Back in April, Jon Prosser suggested the Beats name would soon be retired by Apple for all of its audio products. Though not everyone agreed with this assessment, today's announcement that the Beats 1 Apple Music radio station was being rebranded suggests the sometimes controversial man in the know might have been onto something.
On Tuesday, Beats 1 was rebranded Apple Music 1. Additionally, two new radio stations on the subscription-based Apple Music service were revealed, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country. The changes were made beginning at 9 a.m. PDT, today, August 18.
Months ago, Luke Filipowicz said, "good riddance" to the Beats name, a position that sounds about right. Since acquiring Beats Electronics in 2014, Apple has steadily improved the Beats product lineup to match the hype. At the same time, it released a popular line-up of Apple-branded audio products, including AirPods, AirPods Pro, and HomePod. There's no doubt "Apple" bests "Beats" in name recognition, and streamlining the company's audio lineup makes sense.
As the shift from Beats 1 to Apple Music 1 shows, any current Beats product name change would be seamless and probably won't come until new models arrive, perhaps as early as this fall. Some name changes would be easier to make than others, however.
The BeatsX, urBeats3, and Beat EP are probably history, while the Powerbeats and Powerbeats Pro could live on with "Apple" in each product's name. Something tells me the Solo Pro, Beats Solo 3 Wireless, and Beats Studio 3 Wireless will all ditch "Solo," and rebrand with "AirPods" in the name. Finally, the Beats Pill+ is likely to morph into a lower-priced HomePod.
We should find out whether Apple retires the Beats name entirely soon enough, as the company is expected to begin announcing new products starting next month and into October. In the meantime, you can subscribe to Apple Music at anytime online and through your mobile devices, including Android!
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