Footballers love their headphones, or at least they seem to. Barely a weekend goes by when we aren't greeted by a pre-match image of our favourite players getting off the team bus, inspecting the turf or psyching themselves up pitch-side, all with a pair of their favourite headphones jammed into their ears or hanging around their neck.

It makes sense. You need those tunes to get you pumped up before a big game, and blasting out a bit of heavy metal in the changing room via a Bluetooth speaker might not make you popular with a roster of teammates who prefer a nice bit of drill or EDM. We're not professional athletes, but it seems obvious that locker rooms are like public buses; it's best to keep your music listening private.

With the FIFA World Cup set to kick off this month, the necessity to get hyped has never been so potent for some of our favourite 'soccer' stars as they head to America. From Beats to Bowers & Wilkins, these are the headphones some of the most famous faces in football are taking to the biggest stage of all.

Kylian Mbappe – Loewe

The greatest players need the finest headphones to match. There's no question that Kylian Mbappé is one of the premier players on the planet, so it was unlikely that he would be heading to the World Cup with a tatty pair of wireless earbuds he found for £20 on Amazon.

Instead, we imagine that Kylian might have a pair of £1500 Loewe Leo wireless over-ears stashed in his hold-all instead. France's talisman is Loewe's big-name brand ambassador, modelling not only the aforementioned Leo but the chunky We. Hear Pro portable Bluetooth speaker.

Maybe the latter will emerge in the changing rooms as and when France start winning their group games.

Lionel Messi – Beats

Beats has a remarkable history of celebrity endorsements, especially from athletes.

The brand's marketing strategy throughout the 2000s and 2010s was centred on inserting itself into the public consciousness by having Beats products appear constantly in music videos, at major sporting events, in TV shows and more.

In fact, you couldn't consider yourself a big-name celebrity or top-level athlete if Beats wasn't courting your attention, with the likes of LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani, Tom Brady, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka all enjoying sponsorship deals at some time or another.

Beats has repeated the trick by nabbing Lionel Messi as a brand ambassador, so expect to see the GOAT with a pair of cans with a big bold 'B' emblazoned on the side when you tune in to watch Argentina.

Virgil Van Dijk and Declan Rice – JBL

It makes sense for JBL to collaborate with the biggest names in the world of football.

The US company has always been pretty good at knowing its target audience and then catering to it in both the way it makes products and how it sells them to its core demographics.

JBL has snagged the services of quite a few high-profile leather-kickers in recent times, with Liverpool centre back Virgil Van Dijk and Arsenal stalwart Declan Rice being two of its major supporters.

Both will feature heavily for their respective nations, the Netherlands and England, during the World Cup, though we'd be surprised if either actually wears a pair of JBL headphones while on the pitch. They'd fall off when you went in for a header...

David Beckham – Bowers & Wilkins

In case you hadn't noticed, David Beckham is no shrinking violet. The England icon lends his visage to Stella Artois beer, Hugo Boss clothing, Pepsi soda and the Shark Ninja air fryer, to name but a few. Slip him £100 and he'll probably turn up at your child's birthday party.

He appears so frequently in the public eye that we wouldn't be surprised if he's cloned himself in a bid to get to as many high-profile events as he possibly can in a single calendar year.

Air fryers and draft beer aside, he is also the handsome face of Bowers & Wilkins' range of premium headphones, including the five-star Px7 S3 wireless over-ears and the Award-winning Pi8 true wireless earbuds, so he's certainly got taste when it comes to audio.

Whether it's by the pitch, at the stadiums or in the mid-match adverts, you're going to be seeing quite a lot of Golden Balls at the 2026 World Cup. Not bad for a man who retired over ten years ago.

Mika Bireth and Falorin Balogun – Bang & Olufsen

Ok, this might be the coolest partnership in all of sport. AS Monaco have always been one of the most glamorous sides in the French Ligue 1. B&Os' reputation for blending high-end audio with luxury design is legendary. Talk about a match made in heaven.

The team houses four big-name B&O ambassadors. Denmark's Mika Bireth and the USA's Folarin Balogun are two of AS Monaco's representatives playing at the biggest international tournament football has to offer. Meanwhile, their Monaco teammates, Paul Pogba and Eric Dier, won't be representing their respective nations this time around, but they are major names who will also be wearing B&O cans, albeit on the sidelines.

Harry Kane – Our Pure Planet

Bless Harry Kane, he really does seem like one of the good guys. He's also pretty handy at football, in case you hadn't noticed.

The English icon has been banging in goals for Bayern Munich at a near-unprecedented rate over the last couple of seasons. Between matches, he's managed to find some time out of his busy net-ripping schedule to partner with eco-audio brand Our Pure Planet, becoming both a company co-owner and big-name global ambassador.

We don't know how Harry's headphones sound or how comfortable they are, but that's not exactly the point. Our Pure Plant's aim is to, according to its website, "reduce plastic, offset carbon, and minimise paper waste "by using up to 80% recycled plastics and metals in its products."

Eschewing massive audio brands in favour of endorsing an environmentally sustainable newbie? He's a good lad, our Harry.

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The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 now come in a Nike special edition. The Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition come in the fitness brand's radioactive 'Volt' colourway, with the Nike swoosh on one earbud and the beats 'b' logo on the other.

They also come in a black, Volt-speckled charging case with Nike's "Just Do It" motto printed inside the lid.

In terms of sound quality and features, they're identical to the standard Powerbeats Pro 2.

For the uninitiated, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have the same Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode as the AirPods Pro 2, built-in heart rate monitoring that syncs with the Apple Fitness app and Nike Run Club, and up to 45 hours of battery life.

They're rated IPX4 water resistant, and have ear hooks to help them stay put during sports.

To celebrate the launch, Beats and Nike have produced a humorous ad featuring basketball legend and Beats ambassador LeBron James. It goes on a bit too long.

Beats is keen to stress this isn't just a new colour, but a "collision of two brands that define performance, culture, and sports." But it is a new colour.

We haven't reviewed the Powerbeats Pro 2, but the original Powerbeats Pro only scored three stars. Here's hoping the sequel fares better.

Nike has lent its name to headphones before (like 2009's Nike Aero Sport), but not for some time. It has also collaborated with Apple (Beats' owner) on a special edition Apple Watch.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition go on sale on 20th March for the same £250 / $250 / AU$399 as the standard pair.

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Beats appears to be giving its fitness-focused roster of wireless earbuds a wholesale renewal, with a potential sequel for the Beats Fit Pro coming soon.

The Powerbeats Fit have been teased in a new YouTube ad, and while it's a bit of a name change from the established model (likely to keep everything in line with the Powerbeats sub-brand), the new buds mimic the form of the older Beats Fit Pro thanks to their true wireless design equipped with an in-ear stability hook.

That general design looks the same as before, and while not details are confirmed, we expect that features such as Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode will also be on board.

The established Beats Fit Pro offer integration to the iOS ecosystem, so you don't need a separate app, something we expect to see return when the Powerbeats Fit arrive. They're essentially Apple-made buds, after all.

Whether they'll offer the same premium array of features as found with the Powerbeats Pro 2 announced earlier this year, including heart rate monitoring and the integration of Apple's H2 audio chip, remains to be seen. We'd certainly like them to boost the in-buds battery a touch: the 27 total hours isn't bad, but could Beats boost the capacity of the buds themselves up from their current lifespan of six hours?

Teased as being "fit for every move", Apple has stated that the new earbuds will land in "fall 2025", but we don't have much more info than that. Considering we're reaching the end of August, though, their arrival could be very soon as summer winds down .

Prices aren't known for the new Powerbeats Fit, either, though the test price of the outgoing Fit Pro (£200 / $200 / AU$299) should give a reasonable indication of where the price of new buds is likely to land. For context, the Powerbeats Pro 2 launched at £250 / $250, although they're already enjoying reasonable discounts.

