Pill

Apple TV 4 isn’t the only new hardware coming out of Cupertino today. Announced earlier this month, the new Beats Pill+ is now available to order for $229 in black or white finishes. The new portable Bluetooth speaker is the first new design to come out of Beats since Apple bought the headphones and speaker company last for $3 billion last year in part to use its Beats Music service as the foundation for Apple Music. The rechargeable speaker uses a Lightning port and cable, the same as iPhones, to power up for up to 12 hours of use.
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[Update 10/26: Now available for pre-order with early delivers shipping tomorrow.]

Since being acquired by Apple for $3 billion just over a year ago, we haven’t seen much in terms of new hardware from the speaker company aside from new colored headphones and a wireless version of the Solo 2’s. Beats’ most expensive speaker, the Pill XL, was actually recalled and taken off the market after a fire risk when charging was discovered. But as we get in to the holiday season, Beats is finally ready to show off its first totally new piece of hardware created since joining Apple. A step up from the current Pill 2.0 but still smaller and more portable than the discontinued Pill XL, the new Beats Pill+ features a new design and comes equipped with a Lightning port for charging, a first for Beats products.
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According to a new report from Variety, Beats was developing a line of Sonos-like speakers before it was acquired by Apple. When the Apple acquisition occurred, development of the connected speakers was stopped, according to the report. Some of the engineers that were working on the project were moved to other teams, while others have since left the company.

The line of speakers that Beats had planned was originally slated to launch before the 2014 holiday season. While the company already offers several Bluetooth-based speakers, the company wanted to develop a new line that combined Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC technologies to allow for more seamless playback. Beats was planning a large, living room speaker that was reportedly going to be priced at around $750, as well as several smaller, more affordable options.

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