New Beats Solo Buds Take An Unexpected Route To Combine A Tiny Case With A Tiny Price
Beats is shaking up its entry-level wireless earbuds, with the new Beats Solo Buds offering extended battery life in a much smaller case, priced at $79.99. Replacing the current Beats Studio Buds, the new Solo Buds take up less space in your pocket, but still deliver the company's longest earbud battery life so far.
In fact, Beats claims, the Solo Buds case is 40% smaller than its Studio Buds+ case. The earbuds themselves have twice the battery life of Studio Buds+, despite Solo Buds being less than half the price.
Beats
The secret to making Beats Solo Buds so small is that, unlike most wireless earbuds, the charging case doesn't have a battery of its own. Instead, it's just used to transport the earbuds, and to connect them to a USB-C charger. The Solo Buds themselves offer up to 18 hours of battery life, Beats says, with a five minute charge enough to add an hour's worth of music playback. That includes when plugged into an iPhone 15 or USB-C-equipped Android device.
Solo Buds work just as well with Android as they do with iPhone
Each earbud comes with four interchangeable ear tip sizes, and has a barometric vent in the side to both improve bass and also ensure comfort by reliving air pressure in the ear. Dual-layer transducers from the Studio Buds ($149.99) are paired with custom microphones with a unique noise-learning algorithm. However, there's no active noise cancellation (ANC), relying instead on a snug fit to keep external sounds out.
Beats
As with other Beats products, the playing field is just about level regardless of whether you're an iPhone or an Android user. That includes one-touch pairing and automatic account setup, earbud location tracking, and customization for the "b" multifunction button that can be used to play/pause, control volume, answer or end calls, or trigger voice assistants. Sadly there's no automatic play/pause when you take the Solo Buds out of your ears, though the music will stop when you put them back into their case.
Beats Solo Buds will start shipping in June, priced at $79.99. They'll be offered in Transparent Red, Matte Black, Storm Gray, and Arctic Purple.