We really like the Beats Fit Pro, considering them to be some of the best running headphones you can buy. If the Powerbeats Fit can take things to a new level while keeping prices reasonably stable, Beats could be onto a real winner.

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Beats headphones have improved a lot since the company was acquired by Apple in 2014. Once the brand stopped cranking up the bass and started focusing just as much effort on every other part of the frequency range, its headphones became more balanced and favourable.

As well as being more affordable than Apple's own over-ear equivalents, Beats headphones work much better with Android devices (AirPods do play ball with Android phones, but Android users still miss out on a lot of their features).

So if you're eyeing up an over-ear pair, which should you buy? Do you spend big on the AirPods Max or save some money by opting for the Beats Studio Pro?

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: price

There's quite a difference between the two pairs in terms of price.

In 2023, we reviewed the Beats Studio Pro at £350 / $350 / AU$530, but that price has since dropped considerably. They currently go for as little as £180 / $250 (the Australian price has remained stubborn).

You might expect the AirPods Max, as the older pair, to have received an even bigger price reduction, but you'd be disappointed. They currently sell for around £500 / $500 / AU$899 – only £50 / $50 cheaper than their launch price. (Again, the Australian price has mostly remained constant.)

Beats headphones are more likely than Apple pairs to be discounted come sales time, though the AirPods Max have seen some great deals over the years (admittedly mostly just before the 2024 USB-C model launched in order to clear old stock). But still, you never know your luck.

** Winner: Beats Studio Pro **

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: design and build

When they launched in 2020, the AirPods Max set a new bar in terms of over-ear headphone design. In fact, they pretty much invented a new category of super-premium cans that sit above the likes of the once-'premium' Sony WH-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

Indeed, such headphones feel positively cheap next to the Apple over-ears. Once you experience the AirPods Max's pristinely machined, single-piece anodised aluminium ear cups, stainless-steel headband and memory foam ear cushions, you start to understand why they cost so much.

They are over 100g heavier than the Beats Studio Pro. But the design distributes the weight so well that they don't feel their weight. You can comfortably listen for hours on end.

The physical controls are a joy to use, especially the dial that takes inspiration from the Apple Watch's digital crown. It's just a shame the case is so poor – not only does it look silly, it's not particularly effective at protecting the headphones. Sadly, this wasn't remedied with the 2024 AirPods Max refresh.

The Beats Studio Pro's design is very clean and chic, but they're not as premium-feeling as their AirPods Max stablemates. Which is hardly surprising given the difference in price.

Truth be told, they are a little dull to look at, mostly due to just one colour being used throughout the design. But they are robust and flexible, and they have one key design feature that the AirPods Max lack: they fold down for easier storage.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: features

The AirPods Max are well-specced in most areas, but battery life isn't one of them. Their 20 hours of use pales in comparison to the likes of the cheaper Sony WH-1000XM5 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3, both of which offer 30 hours of use.

Again, Apple sadly did not choose to improve on this when it refreshed the cans at the end of 2024.

The Beats Studio Pro fare a little better, with 24 hours of runtime. But that's still not fantastic, given the aforementioned rivals. Oh, and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless deliver a staggering 60 hours!

The Beats have the superior fast-charging feature. Just 10 minutes of plug time gets you four hours of use, whereas the AirPods Max deliver 90 minutes of runtime from a five-minute charge.

Both pairs support wired listening, but only the Beats Studio Pro include an audio cable in the box. This is USB-C-to-USB-C, so if you own an older iPhone, you'll need a Lightning adapter to allow wired listening through the Beats cans. Both pairs require power to work, even when listening wired.

Wired listening gives the Beats lossless playback (up to 24-bit/48kHz), and lets you select from a list of sound profiles. But oddly, you can't select these when listening wirelessly, which seems like a rather large omission.

Another omission is the lack of a dedicated Apple-made chip so that they work better with Android devices.

Meanwhile, the AirPods Max are powered by an Apple chip, the H1, which analyses information coming in from eight microphones around the headphones to perform active noise cancellation and tailor the sound in real-time to the fit and seal around your ears.

Apple has also kitted them out with its own 40mm driver featuring a dual neodymium ring magnet motor. This allows the Max to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than one per cent across the entire audible range.

Like the AirPods Max, the Studio Pro support Apple's immersive Spatial Audio technology, with dynamic head tracking working to 'anchor' the sound to the source from which it is coming.

Like other Beats headphones, they gain full Android support via the Beats app, but they are missing a couple of features common to most of their rivals: on-head detection and Bluetooth Multipoint. Curious.

They do support Apple's audio sharing feature, though, which lets you share a wireless audio stream with another pair of headphones. Though this only works with other Apple headphones – an odd decision for a supposedly Android-friendly pair of headphones.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: noise cancellation

The AirPods Max are very good noise cancellers, even if they do fall short of greatness. They block a lot of unwanted sounds, though the Sony WH-1000XM5 do a better job of silencing constant drones like engine noise.

Transparency mode does what it is intended to do – let in outside sound – though it does sound a little synthetic and processed. A mode like this is also more useful on earbuds, which you would wear while exercising. But it can come in handy and works well when needed.

The earpads are also nice and big, covering your ears and blocking out a decent chunk of sound. So even without activating the noise cancellation feature, they do a decent job of dulling the world around you.

Again, the Beats Studio Pro fare decently in this regard. They have both fully adaptive and Transparency modes, and both work well. But across the frequency range, they're not quite as effective at blocking external noise as their pricier Apple siblings.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: sound

To listen to, the Apple pair is "very special indeed", to quote our five-star Apple Max review.

The delivery is crisp and spacious, with plenty of clarity and energy. They're an engaging listen, sounding precise and exciting.

Listening to The Road by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, our expert reviews team noted: "The AirPods Max nail the beautiful inconsistencies in the timing and pressure of the piano notes that come from the live nature of the recording. They're both organic and precise, with lovely, subtle degradation to the tail of each note, but a definite, precise end when the vibration of the strings is stopped."

They add a physicality to the performance that's missed by lesser headphones.

Watching a movie in Spatial Audio, the effect is superb. The presentation is completely immersive, and the tracking is amazingly smooth and accurate as you move your head. Combining the AirPods Max with one of the best iPads will give you the most convincing portable cinema experience going.

The Beats Studio Pro only earned three stars in our review, and that's largely down to the sound quality.

Listening to Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey In The Jar, there's a feeling of sonic detachment and a real lack of rhythmic drive. It's all a bit monotonous and dull, which is not at all the Thin Lizzy we know and love.

Bass notes can feel fat and muddled, and while listening via the supplied cable does mean an uplift in quality, they still lack subtlety.

Lossless listening via USB-C does add some sparkle, though. "A hi-res recording of Fleet Foxes' Wading In Waist-High Water hits with real force, and while greater dynamic peaks and troughs would be nice, we're treated to a clearer, more confident showing with the cable attached," we wrote in our Studio Pro review.

In summary, the Studio Pro by no means disgrace themselves, but they don't perform as well as the best at their price level, not to mention a very good and more expensive pair such as the AirPods Max.

** Winner: Apple AirPods Max **

Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max: verdict

The Beats Studio Pro do have some advantages over the AirPods Max. They're cheaper, for one thing, and are a better fit for Android devices.

In a choice between the two, however, the AirPods Max are the clear winner. And if you can't afford them, we would recommend a price-suitable pair in our best wireless headphones buying guide over the three-star Beats Studio Pro, which don't even make our list of best Beats headphones.

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I remember being around four years old and all the adults in the house made the mistake of leaving me alone with the family hi-fi. The unit was a cassette receiver from a brand called Elizabethan, and I recall very little about it now apart from the stack of dials on the front and its rather fetching fake wood finish.

