- Upcoming Beats headphones make another appearance
- They appeared around the neck of the WC player again
- Fans are trying to come to terms with that color
When currently unannounced Beats headphones were spotted in social media posts from Spanish player Lamine Yamal ahead of the 2026 World Cup, I said “there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more of them”. Well, I called it because it happened again.
A series of Instagram posts from South Korea midfielder Lee Kang-in, released to celebrate the team’s 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in its first match of the tournament, honors the same Beats headphones we saw before.
But this time, instead of a pink shade, they come in white and… a neon yellow, I will politely not refer to as ‘Sourz vomit’, although it looks like the result of an alcopop to many. However, how can you describe it other than ‘slime’ or ‘puke’?
I know what you’re thinking: maybe they gave it to Lee to match his team’s colors? No, South Korea will play in red and black with an occasional violet-slanted-lavender away kit for the 2026 World Cup.
Some commentators are using this peculiar color combination as evidence that the cans will have interchangeable cups, and they’re clearly hoping that Beats will let them ditch the pads for something else, but it feels like reaching for straws.
There’s no actual evidence for this, and the faint hint of a yellow headband behind Lee’s neck suggests it’s just two-tone cans, rather than a choice on his part.
The view gives us a better look at the rounded construction of these new cans, which replace the noughties-chic of Beats’ previous cans with a CMF headphone-like layered construction. In addition to the color options selected, they actually look quite soft.
The most appealing part of the redesign for me is the band, which looks much thinner than before, and circular, so it will potentially be much more comfortable to wear. We’ll have to see, but a launch is likely to come hot on the heels of this World Cup catwalk.
Has anyone outside of a World Cup team used them yet?
Just like when we saw them with Lamine Yamal, Lee Kang-in isn’t actually snapped using the new Beats headphones, even though he keeps them closer to his person.
While Yamal held them at arm’s length, hooked them to his bag and was only photographed with them around his neck once, Lee has them around his neck several times.
None of these footballers have been seen actually using the new Beats headphones. Maybe owning, but not actually using, headphones is the fashionable thing to do. Or maybe they saw our critical Beats Solo 4 review and want to keep the new pair at arm’s length.
It’s unlikely that Apple has chosen two specific players out of hundreds to give its headphones to, so as the group stage of the World Cup progresses, we’re likely to see more sightings of the Beats.
We’ve seen pink and white-yellow, and hopefully we’ll see a few more color options pop up.
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