Following their announcement in late April, the new Beats Solo Buds earbuds are now available to order ahead of their launch later this week. Priced at $79.99, the Solo Buds offer 18 hours of battery life right in the earbuds themselves, and come in the smallest case ever for a Beats earphone product.
We’ve had the chance to spend a few days with the Beats Solo Buds, and we’re quite impressed with what you get for that budget price. These are true wireless earbuds with a similar design and fit to the more expensive Studio Buds+, but without some of the more advanced features like active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency, hands-free “Hey Siri” support, and autoplay/ear detection pause. There’s also no official rating for sweat and water resistance, although they should still hold up fairly well to everyday use.
Even without ANC, the in-ear fit of the Solo Buds does a pretty good job at blocking out outside noise compared to the standard AirPods that don’t seal the ear canal, and the audio quality is surprisingly good, but definitely a notch below more expensive options . Four eartips are included, ranging from XS to L, so most users should be able to find a good fit and we thought they were quite comfortable, even during extended use sessions. Spatial audio support is included, but head tracking is not.
The small case for the Solo Buds may be due to the fact that it doesn’t have its own internal battery, meaning it only serves as a storage box and mechanism to charge the buds themselves when the battery runs out. A USB-C port on the back of the case keeps the earbuds charged, but with an 18-hour battery in the earbuds, you can get several days of listening before you need to plug the case in to recharge them.
Since there’s no battery inside the case, the whole package is extremely light, weighing less than 35 grams with the earbuds inside. The case is slightly wider than an AirPods Pro case and about the same thickness, but is significantly shorter, making it fit even better in your pocket, and the flat bottom makes it easy to stand the case upright.
The iconic ‘b’ logo button is present on both buttons and standard functions include the usual play/pause press, double press to skip forward and triple press to skip backward. For phone calls, a single tap answers a call, while a double tap ends or rejects a call. A single press and hold of the button activates ‘Siri’, but you can customize that gesture in the Settings app so the two earbuds can control the volume up and down if you prefer.
While there’s no Apple W or H chip on board, the Beats proprietary chip platform supports a number of native Apple features, like one-touch pairing with iCloud syncing across all your devices, automatic audio transfer to your Apple Watch when you move out of range of your Apple Watch. iPhone, Find My support for last known connected location and audio sharing. Android users get many of the same features, including one-touch pairing with device sync via your Google account, Find My device support, and audio switching with multi-point pairing.
Overall, the Beats Solo Buds are going to be a great choice for a budget earphone if you don’t need the features of more expensive options. The 18 hours of battery life in the earbuds is certainly useful, and they are extremely portable thanks to their lightweight and small case.
In addition to the more subdued Matte Black and Storm Gray colors, the Solo Buds are also available in an Arctic Purple shade that’s exclusive to Apple and Target in the US, plus a transparent red that lets you see a bit into the housing. All four shades can be ordered now for €79.99, with a launch on Thursday 20 June.