It was playing some classic Bollywood song from the 60s, and for the first time ever, I noticed the tone controls on the amplifier. Being so young, I had no idea what the words ‘treble’ and ‘bass’ meant at the time, of course. But once the dials were twiddled in a random fashion, I knew the one marked ‘bass’ did good things and should always be turned up to the max. The treble control, on the other hand, didn’t have any significant impact on the drums that the child-me was focussing so hard on and was quickly ignored.

My love of bass sounds started there and has continued ever since, though I would like to think my tastes are more sophisticated than just turning everything up to full as I did for most of my teenage years. Now, not only do I crave low-frequency power but I want grip, articulation and texture too. The harmonic richness of a double bass matters as does the agility and finer details of a typical Massive Attack bassline. To sum it up, I’m a bass addict and proud of it, but nowadays quality and balance matter more than outright quantity.

A recent listen to the Dali IO-8 wireless headphones annoyed me. These are excellent wireless over-ears (in most respects) and have the sonic talent to worry any alternatives vaguely near their £499 selling price, hence why they sit loud and proud in our best wireless headphones buying guide. Like just about every rival, these headphones give the user a way of boosting bass output. In this case, it’s not done through an EQ setting in an app, but a mode button on the headphones that switches between ‘Hi-fi’ and ‘Bass’ settings.

Given my tastes, the 'Bass' option should be right up my street, particularly as these headphones were designed by the very same people who engineered Dali’s new high-end Epikore speaker range (starting price of ten grand) and many other talented speakers besides. Surely, any engineer who has the well-honed sensibility to design what are undoubtedly fantastic speakers would be able to tune the bass setting just so? It turns out they don’t. The nicest thing I can say is that whoever fixed the final bass EQ curve had very similar priorities to the four-year-old me.

The lows swamp everything, leaving these otherwise excellent headphones sounding thick and sludgy. It spoils their articulate nature, unsettling their otherwise nicely judged tonal balance to a degree that I find unlistenable after a while. The standard ‘Hi-fi’ setting, on the other hand, is spot on.

Dali is not alone. Much of the industry seems to think that bass quantity trumps quality and I can understand why. It impresses on a brief listen, and that usually leads to more sales. I get it. The success of the Beats brand was built on a foundation of excessive bass, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony’s recently introduced ULT Series of headphones and wireless speakers, aimed at the youth market, are going great guns for the same reason. Yet, whenever I listen to such products, I can’t help but wish the manufacturers had intentionally boosted the lows with a lot more finesse to ensure satisfaction over the long term.

I know it is possible to do this. Mark Levinson gets it right on the No. 5909 headphones, as does Chord with its Mojo 2 portable DAC's clever DSP tone controls. On the more traditional hi-fi side, the Rotel A8 budget integrated amplifier still sounds articulate with the bass control turned up, and at the other end of the price scale, the PMC Cor does a fine job of it too. There are other examples, but you get the point.

While lots of bass can be fun on the right kind of music, that on its own isn't enough. Manufacturers need to realise that balance, articulation and definition matter even more over the long term. Even a certified bass-head like me recognises that.

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After a good deal of speculation, the Beats Powerbeats 2 have officially landed. The first-gen Powerbeats Pro arrived in 2019, meaning there has been a gap of over five years between generations of the sporting buds – that's more than enough time for Beats to have improved upon the disappointing sonic performance of its original set of premium workout companions.

To make those sonic gains, the second-generatioin Powerbeats employ a bespoke acoustic architecture which strives for a "powerful, balanced sound profile" to put some pep in your proverbial step. Dual-layer drivers seek to minimise distortion and are aligned to each earbud’s nozzle for "optimal sound delivery", while a new venting design has been deployed to improve bass reproduction.

The new buds mimic the over-ear hook design of their predecessors, but this time Beats promises a lighter (by 20 per cent), more secure fit thanks to the Powerbeats Pro 2's updated ear hook which has been redesigned using a lightweight nickel-titanium alloy for "exceptional shape memory and flexibility". To get the perfect fit, the Apple-owned brand claims to have conducted more than 1500 hours of rigorous testing with nearly 1000 athletes to obtain the ideal blend of comfort and security.

Adding to their sporting credentials is an IPX4 waterproof rating for protection against sweat and liquid splashes, as well as on-ear touch controls, five ear-tip sizes (XS, S, M, L, XL) and hands-free voice call capabilities when you're out on the move. Each bud packs a voice accelerometer and the same three microphones as found in the five-star AirPods Pro 2, leading to "exceptional voice targeting and noise suppression" from the new Beats.

Unlike their ancestors from way back in 2019, the Powerbeats Pro 2 feature active noise cancelling, with Beats claiming that the new running buds offer "the best adaptive noise cancelling" the brand has ever developed. In addition, transparency mode is also on the menu for hearing the world around you as you run.

Aside from noise cancelling, the new Powerbeats' big headline feature is heart-rate monitoring for your workouts, with the new buds using biometric sensing to provide in-depth for improved fitness tracking in real time. There is also support for customisable spatial audio with dynamic head tracking thanks to the inclusion of Apple's H2 chip, the same unit that powers the AirPods Pro 2.

Your workouts won't be cut short, either. The Powerbeats 2 offer up to 45 hours of playback with the charging case, with each earbud granting up to 10 hours of playtime before needing a refill. That case, meanwhile, has been designed to be 33 per cent smaller than the original and, handily, is compatible with wireless charging.

Coming in four finishes – black, quicksand grey, purple or orange – the Powerbeats Pro are available now, priced at £250 / $250.

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Beats will unveil its next-generation Powerbeats Pro 2 wireless earbuds on 11th February, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The fitness-focused earbuds – which are expected to retail for $250 in the US (official pricing for UK and AU are TBC) – could represent a significant upgrade over their 2019 predecessor.

One of the most exciting features will likely be new heart rate monitoring capabilities, if MacRumors’ iOS 18 code findings are anything to go by. If true, this will be a first for Beats' audio lineup, with the site reporting that the built-in sensors on the Powerbeats Pro 2 will interface directly with gym equipment such as treadmills, with workout data seamlessly integrating into Apple iPhone's Health app ecosystem. Gym rats rejoice.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 will also apparently inherit the H2 chip from the AirPods Pro 2, suggesting substantial improvements to active noise cancellation and overall audio performance, which will be welcome news to all. This marks a considerable advancement from the original model's H1 chip architecture, as noted by Bloomberg's report.

Leaked imagery has also revealed a refreshed aesthetic, with a more streamlined profile and slimmer ear hooks, compared to the original design. The new range is expected to land in several colours according to leaked images from X Leaker Arsène Lupin, including an Electric Orange finish, alongside more subdued options in Jet Black, Hyper Purple, and Quick Sand.

While maintaining the sports-focused durability of their predecessor, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are also expected to offer enhanced battery performance and cross-platform compatibility with Android devices, including support for Find My Device functionality, as revealed in MacRumors' iOS 18 code findings. The charging case will also reportedly feature USB-C connectivity, which should come as no surprise given parent brand Apple's recent shift away from Lightning ports.

That’s all the information available for the Powerbeats Pro 2 as things stand, but we could see more info leaked ahead of next week’s expected launch, so stay tuned.

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A sequel to the Beats Powerbeats Pro fitness earbuds is confirmed for next year. Beats put out a teaser on Instagram of baseball player Shohei Ohtani of the LA Dodgers wearing the Powerbeats Pro 2, followed by the promise "Coming 2025".

The Powerbeats Pro launched in 2019, so a sequel has been a long time coming. They earned three stars, with a great feature set and build quality, but marked down for their sound quality. They also had an annoying niggle that meant they wouldn't charge unless placed in their case exactly right. Hopefully Beats has fixed these issues for the next model.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 have the same ear-hook design as their predecessors, but other than that, the teaser doesn't give much away.

