Apple’s Beats lineup is expanding with two new products: Beats Solo Buds and Beats Solo 4. This product offers long battery life and an attractive price point.
Neither product can compete with Apple’s AirPods other than price, but if you often switch between Android and iPhone, you’ll like Beats’ new option.
Beats Solo Buds passively block noise.
Photo: Beat
The best feature of the Beats Solo Buds is their long battery life, but this comes at the expense of active noise cancellation (ANC). Instead, it passively blocks noise.
Beats claims the Solo Buds feature an “ergonomically designed acoustic nozzle” with vents that help relieve pressure during extended use. The earbuds come with 4 eartips, including the XS, to ensure a perfect fit.
Each earbud comes with a custom-designed microphone and advanced noise learning algorithms for clear call quality. You can customize the “b” button to control music playback, launch your phone’s voice assistant, or control music playback. It is also possible to customize the behavior of long pressing the button.
Other features of the Solo Buds include one-touch pairing for both iOS and Android and Find My or Find My Device integration.
The Solo Buds won’t win any awards for sound quality, but their battery life stands out. Beats says the earbuds offer the longest battery life in the lineup, with up to 18 hours of playback. There is no wireless charging, but the charging case supports fast wired charging via USB-C. This means that just 5 minutes of charging will give you an extra hour of music playback.
The Beats Solo Buds will be available in June for $79.99 in black, gray, purple, and transparent red.
beat solo 4
Photo: Beat
The Beats Solo 4 was released about eight years after the Solo 3 and packs some meaningful upgrades. These 217-gram heavy headphones feature UltraPlush cushioning for ultimate comfort and durability. Internally, Solo 4 features a custom 40mm transducer for improved clarity and minimal distortion. You also get custom spatial audio with dynamic head tracking.
Like the Solo Buds, the Solo 4 works on Android and iOS and features Find My/Find My Device integration, one-touch pairing, and a customizable “b” button.
In addition to Bluetooth, the headphones feature a USB-C port for lossless audio playback and charging. There’s also a 3.5mm port, so it works even when your headphones are low on battery power.
Beats Solo 4 offers up to 50 hours of battery life. Starting today, you can order the headphones in the US in black, blue, and pink for $199.99.
