Beats Studio Buds Debuting Today With Active Noise Cancellation, Stemless Design, and More for $150

[wanha]

I'd be interested in these if it wasn't for the massive disappointment I had with the Beats Flex wireless headphones. They were truly a terrible user experience in almost every way (pairing, fit, sound quality, and ease of use) that has me cynical of all Beats products.

 

[kerr]

5-8 hrs battery is underwhelming

 

[4jasontv]

I guess I don’t understand the point of these existing.

 

[Phuz01]

If PowerBeats Pros would incorporate active noise cancellation and wireless charging, they would probably be my go-to at this point. Still my favorite sounding bluetooth headphones, the best battery life around, and the only ones that I've never had to worry about when exercising or doing household activities (nobody wants to have a pod pop out while cleaning the toilet). The studio buds look like a nice lower-price option, but nothing that's going to cause me to move away from my AirPods Pros, especially with no chip and USB-C charging.

 

[jk1221]

5-8 hrs battery is underwhelming

Huh? Airpods Pro and 4.5 hours with ANC and Airpods 2 are 5 hours (no ANC)

This is 5 hours with ANC; 8 without. Better than any Airpods.

Airpods Pro are nearly 2 years old now, and Airpods 2 over 2 years; tech has progressed.

 

[Mr. Heckles]

I guess I don’t understand the point of these existing.

I different price point. Not everyone wants to more expensive airpod Pros and they seem to work better with Android.

 

[4jasontv]

I different price point. Not everyone wants to more expensive airpod Pros and they seem to work better with Android.

Maybe, but pros only cost $50 more and you can get them for $150 if you are patient.

 

[bodonnell202]

Wow, so Airpods Pro functionality for cheaper than regular Airpods (not sure how the differential works out other places but in Canada these are currently listed for $179, whereas the base AirPods price, without wireless charging, is $219. I think these are going to be very popular!

 

[Mr. Heckles]

Maybe, but pros only cost $50 more and you can get them for $150 if you are patient.

But they don’t work well with Android and not everyone wants the pro. I actually like these better than the Pros.

 

[StupidOpinion]

for those of you comparing this to the airpods pro, the airpods pro have horrible build quality and break very often. i can't speak for these beats though.

 

[Grohowiak]

They will be $129 on sale soon.
Tempting.

 

[4jasontv]

But they don’t work well with Android and not everyone wants the pro. I actually like these better than the Pros.

Cool. That’s what I’m trying to better understand. Why do you like them more?

 

[bodonnell202]

Wow, so Airpods Pro functionality for cheaper than regular Airpods (not sure how the differential works out other places but in Canada these are currently listed for $179, whereas the base AirPods price, without wireless charging, is $219. I think these are going to be very popular!

Missed the part about no H1 chip. That's probably a deal breaker for me as I'm constantly switching headphones between my iPhone, Watch and iPad, so having to do it manually makes this one a no. Seems like a strange omission to me - would it really drive up the cost that much considering the W1 is included in the $50 Beats flex?

 

[Ds6778]

For this price, and these functions..Sony is doomed in smartphone and buds category

Gonna go out in a limb here and say that the WF-1000XM4's sound better and have better ANC. Also, a lot of features that are simply missing across all Apple headsets.

 

[nilk]

With no H1 / W1 and USB-C as the only way to charge, sounds like they are going more for Android / non-Apple users than they are Apple users.

I do hope that this is the start of USB-C becoming Apple's standard for charge ports, and the deprecation of Lightning, but won't be surprised if it isn't.

 

[zerolight]

How can review / first impressions of a pair of headphones not discuss how they sound? Baffling.

 

[jk1221]

Gonna go out in a limb here and say that the WF-1000XM4's sound better and have better ANC. Also, a lot of features that are simply missing across all Apple headsets.

Of course, but double as good for basically double the price?

That is where the value proposition comes in. If they are 80% as good for basically 50% the price they are a great value.

 

[kjvmartin]

They lack a H1/W1 chip, so no fast switching between devices like the Pods and Pros. That’s a deal breaker for me because I’m constantly switching between my phone, watch, iPad and MBA.

I want them because no fast pairing/switching between my 5 devices shared by my family. THANK YOU. I can pair these to my iPhone for a work meeting and not get switched randomly to my kids Baby Shark mid sentence.

 

[Manatee]

I’m still hoping for Power Beats Pro with ANC. I like the Air Pods Pro, but they fall out of my ears (with any tip size), so I imagine these new Beats would too. And no H1?!!

 

[Jbusick7944]

I wonder if they'll fit under ear muffs better than APPs do. Mowing the lawn with a APPs, the stem sticks down just far enough to make ear muffs pop them out of the ear.

 

[bushman4]

For the price they’re ok at best
There’s no wireless charging or H1 chip which means that the beats buds will not automatically switch between devices
5-8 hour battery life leaves something to be desired
They’re missing many of the features of the Air Pods Pro
Bottom line you get what you pay for

 

[Manatee]

I want them because no fast pairing/switching between my 5 devices shared by my family. THANK YOU. I can pair these to my iPhone for a work meeting and not get switched randomly to my kids Baby Shark mid sentence.

I love the fast switching for personal use, but I use a pair of Bose for work meetings for exactly that reason. ?

 

[TechRemarker]

Very confused by the specs on these. No H1 or W1, less battery life than the old power beats pro, no wireless charging, and missing other features. My guess is maybe android users are the target market for these rather their other headphones were android market is secondary, so they are trying to get price as low as possible by removing most all of the apple specific hardware. Wondering if there will new powerbeats pro etc, or if the future of apple specific ones will just be the airpod line, which would be fine if they added a sport model with over the ear design and a color other than white but dont see that happening.

 

[kalafalas]

I have a beats audio tuned in my VW. It doesn’t sound bad, dialogue is very clear (probably helps with rap/hip hop) and you can keep the sub in check, but I much prefer the Fender branded tuning, as it is more musical. The beats doesn’t present a well blended soundstage.

It’s definitely a fun and colored sound, but I think it sounding good or not depends on the kind of you music you listen to. I listen to 90% EDM/House/Bass, and the beats tuning is perfect for my kind of music - but I could see it being too boomy and bright for say rock or acoustic, where the AirPods tuning would win out

 

[gomichaelgo]

5-8 hrs battery is underwhelming

Really? How long would you need to wear them without taking them out and putting back in the case? 8 hours seems like a very long time.