Beats' parent company Apple is expected to launch two new pairs of AirPods alongside the iPhone 16 next week – the AirPods 4 plus a new entry-level pair, potentially called the AirPods Lite. This teaser could be Beats' way of saying that fitness fans haven't been forgotten.

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Every so often in the world of Bluetooth speakers, the stars align and we see new models from some of the big hitters pass through the What Hi-Fi? test rooms at the same time.

And that’s exactly what we’ve seen recently with the new Beats Pill, Bose SoundLink Max and JBL Xtreme 4 all arriving on our doorstep. Portable Bluetooth speakers such as these tend to have just one key job: to provide a fun listening experience when fed music from a smartphone or tablet but you'd be surprised how many get it all wrong.

The best Bluetooth speakers also tend to have great build quality, be nice to use and offer a smattering of features that give extra value to the owner. Do these speakers fit into that category?

Price

With this round-up, we must remember that the Beats is the cheapest of the three and by quite some margin. It costs £150 / $150 / AU$249.95 compared to the JBL Xtreme 4 which comes in at more than double (£330 / $380 / AU$430). You'll need to splash out even more for the Bose SoundLink Max which costs £399 / $399 / AU$599.

We’ve had a look and because all three of these speakers are relatively new to the market it’s tricky to find much in the way of a discount. However, it will undoubtedly be worth bearing in mind big sales events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday moving forward.

Design

The Beats Pill boasts a slick aesthetic with a neatly rounded profile which makes it nice to hold (a colour-matched lanyard is also provided). You’ll find four feet positioned underneath to stop it rolling around on flat surfaces.

The metal grille on the front adds to the feeling of solidity, with a grippy silicone surface on the rear and top. Like the Bose, the buttons on top are concave and clicky although fewer in number – here you get a power button, a multifunction button for track and call control, and volume buttons, so four in total, compared to six on the Bose SoundLink Max.

By contrast, the Bose SoundLink Max is a ruggedised and rubberised rectangle. It’s quite understated in terms of appearance but feels well put together and we think it’s just as suited to indoor life as it is being carried out and about. Okay, so it isn’t quite as small and light as the Beats Pill, but it does come with a comfortable carry handle and its silicone-covered exterior is extremely tactile. It feels like the most expensive speaker out of the three.

As is the case on the Beats, all the controls are lined up across the top on a silicone surface and are recessed which makes them easy to get to grips with. The silicone material also goes underneath the Bose where you’ll find four raised bumps for feet.

While the Beats Pill is relatively svelte, and the Bose more demure, the JBL Xtreme 4 is a much chunkier cylinder that looks like it could withstand bumps and bruises from all angles. From the wrap-around material made from recycled plastic and fabric, to the silicone bubbles used to protect the edges and help form the base underneath the speaker, the JBL certainly looks built for a life of outdoor use.

• Read our full Beats Pill review

Features

The Beats Pill sports a USB-C input on the back and comes with USB-C-to-USB-C cable in the box. It can give portable devices a power boost from its own built-in rechargeable battery or you can turn the charging feature off.

The most interesting string to the Beats’ bow is you can also use the USB socket as an audio input. That’s right, you can connect an external device and play music losslessly at up to 24-bit/48kHz resolution. It’s something we don't see very often and although it’s a little niche, it’s nice to have.

Battery life comes in at around 24 hours which is good and it also has an IP67 rating which means the Pill can be submerged for up to 30 minutes in fresh water up to a metre deep. It’s also dustproof and sandproof.

Inside the Pill, the woofer and tweeter used are brand new and tilted upwards to project audio better for the listener. The configuration means you’re only listening in mono, but you can pair two Pills for Stereo Mode.

Because Beats is still owned by the house of Apple, it’s as quick to pair with iOS devices as it is Android and you also have access to its “Find My” device feature. It’s actually still slightly skewed to Apple users, though as the menus are built into Apple’s iOS menus, while Android users still need a separate App. It’s a Bluetooth 5.3 device, but there’s no support for aptX, just AAC and SBC.

• Read our full Bose SoundLink Max review

Like the Beats, the Bose supports Bluetooth 5.3 and charges via USB-C. Battery life is a shade shorter than the Beats at 20 hours but as is the case with any Bluetooth speaker users might find this varies depending on how loud you listen and for how long.

You can use its built-in rechargeable battery to juice up a smartphone or tablet through the USB-C socket but you can’t use it as a wired audio connection. Your only option here is the 3.5mm auxiliary input that sits alongside it.

Like the Beats, the Bose is good to go in the great outdoors thanks to its IP67 rating. The ace up its sleeve is Bluetooth Multipoint, which means you can have two devices connected at the same time – useful if you want to share DJ’ing duties with someone who might have alternative taste in music.

In the Bose app you have a three-band equaliser for bass, mids and treble, and a selection of presets that alter the amount of bass and treble the speaker spits out, which is more than what the Beats Pill offers.

During testing, we used the bass EQ to dial it down to around minus five or six as we found it quite overpowering straight out of the box.

• Read our full JBL Xtreme 4 review

Compared to the other apps from Beats and Bose, the JBL has more going on with an in-depth five-band equaliser, and a smattering of different presets to choose from.

One interesting feature of the JBL is that its power output varies depending on whether you are using mains or battery power. It’s 80W when using the rechargeable battery, but this jumps to 100W when you power it via the mains and the supplied USB-C cable. And you can hear the jump in scale and authority when you go from the former to the latter.

Auracast functionality is now included instead of JBL’s PartyBoost feature but it still allows you to pair two Xtreme 4 units together for stereo sound or connect multiple compatible speakers if you happen to own multiple.

Sound

Soncially, the Beats Pill goes for a clear, rich and energetic sound which is just what you want from a Bluetooth speaker. It projects music well and holds its own in noisier environments. It picks out a good amount of detail and texture across the frequency range, even if it isn't the last word in terms of dynamic stretch. The best rivals also deliver a grander sense of scale and authority to really make their presence felt. But it’s still a good, likeable Bluetooth speaker.

The Bose does a fine job extracting detail and giving great insight into your music, but it also makes sure the listener is having fun and just enjoying their favourite tracks too.

There’s a fullness and a richness to the sound which means coarse edges don’t grate but also don’t completely lose their sparkle. Voices sound natural and expressive too. Bass notes don’t sound tubby or reluctant to move along with the music and you’re treated to a good depose of rhythmic drive.

For the JBL, the twin 70mm woofers and 20mm tweeters combine to give you a large-scale sound that dwarfs the Beats (as you’d expect given the price and size difference) and gives the Bose a run for its money. In fact, the JBL produces even more detail and greater dynamics. It reveals more from the different layers of a track and communicates them clearly and effortlessly. For a portable Bluetooth speaker, you’re treated to a surprising amount of refinement and sophistication which isn’t normally the case at this level.

Verdict

It's a pretty strong showing from all three of these Bluetooth speakers and shows the breadth of quality in what is an ultra-competitive market. The Beats Pill might not be able to compete with the others in terms of scale, but it's considerably cheaper and smaller. What it does do is tick multiple boxes for people who want something solid-sounding and small that they can sling in a bag for a day without putting a strain on their bank balance or shoulder.

The Bose SoundLink Max is a great option that just sounds fun and engaging and looks understated enough to place in any room in the house. It just gets on with entertaining its owner without shouting about it.

Which leaves the JBL Xtreme 4. This is the best of all worlds; cheaper than the Bose yet just as, if not more, detailed and refined. This will appeal to those wanting fun and a serious level of sophistication from their Bluetooth speaker.

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Our pick of the best Bluetooth speakers

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Which JBL speaker should you buy? Flip 6, Charge 5, Xtreme 4 and more compared

If LeBron James walking around town with it wasn’t a big enough giveaway, Beats has announced its iconic Beats Pill portable Bluetooth speaker is making a comeback – and it’s been reengineered and redesigned from the ground up to help it take on new competition.

