Beats Studio Buds+ Put Upgraded ANC In A Cool Transparent Case

Apple-owned Beats has a new pair of true wireless stereo earbuds to offer, and this one comes in an eye-catching transparent design language. The latest Beats offering is the Studio Buds+, which brings improvements in crucial areas like battery life, noise cancellation, and the core audio architecture. Priced at $169.99 a pop, which is $20 more than the regular Studio Buds, the new Plus variant is now up for grabs from the official Apple website and will start shipping tomorrow.

While the design language remains unchanged, Beats is offering the Studio Buds+ in two new trims: a transparent version that gives a peek at the case as well as the earbuds' innards, and a new ivory shade (the same one already offered with the Powerbeats Pro). You can also pick it in a black hue if that suits your gadget styling preferences. Beats says its latest offering comes with a trio of new acoustic vents for better in-chamber pressure reduction to offer superior comfort and audio clarity.

Beats has upgraded the mic array on the Studio Buds+, deployed "an entirely new acoustic architecture," and has also refined the underlying audio algorithm for an improved calling experience. Spatial Audio support is also part of the package for Apple Music subscribers, while fitness enthusiasts will be glad to know that the earbuds are IPX4-rated. The company is also adding a new extra-small ear tip size. Aside from the usual Apple ecosystem perks, the Studio Buds+ also serves up Fast Pair, compatibility with Google's Find My Device, and multi-point connectivity to Android users.

With the Studio Buds+, the biggest upgrades happen under the plastic shell. The new earbuds employ a second-generation in-house audio chip and also tout 1.6 times improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) performance compared to the standard Studio Buds. Thanks to the 3x bigger onboard microphones, the company says Transparency Mode on the Studio Buds+ is now twice as good. Beats also employed a secondary filter that cleans out sonic artifacts when ANC or Transparency Mode is enabled, letting users enjoy music in pristine audio quality.

Beats

Another major improvement happens in the battery life department. The Studio Buds+ can last a total of 36 hours on a single charge, marking a 50% boost over the Studio Buds. Without noise cancellation, the earbuds can last nine hours of music playback, while enabling ANC will bring those figures down to six hours. Aside from packing a larger battery in the charging case, Beats has also equipped the earbuds with a 16% bigger Li-ion unit to add those extra few hours of listening time.

Fast charging is also part of the Studio Buds+ package, with Beats promising up to an hour of music playback with just five minutes of charging. It takes two hours to fully charge the earbuds and the case. For users locked to the Apple ecosystem, they get access to conveniences like automatic pairing with iCloud-linked devices, one-touch connectivity, compatibility with Apple Watch, support for "Hey Siri" commands, and the Find My gadget-location network.