Beats by Dre has teased an upcoming collaboration with Pokémon.
A six-second video teaser posted to the official Beats by Dre YouTube channel reveals the shadow of the Beats Tablet speaker, enveloped by animated sparks and flames. The video, titled “Time to catch one thing new,” ends with an electrified Beats emblem subsequent to a Poké Ball.
The teaser video doesn’t supply any product or launch date information, however suggests the collaboration will embody a Pokémon-branded model of the corporate’s wi-fi speaker.
The ‘electrical’ animations recommend an unsurprising give attention to the Pokémon mascot, Pikachu. To help that idea, unconfirmed images of a brilliant yellow Pikachu-themed speaker have already began circulating the net. The flaming purple animations level to a doable second product design, probably impressed by one other collaboration favourite, Gengar.
The usual version of the Beats Tablet speaker presently retails for $149.99. We’ll probably get the complete reveal of the Pokémon x Beats collaboration alongside a launch date within the coming weeks.
Pokémon is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this yr, giving the most important franchise on this planet the excuse to drop extra collaborations than ever. We’ve seen themed {hardware} from tech firms like Razer, shoe drops from Crocs, and even complete merch collections with retailers like Target.
The quantity of buzz going into the Pokémon model proper now would recommend any collab with the gaming large is a straightforward win. Nonetheless, an ongoing scalping crisis within the TCG market continues to bleed into all things Pokémon, with some commenters on the Beats by Dre teaser already deriding the collab as “The beats shill.”
Beats by Dre, which is owned by Apple, launched the primary Beats Tablet speaker again in 2012. The speaker has gone by way of a lot of upgrades, most just lately with a 2024 re-release centered on portability and energy.
One factor that hasn’t modified is the corporate’s dedication to collaborations. Keep in mind when the Beats Tablet popped up in just about each YouTube channel? These days, the corporate focuses on distinctive themed designs, having just lately launched product strains with Jennie (of Blackpink fame) and Kim Kardashian.
Blythe (she/her) is an Viewers Growth Coordinator at IGN who spends approach an excessive amount of time in character customization screens and monitoring down collectibles.