Not only does the new Beats Pill look slicker than its predecessor, with a more rounded and seamless design, but it's claimed to sound better, is lighter and more durable, and now features a longer all-day battery life.

The original Beats Pill (2015-2022) was something of a pop culture phenomenon, and found itself in the background of music videos as regularly as Beats headphones found themselves around the neck of musicians and sports stars. The problem was, it didn’t actually sound very good, and there’s been sizeable work put into ensuring that’s not the case this time. 

An upgraded acoustic architecture aims to deliver a bigger, bolder sound than the last Beats Pill, with deeper bass and improved tonality across the board. The completely reengineered racetrack woofer uses stronger neodymium magnets to help drive 28 per cent more motor force and displace 90 per cent more air volume for a more powerful sound, while the redesigned tweeter has been secured in its own housing to provide extra stability. Beats says this should deliver rich mids, crisp highs and less distortion.

• Read our full Beats Pill review

The drivers also now have a 20-degree upward tilt for better on-axis sound projection, but if you need an even bigger sound, you can sync two Beats Pill speakers together, in either Amplify or Stereo Mode.

As for its design, it’s now 10 per cent lighter than its predecessor and is more easily portable thanks to the removable carry lanyard. It finally gets waterproofing this time around too, with an IP67 rating protecting it against dust, sand and water.

Otherwise, the Beats Pill keeps things pretty simple. There are a handful of on-device controls, for managing music and adjusting volume, plus power and pairing, and a USB-C port at the back. Not only is this used for charging, with up to 24 hours of continuous playback, but it can also be used for wired lossless playback from a phone or laptop. 

A Fast Fuel option for two hours of music from a 10-minute charge is also available.

Of course, the Beats Pills takes advantage of its Apple heritage to deliver seamless compatibility with both iOS and Android devices, with instant one-touch pairing, plus Find My or Find My Device features in case it is lost.

The Beats Pill is available to order starting today in a choice of three colours ­­­– Matte Black, Statement Red and Champagne Gold – for £150/$150 with shipping starting on 27th June. We’ll have a full review for you very soon.

MORE:

Read our original Beats Pill+ review

What's its competition? Check out all the best Bluetooth speakers on the market right now

Sonos Roam 2: release date, price and what's new

The Beats Pill (2015-2022) is about to be resurrected this summer, if celebrity sightings and reports from 9to5 Mac and The Verge are anything to go by. 

The petite, portable and stylish Beats Pill+ Bluetooth speaker was the first product released when Apple acquired Beats back in 2014, improving upon the older Beats by Dr Dre Pill model with a refined design, new features and clearer sound. However, lacklustre dynamics and being bettered for detail, rhythmic cohesion and insight by stronger rivals at the time left us wanting, especially for the rather hefty £190/$230 price tag, and it was quietly discontinued in early 2022.

But it seems Beats is bringing back the nifty little speaker with a host of updates to address our previous issues. 9to5Mac claims through unnamed sources that there are audio upgrades throughout the new Pill for a "louder sound, bigger bass and better tonality". These updates include a new, more powerful racetrack bass driver, a redesigned tweeter in its own housing and a 20-degree upward tilt "for sending sound up to your ears and away from objects in the way".

We bemoaned the lack of an IP rating in the last model but it looks like the new Pill will come with an IP67 rating to survive summer rains, beach outings and pool parties, and the previous 12-hour battery life will reportedly be doubled to provide all-day 24-hour playback. In comparison, the new Sonos Roam 2 only offers 10 hours on a single charge, while the five-star JBL Flip 6 and Charge 5 offer 12 and 20 respectively.

Bluetooth 5.3, a new carry lanyard, swift auto-pairing and 'Find My' features for iOS and Android devices are also on the cards, while a USB-C charging port will be available for charging and wired audio connection for devices (such as the iPhone 15).

The report also suggests that the new Beats speaker will be larger but lighter, can be paired with a second Pill for stereo or more volume output, and will likely be available in three finishes: black, gold and red.

The previous incarnation featured a 3.5mm audio input/headphone jack, something that we wouldn't be surprised to see nixed in the new model, although we would expect the multi-purpose 'b' button to return for controlling playback, answering calls and summoning voice assistants.

We really liked the now decade-old Pill's sleek, portable design and high build quality, and the renders show a similar but more seamless look, as is the current trend. If Beats can improve on the audio side, it can play in the same league as the current class leaders in today's packed Bluetooth speaker market.

There's still no word on pricing or launch date, but considering famous sportspeople such as LeBron James and Daniel Ricciardo have been spotted oh-so-casually slinging the new Pill model, a summer release is a good bet.

MORE:

Read our original Beats Pill+ review

Check out all the best Bluetooth speakers on the market right now

Sonos Roam 2: release date, price and what's new

Beats has announced it is further expanding and updating its headphone line up, with a new pair of true wireless buds and a successor to its best-selling on-ear cans.

The Solo Buds are brand new and expand the Solo family into the in-ear market for the first time, while the Beats Solo 4 are the successors to the Solo 3, the on-ear headphones that launched in 2016, and very much overdue a refresh.

Unlike the larger Beats Studio Pro, which were released last year, the Solo family focuses on compact design and portability. In fact, the Beats Solo Buds come in the smallest charging case the brand has ever made, but still pack in some pretty impressive specs.

With a custom-built acoustic architecture, each earbud features dual-layer transducers designed to minimise micro-distortions across the frequency curve, while the ergonomically designed acoustic nozzles and laser-cut vents help to improve audio performance while relieving pressure during long wear.

There are four ear tip sizes in the box (XS, S, M and L) to help fit a variety of ear shapes, which is important for passive noise reduction since there's no noise cancellation here. You will reap the rewards in battery life as a result though, with a whopping 18 hours of playback from a single charge.

Once you've got through that, USB-C charging will get the buds back up to full, and you can even charge them directly from your phone or tablet if you're caught short. Plus, Beats' Fast Fuel function will get you an hour's worth of playback from five minutes on charge.

If you prefer an on-ear fit, the Beats Solo 4 offer a lightweight (217g), compact design that are promising comfort thanks to new UltraPlush on-ear cushions and flex-grip headband, plus ergonomically angled earcups for delivering the sound more directly into your ears.

It's been eight years since we've seen a new pair of Solo headphones, and so they've rightfully been re-engineered from the ground up for how they sound. There are custom-built 40mm transducers in each earcup with a focus on clarity, by minimising electronic artifacts and distortion.

There's also support for Personalised Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking this time round, and you can choose to listen via Bluetooth, USB-C for lossless audio and simultaneous charging and 3.5mm analogue.

Like their predecessors, the Beats Solo 4 also go without noise cancellation, but have managed to squeeze out a bit more battery life over the previous generation, now offering up to 50 hours up from 40 hours. Fast Fuel is once again on hand to give five hours of playback from a quick, 10-minute charge too.

As we've seen with Beats headphones before, both the Solo Buds and the Solo 4 will benefit from dual compatibility with both iOS and Android devices, including one-touch pairing, automatic account setup and the Find My/Find My Device locating feature for the two operating systems. 

Beats Solo 4 are available in three colors – a choice of Matte Black, Slate Blue and Cloud Pink – for £199.99/$199.99, and will ship from 2nd May, while the Solo Buds will be available in a choice of four colors – Matte Black, Storm Grey, Arctic Purple and Transparent Red – for £79.99/$79.99 (US) from the beginning of June.

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Read our full review of Beats Studio Pro

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To launch a pair of wireless earbuds nowadays, you must be either extremely confident or extremely foolish. Maybe both. The standard is so high now – even among the cheaper options – and the competition so fierce, that to stand out your product needs to be nothing short of spectacular.

Apple's AirPods Pro 2 certainly fulfil that brief. With plenty of iOS-exclusive features, they have a strong angle as the best wireless earbuds for iPhone users. They're also the best-sounding in-ear AirPods yet, and the first to earn five stars from us.

