Apple appears to have quietly discontinued the Beats Pill Plus, with the listing for the battery-powered Bluetooth speaker removed from company websites.

Launched back in 2015, the Pill Plus was the first device released under the Beats name following Apple's acquisition of the company for $3 billion. It was essentially a slicker version of Beats' original Pill speaker - available in only black and white colourways, featuring Apple's Lightning port and retailing for $229.

In our Beats Pill Plus review, we lamented that lofty price tag - especially given the fact users would have to double up to receive stereo sound - but praised the overall design.

"The Beats Pill+ is the best looking pill-shaped portable from the now-Apple-owned company. But that's not enough to make it stand head and shoulders above its competition, particularly given the overall sound quality and a scatty Bluetooth connection," we said at the time.

Since its release, Apple has neglected the Pill lineup. Unlike the vast array of Beats headphones, which has gone on to receive the same Apple-made chips and integration as the AirPods family, Beats' speakers never received support for the likes of Apple AirPlay or Siri. 

With the Beats Pill Plus now seemingly discontinued, as well, there's a bit of a hole in Apple's offerings. While it has the HomePod mini to act as a small, Siri-enabled smart home speaker, there's nothing portable under either the Beats or Apple name. 

Should Apple eventually choose to do so, it would now also be introducing a product into a seriously competitive market.

Sonos now has a couple of portable, smart-ready speakers - the Sonos Move and Sonos Roam - while affordable, excellent-sounding Bluetooth speakers from other brands are common. 

At the time of writing, there are no substantial rumours or leaks to suggest a new Apple speaker is launching in 2022, so, until we hear something concrete, let's simply bow our heads and remember the Pill Plus.