#Apple releases highly-anticipated, secret Beats earbuds

After years of anticipation and weeks of rumors, Apple has finally released the Beats Studio Buds. 

The existence of the secret headphones — which Apple sleuths have been excitedly expecting since 2014 — was at last confirmed on Monday when they also became available to order. The sleek new ear gear costs $149.99 on Apple.com and comes in the classic Beats colors of black, white and red. They will begin to ship on June 24 and are also available on pre-order via Amazon and Walmart. 

“Studio Buds is our tiniest, most subtle form factor to date, yet keeps Beats’ promise of delivering an immersive sound experience in a beautiful design,” said Beats and Apple Music vice president Oliver Schusser in a press release. “In building a product this small, every minute detail was considered, analyzed and selected to optimize for sound quality, comfort and durability.” 

The Buds feature one-touch pairing, have up to eight hours of battery life and two listening modes, active noise canceling mode and Transparency mode, the latter for “when you need to hear the world around you,” according to the press release. 

To experience the full capacity of the technology, Beats head of acoustics Todd Parker recommends listening to Saweetie’s “Best Friend,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” and Daft Punk’s “Doin’ It Right.” 

Ahead of Monday’s announcement, various celebrities were spotted sporting the previously unreleased gear, including LeBron James and soccer star Alex Morgan. Apple obsessives have also found evidence of the headphones’ development in Federal Communications Commission’s reports and internal reference numbers over the years. 

“The Beats Studio Buds might be the most leaked earbuds in the history of earbuds that have leaked,” postulated one industry website on Friday. “They’re a thing, but they aren’t. They will be, but they aren’t yet. Except they are because people keep having their photos taken while they’re wearing them. But they aren’t a thing yet.”