Apple's 2014 acquisition of Beats by Dre has finally paid off.  It is rumored to unveil premium wireless headphones in conjunction with the new IPhone release.

The new headphones from Apple are supposed to be "truly wireless".  This statement was confirmed by Endgadget as to mean that it will have no cables connecting the earpieces.  It will be positioned as a premium accessory with a rumored price of almost $300.

A key feature thought to be included is a noise-cancelling microphone. The mic delivers high-quality sound for voice calls.  It can also be used to comminunicate with Siri.  

Adding veracity to the wireless headphones rumor are the reports gathered by TIME from various news outlets that speculate Apple's next IPhone will be released without the traditional headphone jack.  It further states that users must plug in their existing headphones through the Lightning connector instead.  The headphones would come in a special case that serves as its container and charger.

In light of this development TIME asked Mark Gurman, an often-accurate Apple watcher, on his thoughts about the eventual fate of Apple's existing 3.5mm headphones.  He reassures users of the current headphones that the new wireless ones are being offered as a premium alternative due to its high price point.

Mark Gurman, in a separate post at 9to5Mac, has discovered that Apple has registered the "AirPods" trademark.  This has set the rumor mill running that the Cupertino company plans to call their new headphones by that name.

As to the when will Apple unveil their new headphones, Mr. Gurman says a fall launch together with the new IPhone is highly unlikely.  As the design requires twin wireless chips and separate batteries, a respectable battery life cannot be achieved without constant charging via the carrying case.  This issue with the battery and having the hardware still in development serves to further push back its release date.