Hey, chalk this up as another one Jon Prosser got wrong. Apple released the Beats Studio Buds for preorder today, shipping next week. The new earbuds come in three colors, black, white, and red, and feature a unique stemless design, active noise cancellation (ANC) with a passive mode, and up to 24 hours of listening time with the case. The new earbuds aren’t quite AirPods Pro killers though, lacking some of the AirPods Pro features, like wireless charging and an Apple chip. Instead of using a W1 or H1 processor, like the AirPods and other wireless Beats models, this uses a new custom chip just for Beats. It means some of the connectivity features you love about AirPods won’t be in the Beats Studio Buds. But for $150, a more attractive design and color options may be worth leaving those out.
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Beats Studio Buds Specs
- Sound: Active Noise Cancellation, transparency mode, and standard sound isolation modes.
- Battery Life: 5 hours with ANC or transparency mode on, 8 hours with it off. Combined 24 hours when using battery case.
- Controls: Physical buttons on the side of the stem
- Connection: Bluetooth over Beats chip, works for iOS and Android, as well as others
- Assistant Support: “Hey Siri” supported. Can also assign Siri to a physical control (long press of button on left or right side)
- Microphones: Dual beam forming microphones to pick up your voice and filter out background noise
- Charging: Wired only, no wireless, over USB-C, not Apple’s Lightning
- OS Support: iOS and Android, both Find My and Find My Device, so iOS or Android users are supported equally. “Hey Siri” is for iOS-only.
Vs AirPods Pro?
People looking at the AirPods Pro may want to consider the Beats Studio Buds instead. They feature a more attractive, stemless design, the same battery life, more compatibility with Android through the Android Beats app, and the same ANC, transparency mode, and battery life of the AirPods Pro. However, you do lose some of the connectivity between iOS devices, like easy switching between your iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. They also lack in-ear detection, so you’ll have to pause them yourself. Still, they feature controls on the earbud, physical buttons that are easy to find and use.
Sound Quality
Apple went out of their way to highlight the engineering aspects of the sound quality.
“Beats was born to deliver music as the artist intended. Beats Studio Buds are engineered to deliver powerful, balanced sound in a compact design, through an entirely customized acoustic platform. A proprietary, dual-element diaphragm driver resides within a two-chamber housing, resulting in clear sound with outstanding stereo separation. An advanced digital processor then optimizes audio performance for loudness and clarity, while simultaneously ensuring clean noise-cancellation. The result — immersive sound that pulls the emotion of music from the studio to your ears to keep you going all day long.”
– from Apple’s store listing
How does that hold up? In early reviews, quite well, but in one tester’s opinion, not quite to the levels of the AirPods Pro.
” In my testing, the Beats Studio Buds sound is not quite as rich and full as Powerbeats Pro or AirPods Pro. This isn’t necessarily surprising given the $100 price difference and the more compact design, but it’s something worth noting. The sound quality is similar, if not identical to, the entry-level AirPods.”
– Chance Miller, 9to5Mac
Other Reviews
According to The Verge, the noise cancellation on the Beats Studio Buds isn’t as good as that on the AirPods Pro.
“their noise cancellation and transparency modes don’t keep pace with some pricier earbuds, including the AirPods Pro. ”
– Chris Welch, The Verge
They also noted that the microphones don’t offer the same quality as Apple’s other microphones, like those on the AirPods and AirPods Pro. Perhaps because they lack a stem. Overall, Chris Welch of The Verge liked them, but had some harsh words.
“they settle for mediocre active noise cancellation, lack wireless charging, and come with an incomplete grab bag of Apple ecosystem bells and whistles. It feels like Beats tried to do a little too much all at once.”
– Chris Welch, The Verge
UrAvgConsumer had perhaps the best description of the transparency mode. He stated that it sounds sort of muffled. Not natural. He compares it to the way everything sounds when you’re waiting for your ears to pop. He also highlighted the comparability between iOS and Android, and the surprising amount of feature parity across platforms.
Also, for sport earbuds, that case looks incredibly slippery.
On Sale Now
The Beats Studio Buds are on sale now. Not July. Now. They give us a glimpse into the future for the AirPods Pro 2, in the form of a more compact design. However, they lack some of the features AirPods Pro users have come to love, like Apple connectivity and wireless charging. Still, they’re $100 less than AirPods Pro, and, unlike the AirPods Pro, Apple won’t replace them within a year. For many, the Beats Studio Buds are a far better option than the AirPods Pro, for a much lower price. A better comparison, given their price and sound profile, may be the AirPods. The AirPods cost about the same, but only come in an outdated design, only in white, and, perhaps most importantly, don’t feature ANC. The Beats Studio Buds are the price of AirPods, but better in nearly every way.
If you want to check out Beats Studio Buds, they’re available now on Apple’s website for $149.99. They’ll start shipping June 24th.