Keeping a close eye on the players of the 2026 FIFA World Cup means you get to watch some excellent soccer, but lately, it also means getting tuned into the latest audio release ahead of everyone else.
As reported by AppleInsider, three players have been spotted wearing a mystery pair of over-ear Beats headphones. The headphones appear different from everything Beats has released before, featuring new colorways, ultra-thick ear cushions, and a slim outer speaker section.
The new headphones didn't come entirely out of left field, with an FCC filing from March showing that Apple had an unreleased pair of Bluetooth over-ear headphones in the works, as reported by MacRumors.
Who's been spotted with the new Beats headphones?
So far, we've seen three World Cup players don the headphones. The first tease came from Spanish player Lamine Yamal, who was spotted stepping off the plane in Tennessee on June 5 with not one, but two pairs of the Beats headphones — one that was entirely light pink, and one that was entirely cream.
The Spanish soccer star stepped out with two pairs of the unreleased Beats headphones. Credit: Getty Images / Coral Scoles-Coburn
He later posted the light pink pair of headphones on June 11, with the cans slung around the handle of his bag once more. This time, the picture was buried deep in an Instagram carousel.
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U.S. player Antonee Robinson was the next to post the headphones, posting a picture on June 14 of him wearing a two-toned pair of cans with a white exterior and dark blue ear cups. Zooming into the picture also shows what looks like a glint of metal on the adjustable part of the headband.
Robinson wore the Beats headphones ahead of the June 12 match up between the US and Paraguay. Credit: Getty Images / Credit: John Dorton/USSF
Finally, South Korean player Kang-in Lee also included two photos of himself wearing the headphones around his neck in a June 14 Instagram post. This time, the headphones had the same white exterior as Robinson's pair but featured neon yellow-green ear cushions. Once again, zooming in on the photo shows a glint of a metal-like adjustable arm of the headband.
Discerning eyes can spot the bright ear cushions of Lee's headphones under his hood as he heads to the June 11 match up of South Korea and Czechia. Credit: Getty Images / Credit: Julian Finney/ FIFA
Everything we know about the headphones so far
It's unclear so far whether these headphones are an updated design or limited-edition of an existing Beats product, or entirely new headphones. What we do know is that the brand's only pair of over-ear headphones, the Beats Studio Pro, were released in 2023, so an update isn't out of the question.
That said, it remains possible that Beats expands its lineup, possibly with a more premium pair of cans. It's a move Sony just pulled with their Collexion headphones. Plus, with the Studio Pros being $349.99, Beats has the room to grow — noise cancelling flagships from Sony, Bose, and Apple all sit in the $450 and up range.
As for the design of these headphones, there's some speculation as to whether the two-tone colorways spotted on Lee and Robinson indicate some kind of customizability for the headphones (which we have seen before). The headphones also feature USB-C charging and at least one on-ear tactile button. The possible metal section of the headband might suggest these headphones aren't foldable, which would be a deviation from the design of the Beats Studio Pro.
Beats loves to cater to a more athletic crowd (hence the venue for the tease out of these headphones), so it's also possible we'll see some built-in health features like the heart-rate monitoring included on last year's Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.
We've reached out to a Beats representative for comment and will update this article if we recieve more information.