Apple's Old Beats Solo3 Headphones Available in Gold and Silver Again

[MacRumors]

Apple this week began selling the seven-year-old Beats Solo3 wireless on-ear headphones in Gold and Silver color options again for $199.95 on its online store. The headphones also remain available in Black, Rose Gold, and (PRODUCT)RED.

Apple previously offered the Beats Solo3 in Satin Gold and Satin Silver, but the colors had been discontinued in late 2020.

Released in 2016, the Beats Solo3 are now very old headphones with outdated technologies, such as micro-USB charging and Bluetooth 4.0, but they do have a W1 chip for quick and easy pairing with Apple devices. The headphones are more affordable than the new Beats Studio Pro, which are regularly priced at $349.95.

It's unclear how long Apple will continue to sell the Solo3, so keep in mind that the headphones could be discontinued sooner rather than later.

Article Link: Apple's Old Beats Solo3 Headphones Available in Gold and Silver Again

 

[vegetassj4]

I was about to say as long as the sound quality, battery life, comfort etc was still reasonable, then go for it.

However: "micro-USB charging" = NOPE

 

[jdavid_rp]

Let them die already lol

 

[StoneJack]

I was about to say as long as the sound quality, battery life, comfort etc was still reasonable, then go for it.

However: "micro-USB charging" = NOPE

I have very nice sennheisers with micro usb and i fully agree. That standard has to die

 

[NewUsername]

They don’t have Lightning right?
No, they have USB.
You mean USB-C, right?
…

 

[Populus]

I had this (as a present during a Back To Scool promo), and I have to admit that they sounded really good.

I sold them to purchase my Solo Pro, because the Solo Pro offered noise cancellation and H1 chip with more features than the W1. And I like my Solo Pro, they have a more balanced sound (and Lightning connector) but… I think this Solo3 sounded even better, with a more punchy bass and a more fun sound profile.

 

[sw1tcher]

I was about to say as long as the sound quality, battery life, comfort etc was still reasonable, then go for it.

Why would you buy this for $200 when you can get the (better) Sony WH-1000XM4 for $200-$250?

 

[nathansz]

You can get really good sounding headphones for $200

 

[ignatius345]

I have very nice sennheisers with micro usb and i fully agree. That standard has to die

I still have several things around that use micro USB. It's pretty horrible, but I'm definitely not throwing out an otherwise well-functioning ereader or bluetooth speaker over it.

The one thing I did to make it less irritating is to at least get a USB-C to Micro USB cable so I can charge with modern chargers.

 

[alchemistmuffin]

It's unclear how long Apple will continue to sell the Solo3, so keep in mind that the headphones could be discontinued sooner rather than later.

Very likely that Solo lineup won’t be discontinued. Chances are Solo4 will eventually be released with custom Beats chip and USB-C as mid tier lineup.

 

[vegetassj4]

Why would you buy this for $200 when you can get the (better) Sony WH-1000XM4 for $200-$250?

Personally, I don't have any interest in, nor have researched any over ear headphones. I would chose the better quality item at the same price (Sony)...but a quick look seems to look like the price new is mainly around $350 from most retailers?

Sony WH-1000XM4

SONY/ WH-1000XM4 is the industry's most advanced wireless headphone with noise cancellation functionality and DSEE Extreme AI technology, allowing users to enjoy high-resolution sound quality from a variety of compressed audio sources, including CDs, MP3s, and streaming audio. The DSEE Extreme...

www.google.com

 

[Populus]

Personally, I don't have any interest in, nor have researched any over ear headphones. I would chose the better quality item at the same price (Sony)...but a quick look seems to look like the price new is mainly around $350 from most retailers?

Sony WH-1000XM4

SONY/ WH-1000XM4 is the industry's most advanced wireless headphone with noise cancellation functionality and DSEE Extreme AI technology, allowing users to enjoy high-resolution sound quality from a variety of compressed audio sources, including CDs, MP3s, and streaming audio. The DSEE Extreme...

www.google.com

I’d say that 350 bucks could buy you the newer WH-1000MX5. Sometimes the MX4 are more affordable but I guess that depends on the sale.

 

[sw1tcher]

Personally, I don't have any interest in, nor have researched any over ear headphones. I would chose the better quality item at the same price (Sony)...but a quick look seems to look like the price new is mainly around $350 from most retailers?

Sony WH-1000XM4

SONY/ WH-1000XM4 is the industry's most advanced wireless headphone with noise cancellation functionality and DSEE Extreme AI technology, allowing users to enjoy high-resolution sound quality from a variety of compressed audio sources, including CDs, MP3s, and streaming audio. The DSEE Extreme...

www.google.com

$264.99 new or $242 new/open box

For something in the neighborhood of that price, I'd get the Sony WH-1000XM4 ($264.99) instead.

There's also an open box deal for $242.00.

I'm expecting them to hit the $200 to $220 range during the holidays.

They were on sale for $228 new this past July at Adorama and were $228 at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy during the 2022 holiday shopping period.

 

[deebinem]

Why would you buy this for $200 when you can get the (better) Sony WH-1000XM4 for $200-$250?

OR if you have to have these, Woot has them for $99 right now...

And the Sonys for $259...

 

[StoneJack]

Sony xm 5 is worse than xm 4

 

[deebinem]

I’d say that 350 bucks could buy you the newer WH-1000MX5. Sometimes the MX4 are more affordable but I guess that depends on the sale.

RTNGS still prefers the XM4s over the XM5s because even though:

"They're also the previous generation of the Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless. They're more comfortable and portable than the XM5, have more voice prompt options, better noise isolation, and have a comparable bass-heavy default sound profile."

Having not heard either model, I have no horse in the race except I still prefer spending less money. 🤷‍♂️ Either way, I'm sure they probably sound better than the Solo3

 

[switz]

What a novel way to clear out obsolete inventory

 

[t0rqx]

Thats some recycling right there.

 

[sw1tcher]

OR if you have to have these, Woot has them for $99 right now...

And the Sonys for $259...

I'd spend the extra $40 to get the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 for $139.99 (open box new condition)

Open Box Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling Headphones - White

Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling Headphones - White-Open Box.

secondipity.com

EDIT: That was fast. Sold out. Listing removed.

 

[HiRez]

It's crazy to me that people buy these to save a few bucks. It's like buying a 5-year-old iMac with 4 GB RAM and a 5400 RPM hard drive. You saved a bit of money but you're going to hate the experience.

 

[macduke]

Apple tryna clear out parts inventory before they're forced to switch to USB-C.

 

[B4U]

Should have kept the solo pro though?

 

[svish]

Surprised to see that this is still being sold.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Why would you buy this for $200 when you can get the (better) Sony WH-1000XM4 for $200-$250?

For $200 you could get literally any other pair of headphones and they would be better than this.

 

[StoneJack]

Word is that Soundcore Q45 are quite good... I want to try them. For comparison, I had Apple Airpod Max, have Sennheiser Momentum 2 wired, Sennheiser BT 4.5, Audio Technica M20XBT and 20X, Audio Technica M40X wired (for monitoring), AKG K182 (wired for monitoring), Apple Airpods Pro 1 gen but I am intrigued by Soundcore.