But Apple wants to cover all segments of the market, which is why its Beats subsidiary has launched the Studio Buds +. With redesigned vents for better airflow promising better bass reproduction and more effective active noise cancellation (ANC), they are a big improvement on their predecessors, the standard Studio Buds. But how do they compare to Apple's finest?

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: price

Even after their recent price cut, the AirPods Pro 2 are still more expensive than the Studio Buds +. In September 2023, Apple launched a version of the AirPods Pro 2 with a USB-C charging case in place of the old Lightning one. It cost £229 / $249 / AU$399 – that's the same price as the old model in the US and Australia, but £20 cheaper in the UK. Result.

The Studio Buds + cost £179.99 / €199.95 / $169.99 when they launched in June 2023, and are still hovering around that price now, give or take £10.

Winner: Beats Studio Buds +

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: design

If you've seen the first generation of AirPods Pro – and who hasn't? – you know what to expect. The sequels are nigh-on identical: the vents and mics have been repositioned, but otherwise the design is unchanged.

The second-gen add XS ear tips to the existing three sizes, and the ear tip fit test ensures you get a secure, comfortable fit. Other design improvements include the addition of on-bud volume controls (via touch control, naturally), and the charging case now has a built-in speaker and a lanyard loop. Wireless charging comes as standard.

The Studio Buds + also look very similar to their predecessors. The only obvious difference is a smaller 'b' icon on the control plate (which is also smaller). That's it.

They're small and light, and fit comfortably, but it's a shame there's no ear tip fit test as with the AirPods. The first tips we tried seemed to fit fine, but theirs wasn't the best seal, which impacted on sound quality. Instead it's a case of trial and error. Like the AirPods, they come with an XS size to go with the usual S, M and L.

Physical buttons might seem a little old fashioned in this era of on-bud touch controls, but the Studio Buds +'s feel more reliable than the AirPods' swipe and pinch method. They respond with reassuring clicky feedback to let you know your press has registered, and there's no danger of accidentally changing the volume if you scratch your head, say. They also come in a far greater range of finishes than the AirPods (black and gold, ivory, and transparent) – Beats is Apple's younger, funkier, more fun subsidiary, after all.

Winner: Beats Studio Buds +

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: features

The main improvement over the standard Studio Buds and the Buds + is the new acoustic vents. By increasing airflow, they promise to improve bass reproduction and create a more open soundstage, benefitting sound quality, active noise cancellation and comfort levels. They're in good company – the AirPods Pro 2 feature a similar improvement, and it did indeed yield real benefits to the acoustic quality and overall listening experience. 

There are also three larger microphones, which also aid the Transparency mode (sometimes called 'talk though') and make for clearer calls.

Battery life is up an hour to six hours from the buds and 24 using the carry case – from the buds, that's the same as the pricier AirPods Pro 2, but six hours fewer from the case. Turn ANC off and you'll get nine hours from the buds and 36 total. Bluetooth 5.3 supports the standard SBC and AAC codecs – just like the AirPods, there are no higher-quality codecs allowed, but Spatial Audio gets the green light. 

But unlike the AirPods, the Studio Buds + open up previously iOS-only features to Android devices courtesy of the Beats app.That includes one-touch pairing, customisable earbud controls and always-on Siri. 

The AirPods Pro 2 might not have as many features with Android, but they do work supremely well with iOS. Pairing is near-instant, playback is responsive, and the buds pause when taken out of your ear and resume when popped back in. It's all seamless, and requires next to no work on your part.

The dedicated AirPods section in the iOS menu is much simpler than going into the Bluetooth menu, and elevates the AirPods to a kind of VIP status among connected devices. 

The AirPods let you customise your Spatial Audio experience, but it's a bit hit and miss. It involves using your iPhone's camera to take a photo of your ears, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Points for innovation, but it needs simplifying via an update.

There are also plenty of sound features to play with. Adaptive Transparency takes the edge off sudden noises in your environment when you're using Transparency Mode. Adaptive Audio (which arrived with iOS 17) dynamically adjusts the level of ANC to counter the noises in your surroundings, while Conversation Awareness detects when you're talking and lowers the music volume so you can carry on a conversation. 

Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 2

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: noise cancellation

When it comes to ANC on both pairs, you get what you pay for. The Studio Buds +'s Transparency Mode sounds clearer and more spacious compared with the original Buds, while the ANC overall is fine but not outstanding. General noise like train engines and office chat are subdued but not erased, and you can't manually adjust the level of ANC. 

The Pro 2's ANC is much more impressive. They reportedly block twice as much noise as the original AirPods Pro, and from using them, we can believe it. Background noise is much more muted than with the Studio Buds +, and while you're not completely cut off in a cocoon of silence, it is very effective. 

You might not be able to manually adjust the Pro 2's level of ANC, but Adaptive Audio takes care of that for you. It's subtle but effective, doing a good job of damping down unwanted noises like traffic. Adaptive Transparency lends itself particularly well to screeches on the London Underground (from the trains, not the passengers), while Conversation Awareness is more intelligent at recognising when you're talking than Sony's similar Speak-to-Chat. The way it fades in and out of the volume changes is more elegantly handled, too.

Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 2

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: sound

Again, this round is a case of spending more for better performance. The Studio Buds + feature a custom two-layer transducer in each bud, but it's a bit of a mixed bag.

They're not lacking in power or volume, and the audio is clean and open with well-defined edges. But they could do with an extra layer of detail, along with more texture and better timing. The various elements of a song sound a bit disconnected through the Studio Buds +, whereas the AirPods Pro 2 combine them in a more cohesive manner.

Their balance also tends to skew towards the bass in a way that proves a little wearying over time. It's not as bad as the Beats headphones of old, and the top end never sounds bright or harsh, but more refined ears will demand more.

Such ears should be steered towards the AirPods Pro 2, which are a real step up on the Studio Buds +. They take Apple's classic tonal neutrality and give it more weight, more detail and more dynamic subtlety. It makes for an engaging, entertaining listen that's much richer and more powerful than the bass-skewed Beats.

This is true for thudding dance-floor fillers and more meditative fare alike. The AirPods Pro 2 have layers and textures aplenty, and the sound is beautifully open and spacious. The tweaked vent system has much more of an impact on their sound than it does on the Studio Buds +. 

Winner: Apple AirPods Pro 2

Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods Pro 2: verdict

As if it was ever in any doubt. The AirPods Pro 2 might be more expensive, but you get a lot more for your money, including more (and more advanced) features, better noise cancelling, a longer battery life and far superior sound quality.

That's not to write off the Studio Buds + completely. They do offer some of what makes the AirPods Pro 2 so great at a cheaper price, and – crucially – they bring some previously iOS-only to Android users. It's just that they're outgunned not only by the AirPods Pro 2, but by similarly-priced rivals like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and even Beats' own Fit Pro as well. Beats, maybe it's time to go back to the studio.

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The new Studio Pro were supposed to be the cans that brought a little can-do back to the Beats brand, yet they left a lot to be desired when compared with the market’s bigger players. As we lamented in our recent Beats Studio Pro review, the famous headphone brand’s latest wireless over-ear cans aren’t bad exactly, rather they fail to stand out in any area of sonic performance that would likely induce anyone who cares about sound quality to buy them for the £350 / $350 asking price, that’s rather on the premium end. Detail, bass punch, dynamics, vocals, spaciousness – there’s nothing here that a pair of class-leading Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones can’t give you in greater quantities and to higher standards.

This is the most disappointing aspect of the Studio Pro, in that the new cans’ sonic mediocrity seems to be wholly indicative of the rut in which the Beats brand now finds itself. The Pro have joined a number of Beats over-ears (and a few wireless earbuds) that talked a good game and were backed by a powerful brand legacy and a strong set of features, but ultimately failed to sonically deliver compared to their similarly priced peers. How, then, have we come to this state of affairs, and how does Beats rectify such a sorry situation?

