Hey LeBron, is that a new Beats Pill speaker by any chance?

By Simon Cohen Published April 21, 2024

LeBron James carrying what looks like a new Beats Pill speaker. — L.A. Lakers / Instagram

If you’ve been hoping that Beats would one day see fit to bring back its Pill portable Bluetooth speaker, then take a moment and cast your eyes on the silver object dangling from LeBron James’ hand in the above photo.

A video of the L.A. Lakers superstar casually walking through the rain in a black hoodie was posted to the L.A. Lakers’ Instagram Reel on April 20, and I have it on good authority from a very reliable source that LeBron is sporting an as-yet-unreleased next-gen Beats Pill.

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What’s it going to be called? How much will it cost? And when will it be available? All unknown at the moment, but I suspect it won’t be much longer before we have the answers.

If you watch the short video, you’ll also notice what looks like a very Pill-shaped carrying case in LeBron’s other hand. Could this be a new accessory for carrying a new Beats Pill speaker? It’s yet another unanswered question we’ll be looking to clarify in the coming weeks.

As a reminder, Beats launched the original Pill speaker in 2012, back in the days before Apple acquired the company. In 2013, it was replaced by the Pill 2 and was joined by the larger Pill XL. After the acquisition in 2014, Beats added the Pill Plus in 2015, which would turn out to be the last new model.Beats quietly pulled all Pill speakers from its lineup in 2022.

Beats Pill e in black. — Beats

With the exception of a brief and extremely limited-run reappearance when Beats released a Pill Plus co-branded with surf- and street-style brand Stussy, the Pill has been effectively extinct for almost two years.

Beats Stüssy Pill+ limited edition speaker. — Beats / Beats

Why would Beats want to revive the Pill now? For one thing, portable Bluetooth speakers remain very popular. No only are there excellent options from value-oriented brands like Soundcore, but higher-profile companies like Marshall, Klipsch, and Sony are all vying for a piece of the portable pie. For a brand with a loyal following like Beats, it just makes sense to be in that mix.

And there’s the fact that it’s spring, with summer just around the corner, making it a perfect time of year for grabbing a portable speaker, whether it’s for a road trip, a cottage vacation, or just chilling in your own backyard.

Regardless, keep an eye on this space — we’ll provide all of the details as soon as we know more about the next Beats Pill speaker.

Former Contributing Editor, A/V

Simon Cohen obsesses over the latest wireless headphones, earbuds, soundbars, and all manner of related devices and…

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