Beats’ (and by extension Apple’s) first true wireless headphones under $100 are here. Starting today, you can order the $79.99 Solo Buds online in four different colors — black, purple, red, and gray — and they’ll be in stores on June 20. The red headphones have one advantage over the others: they feature a translucent case that resembles the case that comes with the Studio Buds Plus. The earcups themselves are opaque, but it’s still a great look. I tested the Solo Buds for a few days and that candy red case really popped. And whatever color you choose, it’s the smallest case yet for any Beats headphone.
But therein lies one of the compromises the company has made to reach this lower price point. You see, unlike pretty much every competitor on the market, this case doesn’t include a battery to recharge the buds whenever you put them away. Instead, Beats decided to give the headphones themselves a marathon 18-hour battery life, after which you’ll need to put them in a case and charge them via USB-C. In theory, this could help the Solo Buds last longer, as they’re likely to go through fewer charge cycles over their lifetime. But it is important to realize this.
Note: Beats provided The Verge with a non-production sample of Solo Buds. As a result, it is an unrated first look. Stay tuned for more information on voice call performance and more once we receive the shipping version.
$80
The Solo Buds are Beats’ first true wireless headphones under $100. They ditch features like noise cancellation and a battery case in favor of a long 18-hour playtime.
The other a feature you won’t find anywhere else is noise cancellation. The Solo 4 headphones lack ANC, and the Solo Buds similarly rely on the natural noise isolation of their silicone ear tips to reduce the volume of your surroundings. Beats bundles four sets of tips with them, including an extra small size for those who need it. I found the ear tips to be very comfortable and each earcup has laser cut vents to reduce uncomfortable ear clogging.
Sonically, these are comfortably third compared to the Beats Fit Pro and Studio Buds Plus. On many of my usual test tracks they tend to come off a little flat if I do really twist them in my ears to seal tight. Occasionally, you can find a song (like Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather”) that fits their tune quite well. But Pearl Jam’s “Wreckage” didn’t land with much force.
There’s nothing offensive about the Solo Buds; if anything, they’re fairly balanced, offer good channel separation, and are restrained when it comes to bass. They are very clean; some cheaper wireless headphones can sound like you’re listening through a blanket, but this is not the case. Despite all that Beats says about its “fully custom acoustic architecture” and “ergonomically angled acoustic nozzles,” the Solo Buds aren’t some miracle pair of $80 earbuds. If it beats its price, it’s not by much.
I also struggled with the physical controls at first until I found and memorized the sweet spot on each earpiece that is above the “b” logo. If you try to press the entire surface, it will not work.
As with the latest Beats products, the Solo Buds are platform agnostic, meaning they natively support one-tap pairing and Find My / Find My Device features on both Android and iOS. Those are nice perks for the money, even if you don’t get some extra frills like head-tracking surround sound. It also lacks multi-point connectivity.
I have a feeling the Solo Buds will sell very well. While the sound isn’t exemplary, there’s no denying the appeal of their $79.99 sticker. And Beats still has a lot of brand power with athletes and celebrities. But there are plenty of alternatives worth trying. Beats faces competition from Anker’s Soundcore, JBL, EarFun, and others in this price territory, and many of these options include noise cancellation and come with a battery case—though without the 18-hour battery life.
Photo by Chris Welch/The Verge