Apple has dressed the Beats Pill in Pikachu yellow. The company announced a Pokémon-themed variant of its portable speaker on Monday, splashing Pikachu and Mimikyu across the metal grille without adding a markup to the standard $149.99 sticker price.
The release marks a rare pop-culture tie-in for the revived Beats audio lineup. Instead of asking fans to pay an extra licensing tax, Apple kept the cost identical to the base version that arrived earlier this year. Buyers in the US can place orders starting October 15 at 8 AM Pacific through Apple and Target. Availability also extends to the UK and China through Apple and select regional retailers.
Visually, the cylinder divides its attention between two famous creatures. Pikachu appears on the front mesh in bright electric yellow, while Mimikyu sits on the opposite side in subdued grayscale. Beats includes a detachable carry cord styled with custom character charms, so you can hang the hardware from a hook or hook it to a bag. The packaging also received work, arriving in an interactive box tailored around the Pokémon aesthetic.
The formal launch follows a brief teaser clip posted to Pokémon channels on Sunday. That video showed the dark silhouette of a Pill speaker rising out of the shadows amid bursts of cartoon lightning. While the joint Beats and Poké Ball emblems at the end gave away the partnership, the finished design stayed secret until the press release arrived.
Beneath the character paint, the internals match the regular Beats Pill on store shelves today. The battery provides up to 24 hours of listening between charges. An IP67 rating ensures the enclosure seals out dirt and withstands immersion in shallow water without taking damage.
The USB-C port handles more than regular battery charging. Plug it straight into a compatible phone or laptop, and the Pill pulls lossless high-res audio directly over the physical cord. The port also works in reverse. If a phone is running low on juice while you are playing music outdoors, the speaker can push power back to recharge the handset.
Listeners who want bigger volume can pair two speakers wirelessly. Beats lets users connect two units in Amplify Mode to double the sound across a room, or toggle into Stereo Mode to split playback into discrete left and right channels.
Units arrive on October 15 at 8 AM Pacific. US buyers get first crack through Apple and Target, with regional stock rolling out to China and the UK through Apple and partner storefronts.
GDFiled by The Gadgets Desk
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