The mystery surrounding Beats' next pair of over-ear headphones is disappearing one teaser at a time.
The latest clue comes from long-time Beats ambassador LeBron James, who shared a series of Instagram Stories showing himself at a golf driving range wearing what appear to be the unreleased headphones.
More importantly, the clips seem to demonstrate one of the rumoured new features borrowed from the Apple AirPods Max 2: magnetic, swappable ear cushions.
Accompanied only by a string of emojis – a golfer, golf flag, padlock and headphones – James removes the ear cushions, replaces them with another set and carries on hitting balls.
The padlock emoji appears to be a playful nod to the fact that the product is still under wraps.
At this point, it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe these sightings are accidental.
Over the past few months, the headphones have appeared on the heads of several high-profile athletes and celebrities, including Lamine Yamal and Kobbie Mainoo.
The first time we learned about the potential swappability of the ear cushions was in a social media post from South Korean football player Lee Kang-in, who teased the upcoming cans just a couple of weeks ago.
Following a familiar playbook
James is by far the biggest name to tease the mystery over-ears and has played a key role in Beats' launches in the past, across both guerrilla and standard marketing channels.
A couple of years ago, he helped tease the return of the Beats Pill speaker before its official unveiling, and he's also fronted campaigns including Beats' first collaboration with Nike.
Using one of the company's most recognisable ambassadors – who has 154 million followers on Instagram alone – to showcase an unreleased product on their social media channels fits neatly into the company's established marketing strategy.
The biggest takeaway from James' latest appearance is that he appears to be highlighting their modular design.
Previous leaks have pointed towards removable magnetic ear cushions, and this is the clearest public demonstration of that feature so far.
Beats has yet to officially acknowledge the headphones or announce a launch date, but the steady stream of carefully choreographed sightings suggests the reveal can't be too far away.
If anything, LeBron's latest tease feels less like another leak and more like the next chapter in a marketing campaign that's already well underway.
