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Apple Discontinues Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker
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A lot of people don't like it when people play music in public. I don't mind these speakers. To me a beats pill is a shortcut. It's like a little radio ad that says 'Hey, you should avoid the bus.'
So…… I’m guessing the 2nd generation HomePod Mini with have built in battery, for on the go use?
The Beats Pill+ was a fantastic speaker. I decided to sell mine to upgrade to the original HomePod, but the portability, battery life, aesthetic design and sound signature were all impressive in my mind – I would say superior to the original HomePod according to my preference. (Maybe they're discontinuing it because they're planning to replace it with another Beats portable speaker, or maybe they're fine leaning into the small but non-portable HomePod mini.)
We just bought one in November and it worked fine. Now what are we supposed to do? This really sucks. Don’t use the excuse that Apple is losing money. Not with trillions in their bank accounts.
Apple today discontinued the Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker that's been available since 2015, removing it from the online Apple Store. Searching for the speaker brings up no results on Apple's store, and as noted by 9to5Mac, it has also been removed from the Beats website.
The Beats Pill+ Speaker first came out in 2015, and it was priced at $230 at launch, but Apple had been selling it for $180. Apple did not update the Beats Pill+ speaker following its release, but the company did update it with new color options over the years.
The Beats Pill+ was a Bluetooth speaker able to connect to an iPhone, iPad or Mac, and it came with a Beats Pill+ companion app for pairing two speakers and playing music. It featured a 12-hour rechargeable battery, a built-in speakerphone, and an option to charge the iPhone and other devices.
With the discontinuation of the speaker, the Beats line now focuses solely on headphones, and there is no longer a Beats-branded speaker option nor does Apple offer a battery-powered speaker. Apple does have the HomePod mini for those who are looking for a speaker, and the HomePod mini is now Apple's sole available speaker following the discontinuation of the HomePod.
Article Link: Apple Discontinues Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker
I have one and I love it. Sure its essentially a mono speaker, but once I turn it on it always connects... no fuss no foul. I actually have to select my HomePod... And it actually doesn't sound that bad for what it is. I have found that Beats products perform better than Apple products...
It must be around ~5 years ago now but I used to work with someone who had one of them.
Good points...I have both the HomePod and HomePod mini...because it doesn't have a battery option and no Bluetooth only streaming option...I don't see it as an on par option with this. Am I wrong?
Pill+ is old and doesnt sound that good. I get it
Yet Apple still keeping the equally old Studio 3 headphones, yet slashing the newer and more capable Solo Pro?
Yet Apple still keeping the equally old Studio 3 headphones, yet slashing the newer and more capable Solo Pro?
I returned mine as well. The defect was it potentially catching fire. Wasn't the refund amount like $325 or something? The XL's sounded great and made for a perfect bathroom speaker. I used the money and got a Bose Soundlink mini which sound amazing for their size.
I have a Pill+, picked it up at something like 40% off a couple years back. Even at the price I paid, felt it was overpriced. It has a very muddy, indistinct sound profile. Probably okay for pop type stuff, but terrible for classical. At normal volume levels it sounds worse in every way than my much cheaper Sony X33. The one thing I like is that it physically feels like a durable product.
Don't think it was sold in large numbers and also in the recent past all the attention was on HomePod
Great speaker, great sound, great for conference calls with small groups and to play "Zoom" meetings through. Great as an external charger for iPhone or iPad.
Apple today discontinued the Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker that's been available since 2015, removing it from the online Apple Store. Searching for the speaker brings up no results on Apple's store, and as noted by 9to5Mac, it has also been removed from the Beats website.
The Beats Pill+ Speaker first came out in 2015, and it was priced at $230 at launch, but Apple had been selling it for $180. Apple did not update the Beats Pill+ speaker following its release, but the company did update it with new color options over the years.
The Beats Pill+ was a Bluetooth speaker able to connect to an iPhone, iPad or Mac, and it came with a Beats Pill+ companion app for pairing two speakers and playing music. It featured a 12-hour rechargeable battery, a built-in speakerphone, and an option to charge the iPhone and other devices.
With the discontinuation of the speaker, the Beats line now focuses solely on headphones, and there is no longer a Beats-branded speaker option nor does Apple offer a battery-powered speaker. Apple does have the HomePod mini for those who are looking for a speaker, and the HomePod mini is now Apple's sole available speaker following the discontinuation of the HomePod.
Article Link: Apple Discontinues Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Speaker
There will be others ...
Continue to use it as normal? This news doesn't mean it's going to suddenly stop working.
I still have the OG beats pill xl. I think it was like 400 or something around there back when it first came out? Honestly I might use it once a year now, but I can't believe how well the battery still holds. I think it still sounds great and honestly I have an easier time connecting my phone to that than the original homepod....connecting to that thing is an absolute nightmare.
Yep I tried one of these and they’re barely better than the Chinese knock-offs that cost £25. My Bose mini wipes the floor with it.
I have two of these and absolutely love them. Stereo, Amplify, DJ modes all work great and are useful in different situations. Most importantly they're the most reliable and fast-connecting bluetooth speakers I've ever tried by far, so they're an absolute joy to use.
Sound is subjective but I really enjoy their sound signature, to each their own.
All that being said I only paid £80 for the pair of them which may explain why I'm so pleased with them all around
Sound is subjective but I really enjoy their sound signature, to each their own.
All that being said I only paid £80 for the pair of them which may explain why I'm so pleased with them all around
I bought one of these back in 2018 it’s a good little speaker for watching content on the iPad or jamming to some tunes but recently I’ve been using the Solo Pro headphones for these activities and with the Apple TV.
I won’t say this speaker is worth the crazy prices they ask for these but if you were to acquire one of these for less than $100 you might find some use for it. I do think it’s pretty good for what it is but just overpriced.
I won’t say this speaker is worth the crazy prices they ask for these but if you were to acquire one of these for less than $100 you might find some use for it. I do think it’s pretty good for what it is but just overpriced.
Tons of pros and cons.
The Pill also has no Siri integration or anything, and I think it's pairable with only one device at a time. I ultimately ended up with two HomePod minis – they sound great to me too, I don't really need the portability, I frequently talk to Siri to control smart lighting and media, and as I sometimes say, "stereo anything is better than mono everything" (the Pill has stereo speakers in its housing but they're inseparable, obviously). So overall, this setup is better for me than the single Pill. Just attesting the Pill was indeed a high-quality thing for what it was.
