Beats headphones have been a household name for headphones for years, but their owners Apple may be creating their own to rival them.

Apple bought Beats by Dre back in 2014, acquiring the high-end audio manufacturers founded by rapper Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine – both now executives at Apple. They’ve been pushing Beats headphones ever since, but new rumours suggest that Apple could be bringing out their own headphones to rival them.

In an article by Bloomberg ‘people familiar with the product’s development’ say that Apple are working on over-ear headphones to rival market leaders like Bose and Beats. According to the sources Apple are hoping to launch their headphones as early as the end of this year, however ‘development challenges’ may mean it’s a while longer until we see Apple’s headphones.

Whilst the Apple headphones are reportedly deep in development the sources say it may still see a complete redesign or even be scrapped entirely. The same sources said that Apple faced similar development issues with the HomePod and had been redesigned multiple times in it’s creation before the final version was announced.

Apple have been successful with earphones before, particularly their most recent AirPods which were strangely successful after being criticised for their design. They innovated by making them fully wireless earphones but their design almost destined them to be inevitably lost down sofas, in a drain, even in your pockets – which isn’t appealing considering their cost.

Whilst the HomePod was a much more objectively quality product, except perhaps looking like a roll of toilet paper, it’s price was still far higher than any competitors for no real innovation. Hopefully with their headphones Apple will be looking to do something special if they’re planning on another hefty price tag.

The sources who spoke to Bloomberg asked not to be identified and a spokesperson for Apple refused to comment on the headphones.