A brief history of Beats – in the beginning…

When Beats exploded onto the scene in the mid-to-late 2000s, it changed wearable audio forever. Keen to start their own range of premium headphones that would (now somewhat ironically) provide an audio experience superior to that which most iPod users were getting from Apple’s cheap, bundled white earbuds, producer Jimmy Iovine and hip-hop legend Dr Dre teamed up with audio company Monster Cables to produce their first pair of premium over-ears.

The first Beats by Dr Dre Studio headphones cost an unprecedented $350 at that time, and in doing so smashed the ceiling on what was acceptable to charge for a pair of headphones. The market changed forever. Courtesy of the weight of Dre’s name and some aggressively youth-oriented marketing, the Beats brand exploded like a firework into the mainstream. And it went from strength to strength thanks to two main prongs of attack: a signature Beats look and a signature Beats sound, two things that seem to have faded as time wore on and new rivals weighed in.

Beats may have been characterised by a sonic flavour that many found unpalatable, particularly when it came to excessively excitable trebles and overly prevalent bass punch, but at least then the brand had an identity. Beats consistently delivered a signature sound profile that was beloved by those users who craved hefty, meaty bass over almost all other sonic concerns. For the few years that followed, rival companies threw their principles out of the window in an attempt to ape that same bass-heavy soundscape, yet nothing could stop the Beats train as it hurtled towards a pretty impressive market share.

That bass-heavy sound profile and celebrity-endorsed aura served Beats beautifully, and while one may quibble over the idea of headphones focusing on one aspect of the audio frequency at the expense of others, you could test a pair of Beats cans blindfolded and know their origins in an instant. The Beats brand was, rather appropriately, categorised by the three main ‘bs’: bass, branding, and the bloated price tags that went hand in hand with any technology or fashion offering a slice of street cred at that time.

Defining a sound

That isn’t to say, however, that we were immune to their charms here at What Hi-Fi?. We awarded 2010’s then-named Monster Beats HD a four-star review, calling them a “purposeful and uncompromising listen” and praising their “assertive, spacious and balanced sound”. The Monster Beats Pro also earned a four-star rating in part down to, you guessed it, that “astonishing bass”. Yes, we might have wanted more detail and transparency across the board in absolute terms, but those drawbacks essentially went with the Beats territory. Customers knew what they were getting, and they clearly loved it.

That sound, for better or for worse, defined the company, and while complex legal wrangling involving a majority share buyback with Asian electronics manufacturer HTC may have seen Monster cast by the wayside, the core brand ploughed ahead unabated. When we reviewed the iBeats in 2011, there were similar reservations about the bass’s “chunky delivery” which could “get a touch domineering”, yet that four-star review attested to the buds’ overall decent quality. They were well-made, likeable and entertaining – all elements that, as we’ll get to shortly, feel lacking from many of the company’s recent releases.

Fast forward a year or so from the iBeats’ release and the story remained much the same. While the ratings rarely soared to scale the heights of a full five-star endorsement, the tale of Beats during the period before its sale to Apple in 2014 is one of consistency: big bass, celebrity endorsements aplenty, mass-market popularity and, consequently, sales that would break a hole in a cathedral’s roof. Hop onto the New York subway or London Underground in the late-2000s or 2010s and you’d only ever be a few metres from a pair of headphones with a large ‘b’ emblazoned on the earcup.

The current state of affairs – and how to fix the problems

Recent times, however, have seen Beats stray from the path that led it to such success. While the acquisition by Apple in 2014 will undoubtedly have had an impact, the recent middling performance of the Studio Pro feels more like a culmination of more deep-rooted technical issues. Multiple models have followed, and although many have pointed towards a brighter future, few have felt like true Beats headphones even to the extent that the bass reproduction of the 2019-released Powerbeats Pro "lacked punch”. 

As we arrive at 2023’s Studio Pro, then, their sonic and aesthetic failures feel like a culmination of all these problems coming together in a single pair of cans, leaving us with a product that should have picked a lane but instead played it too safe in an attempt to rectify a myriad of differing issues. Fifteen years ago, the idea of a pair of Beats headphones having a sound profile that some might describe as boring would have been unthinkable, so it was such a letdown that this year’s over-ears felt bland, non-commital and dynamically removed from the music they were conveying. The Beats Studio Pro are lacking in any strong single sonic feature and, as a result, feel like a jack of all trades and a master of none.

As we lamented in our review, this is a pair of headphones that, especially when compared to more competent rivals, is “lacking in dynamism, energy and overall musical interest”. The Sony WH-1000XM5, for instance, are more sophisticated, nuanced and refined than the Studio Pro, but they're also “a fun, far more enjoyable ride”. Fun is the keyword here; Beats used to be fun. They don’t feel fun anymore.

The new Pro don’t even look or feel like a pair of Beats should, either. Iovine and Dre (or perhaps more likely their hard-working design and marketing teams) made a concerted and conscious effort to make the Beats feel like a premium product that could justify such a similarly premium price tag. When you saw Kobe Bryant, Eminem, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli or any of the countless athletes or musicians with a pair of those iconic cans strapped to their heads or slung around their necks, the glamour of the headphones conjured ideas that this was a fashion brand as much as an audio one. You saw them and you wanted them, regardless of sound quality or even price.

Now, though, that alluring sheen seems to have disappeared. Not only do Beats seem less prevalent in the fickle world of the celebrity sphere, but they’re also not particularly well-suited to the glamorous aesthetic of that affluent realm either. While clean and clinical in their design, the Studio Pro hardly set the world alight in the way that, visually and as a whole package, a pair of AirPods Max do. They are, to be frank, a little on the dull side.

The problems facing Beats can’t be boiled down to a simple good or bad dichotomy. Rather, the products currently hint at a brand in danger of losing its signature identity forever, culminating in a pair of headphones that feel sonically compromised across the board as opposed to confident in their own skin. 

Beats may not have been to all tastes in the first place, and certainly could have improved in some key sonic areas, yet their products always gave you something other rivals couldn’t provide, be it booming bass or that je ne sais quoi design statement that spoke of a brand with its finger on the cultural pulse. It was popular and with good reason. If the Apple-owned brand wants to rediscover its mojo, it may be best to look to the past in order to navigate a tricky, uncertain future.

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Read our Beats Studio Pro review 

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We haven’t necessarily been enthusiastic about Beats’ recent string of over-ear and in-ear headphones, with very few models even managing to earn a solid recommendation. While we’re often impressed with how the American brand’s headphones look and feel, not to mention the myriad things they can often do, our doubts have often lingered as to whether their sound quality is on par with the real class leaders.

Sound, after all, is the most important factor in dictating whether or not anything we review – be it a pair of speakers or a cheap set of running headphones – gets a good write up, and while the importance of size, features or design varies from product to product, sound quality remains paramount.

The Beats Studio Pro are the fourth generation of the brand’s popular Studio line, and when a review pair arrived in our offices a few weeks ago, we were keen to see if they could improve on the company's recent efforts and challenge the class leaders. What we’re hoping for is a sound that ditches those excessively harsh treble tones or flabby bass tendencies to give us a refined, musical and balanced listening experience, one that can bring the Studio line up to speed with its closest rivals from Bose, Sennheiser and Sony.

Comfort & build

As you’d expect from a company owned by Apple and with a reputation for being almost as much a fashion brand as an audio one, the Beats Studio Pro look suitably chic. Our test pair comes in a pleasing Navy Blue finish (Black, Sandstone and Deep Brown are also available), and while this latest iteration has a clean, contemporary aesthetic, a few more touches of a secondary colour might help stop things from feeling so monochromatic. 2023’s debutantes are – say it quietly – just a smidge on the dull side.

