Apple Preparing to Release New Beats Charging Cables

Apple is preparing to sell new Beats-branded charging cables, according to placeholder product listings on a handful of reseller websites in Canada and Europe.

There are listings for three different 5-foot/1.5-meter cables, including USB-C to USB-C, USB-C to Lightning, and USB-C to USB-A variants. All of the cables have a tangle-free, braided design for extra durability and convenience. The cables will be available in at least three never-before-seen color options, including Bolt Black, Surge Stone, and Rapid Red, and it appears that they will be sold in one-pack and two-pack varieties.

The USB-C to USB-C cable supports 60W fast charging, and it has USB 2.0 data transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps, according to one of the listings.

Here is the full product description for that cable:

Elevate your charging game and ditch the tangles, kinks and frays with our new reinforced braided cables. This package includes two 1.5-meter Beats USB-C to USB-C woven charging cables.

Key Selling Points
• Each cable is made with a tangle-free woven design for extra durability and convenience.
• Beats cables undergo thousands of hours of testing throughout the design and manufacturing process and are reinforced to help prevent fraying.
• Compatible with all USB-C Apple and Android devices, the braided cables are built for charging, syncing, audio, CarPlay, and transferring data.
• The cable lets you charge USB-C compatible Beats headphones or speakers while you listen to audio or stream lossless audio.
• They support fast charging of up to 60 watts and can transfer data at USB 2.0 rates. For fast, efficient charging, pair a USB-C cable with a USB-C power adapter and conveniently charge your compatible iPhone or other devices from a wall outlet.
• USB-C power adapter not included.

The cables were added to one reseller's website on Monday, March 24, while another lists an estimated in-stock date of Tuesday, April 8, but it is unclear if that date is accurate. Apple and Beats have yet to make any official announcements.

The USB-C to USB-C cable is listed at $24.95 in Canadian dollars, so it could be priced below $20 in U.S. dollars on Apple's online store.

The cables are designed for use with Apple devices, Android devices, and Beats headphones and speakers, according to the listings. However, they do not have any unique features compared to other equivalent cables, aside from having Beats branding. For Apple, the cables would help to boost the company's accessories revenue.

Apple acquired Beats in 2014, in part to gain access to the Beats Music app's underlying technologies, which helped it to launch the Apple Music streaming service the following year. Apple also gained ownership of the popular line of Beats headphones and speakers, and it released the first-ever Beats-branded iPhone cases last year. Now, it looks like Beats-branded cables will be the latest chapter of the story.

Update March 28: Based on additional reseller information, it appears these cables will be available in both 1.5m and 20cm lengths, although we have only seen the shorter version in the Bolt Black color. We have also seen a fourth Nitro Navy color for the 1.5m USB-C to USB-C cable, and it's unclear if that color option extends to the USB-A and Lightning cables.