 150 company, which suggests it generates about $20 billion in annual revenue.
“With each Apple product that a customer buys, I think they get tighter into the ecosystem,” Cook said during the call. “That’s the reason that they’re buying into it– is they like the experience, the customer experience, and so from that point of view I think each of our products can drive another product.”
