Pros
- Affordable
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Very compact case
- Good sound and voice-calling performance
- Strong battery life
Cons
- Few features
- No battery or LED charging indicator in charging case
While we're waiting to see if Apple will releasea pair of rumored sub-$100 AirPodslater this year, Apple-owned Beats has its own new "budget" earbuds, the $80 (£80, AU$130)Solo Buds. Available in four color options, the Solo Buds are missing some key features found in more premium buds, including a battery in their very compact charging case, ear-detection sensors and active noise canceling. But they get the fundamentals right. They're lightweight and not only offer decent sound quality and strong battery life but good voice-calling performance that rivals what you get with the company's more expensive Studio Buds Plus.
Beats Solo Buds' design
Although the Solo Buds have more rounded corners, they look similar to the Studio Buds and Studio Buds Plus, but have a more budget aesthetic. However, people probably won't notice that when you have them in your ears. They do fit similarly to those Studio models and don't stick out of your ears all that much, which is good.
They come with four sizes of ear tips, the largest of which allowed me to get a tight seal and relatively secure fit, though not quite as secure as the Beats Fit Pro, which has integrated wing tips. Like Beats' other earbuds and headphones, the Solo Buds have a physical "b" button on each bud for controlling playback and volume. You must configure the press-and-hold action in iOS settings or the Beats app for Android devices to control volume.
Special case
As noted, the Solo Buds have a unique design feature: their super compact charging case has no built-in battery. Equipped with a USB-C port, it won't charge your earbuds unless it's connected to a power source (no USB-C cable is included). It's also worth noting that the case has no LED to indicate that they're charging -- there's a quick ding when you connect the case to a power source, the only alert that they're charging. But credit Beats for turning a cost-saving move into a distinguishing design trait.
Not having a battery in a charging case has obvious disadvantages, especially if you're used to slipping your buds into their case, dropping the case into a pocket or bag, and getting a charge on the go without connecting a cable to the case. I sometimes forgot the buds weren't charging when I had them in my pocket.
The good news is the buds are rated for up to a whopping 18 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels on a single charge. Additionally, smartphones like the iPhone 15 that have a USB-C port that charges out can be used to charge the earbuds when they're in their case (many Android devices have USB-C-out charging). According to Beats, a five-minute charge gives you up to an hour of playback.
I'd still prefer if the case had a battery. I don't always carry a cable around with me and plenty of people own older iPhones with Lightning ports that won't charge the case. But I also appreciate how small and light the Solo Buds' case is.
Beats Solo Buds' minimal feature set
The buds don't have active noise canceling or hands-free Siri like Beats' more expensiveStudio Buds Plusearbuds. Nor do they have spatial audio with head tracking or ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take a bud out of your ear and resume playback when you put it back in. Additionally, they're missing automatic switching between Apple devices and don't seem to have multipoint Bluetooth pairing for Android users, though I still need to confirm that.
The good news for Android users is you get everything iOS users get, including a quick pair feature (Beats calls it seamless pairing) and a Find My or Find My Device feature (this is not the more advanced precision finding that you get with Apple's AirPods Pro 2). Alas, my review sample was apparently not quite a final production model and required me to manually pair the buds, so I didn't use the swift pair feature. But I'll update this review once I use a shipping version of the buds.
Some might find the sparse feature set appealing, especially folks who don't care for active noise canceling and think spatial audio is a gimmick. If you get a tight seal, you do get some passive noise isolation that cuts down the ambient sound around you.
Beats Solo Buds' sound quality
Beats reps told me the buds have "dual-layer transducers designed to minimize micro-distortions across the frequency curve," and that their sound quality is on par with the Studio Buds Plus.
As far as I can tell, that seems pretty accurate, though the Studio Buds Plus sound a touch better to my ears. That said, the Solo Buds do sound good. Moving from the Studio Buds to the Studio Buds Plus, Beats improved the overall clarity and bass reproduction of the sound, and the Solo Buds exhibit those same traits. Like the Studio Buds Plus, they deliver a bold, dynamic sound that's well suited for today's music, whether it's pop, hip-hop, EDM or country, and everything in between. They don't offer quite the refined, richer sound of premium buds from Sony and Sennheiser -- and also lack a bit of sonic purity and accuracy -- but for their price, they're quite solid from a sound standpoint, so long as you get a tight seal.
Beats Solo Buds' voice-calling performance
Voice-calling performance is also supposed to approach that of the Studio Buds Plus, and my test calls confirm that, as callers said they could hear me clearly, even as traffic rumbled past me in the noisy streets of New York City. It's also worth noting that there's a bit of side-talk -- you can hear yourself in the buds as you speak, which I like.
Overall, the Solo Buds' voice-calling performance is one of the highlights. It seems very good overall, with strong noise reduction during calls. Indeed, it seems on par with the Studio Buds Plus's voice-calling performance.
Final thoughts on the Beats Solo Buds
These buds are an interesting move by Beats and Apple as they target budget-conscious consumers just looking for earbuds with decent sound and voice-calling performance in a small package. You can certainly find buds in this price class that have more features, including active noise canceling. I'm thinking of buds from Anker and Earfun and others that serve up their share of value true-wireless earbuds.
But there's something to be said for the Solo Buds, at least nailing the most important aspects of true-wireless earbuds: namely, a comfortable fit and compact design, good sound quality and strong voice-calling performance. While the Solo Buds' $80 price tag may still be a little pricey for some folks, I do expect to see them on sale for $60 and perhaps even a little less during the holiday season. And ultimately, that's what I think these buds are worth.
Note that I haven't put a numbered rating on my review yet because I haven't tested a final shipping unit yet. I should get one shortly and will add a rating after doing a bit more testing.