They feel good in the hand, though, with a robust yet flexible construction. The earpads themselves are constructed from UltraPlush fabric, a sort of memory foam/leather composite, with a firm consistency that can be unforgiving if the cans are pressing on, rather than around, your outer ear. Unlike some rivals, Beats don’t offer replacements either, so be warned that any external damage or deterioration can’t easily be remedied. 

Elsewhere, the Studio Pro are adequately made, accompanied by a pleasing fabric case into which your cans will fold away effortlessly when you hit the road. Folding is a simple process, and while the loud popping noise they make can be disconcerting the first time your Beats are packed away, we didn’t face any structural issues during our tests. 

Features

On the face of it, the Beats Studio Pro are well-furnished with features. The way these features manifest and are distributed, however, is a little baffling, making it hard to make a straightforward assessment. One of the Pro’s big boasts is support for Apple’s Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking for “theatre-like sound” with Dolby Atmos tracks, a feature that can be tweaked and personalised via the Beats app. We give it a whirl and find our experience of The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter to be satisfyingly cohesive, especially with regard to the presentation of the track’s various percussive elements. 

The support for lossless audio (up to 24-bit/48kHz) through the wired connection is a fantastic boost, too, but considering that the supplied cable for the task is a USB-C to USB-C, you won’t be able to plug your Apple-made headphones into your iPhone without an adapter for the Lightning connector. More unusually, if you choose to use your cans simply via Bluetooth (which doesn’t support uncompressed hi-res), you can’t choose from Beats’ various sound profiles, as this can only be done when hooked up via USB-C, a strange omission that makes listening wirelessly significantly less versatile than doing so through a physical tether.

There are two main physical inputs – one USB-C and the other standard 3.5mm – to choose from besides listening wirelessly via Bluetooth, while hi-res files are playable courtesy of an internal 24-bit/48kHz DAC. Be warned, however, that you’ll still need to switch your Beats on when using a wired connection if you want to actually hear anything at all.

Noise cancelling is next, and the Studio Pro deliver confidently with their implementation of such a sought-after feature. The understated cans offer two main noise cancelling modes via fully adaptive ANC and Transparency Mode, the latter of which lets outside environmental sounds, such as helpful train announcements, penetrate your ANC bubble. We find both work without fuss or failing, although we judged the Sony-WH-1000XM4 to be slightly better at shutting out the droning noise of our office’s over-enthusiastic air conditioners.

Battery life, meanwhile, is adequate at this level. If you’re happy to use a physical connection and turn off noise cancelling, the Studio Pro are just about able to eke out 40 hours of life, although that figure does fall to around 24 with ANC activated. Still, those numbers are enough to at least compete with the Sony WH-1000XM5 (40 hours without ANC, 30 hours with), and we’re impressed when a ten-minute charge courtesy of the Beats’ Fast Fuel feature offers the promised four hours of playback.

Weirdly, there’s no on-head detection or even the convenience of Bluetooth Multipoint, but other boosts help make using the Beats more pleasurable, with the new Pro clearly designed to bridge the iOS/Android divide. Hands-free control works well, though Find My Beats only gives the cans’ last known location rather than providing a ‘live feed’. 

We can’t shake the idea, though, that the Studio Pro is a pair of cans suffering from some inexplicable compromises. The lack of a dedicated Apple chip (which was used in the Beats Solo 3 and in the Beats Fit Pro earbuds) seems like an odd decision, as does the omission of some user-friendly features we’ve come to expect from a new pair of headphones at this price, namely Bluetooth Multipoint, on-head detection and sound profile selection when used wirelessly. 

Price

Beats aren’t exactly shrinking violets when it comes to price, and while there are certainly cheaper models available, you can often end up paying a premium just for the cost of that famous ‘b’ emblazoned on the earcups. 

The Studio Pro will set you back £350 / $350 / AU$530, a figure that puts them just under the original RRP of the class-leading Sony WH-1000XM5 (tested at £380 / $399 / AU$550). That said, the XM5 have been around for a while now, so prices have dropped to hover around the £300-350 / $300-350 mark, putting the rival cans in broadly the same ballpark price-wise.

For further context, we tested the five-star Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless cans at £300 / $350 / AU$550), while a pair of the excellent, more premium Apple AirPods Max came to our testing rooms with a much heftier price tag of £549 / £549 / AU$899.

The comparison here, really, should be with the Sony XM5, as not only are these the cans to beat, they’re pretty much identical in price as of right now, although it’s to the Beats’ credit that their original testing price is about £30 less than that of the Sonys.

Sound

Let’s start out with the basics by letting the Studio Pro loose with Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey In The Jar played via Bluetooth. The arrangement of the composition is competent enough, with that guitar coming to the fore nicely, yet there’s a slight feeling of sonic detachment that you wouldn’t expect to find in a pair of premium headphones, not to mention a perceptible lack of rhythmic drive. This is Irish-infused glam rock with a rebellious spirit, so we’d like more of that loose, Celtic feel to really punch through. Instead, an almost monotonous, removed drudgery takes over as the fun and folkiness of the guitar fade into the background. 

Moving over to the Sony WH-1000XM5 really highlights the Beats’ shortcomings. The same Thin Lizzy track feels energised this time around, imbued with that infectious folk rock sway and surge that we found so lacking with the Studio Pro. The XM5 are more sophisticated, refined and have a greater understanding of the music played through them, yet they’re also a fun, far more enjoyable ride.

A Tidal Hi-Fi rendition of De La Soul’s The Magic Number comes next for the Beats, and new problems emerge. The track’s anchoring drum beat certainly has a sufficiently percussive kick to it, but the tune’s deeper registers feel somewhat fat and muddled. A rockier effort such as Weezer’s Buddy Holly does a strong job of conveying the song’s crunchy, alternative guitars, even if Sony’s WH-1000XM5 feels snappier, more dynamic and even more musically interesting. This, sadly, is a story that extends beyond our playing of Weezer’s back catalogue.

We reach for the Beats’ 3.5mm cable and experience a noticeable difference in sound quality. The same Weezer track retains that slight shortage in musical subtlety, but any muddiness and lack of cohesion is more convincingly rectified. Instead of the sound spilling around haphazardly, everything is pushed in a more focused, cohesive direction.

How about the promises of that USB-C lossless connection? We hook the Beats up to a laptop playing hi-res files using the cable provided and the cans are invigorated. A hi-res recording of Fleet Foxes’ Wading In Waist-High Water hits with real force, and while greater dynamic peaks and troughs would be nice, we’re treated to a clearer, more confident showing with the cable attached. 

As shown above, competition at this level comes from the (older and cheaper but still available) Sony WH-1000XM4 and current WH-1000XM5. The Studio Pro by no means disgrace themselves, yet they’re still left wanting in the key areas in which the Sony headphones always seem to excel. For nuance, subtlety and rhythmic drive, not to mention musicality and dynamics, it is the Award-winning Sony cans that really set the standard. The Beats’ effort (when listened to wirelessly) pales in comparison, lacking in dynamism, energy and overall musical interest.

Verdict

While this is unquestionably a well-made, competent and relatively handsome pair of headphones, a lack of true sonic interest or dynamism makes the Beats Studio Pro hard to recommend. In almost all areas, there are better rivals at this price that can provide what these competent challengers offer, but with more refinement, insight and aplomb. 

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 4

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Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM5

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Best over-ear headphones: wired and wireless over-ears for every budget

We know about plenty of new features coming to the Apple TV later this year, but there's one that Apple has been keeping under its hat: Spatial Audio becoming available in two pairs of AirPods simultaneously.

At the moment, Apple's Spatial Audio immersive audio content on the Apple TV is limited to playing through one pair of AirPods at a time. But FlatpanelsHDhas discovered that this will change in the autumn with the launch of tvOS 17.

This Shared Spatial Audio feature works with 5.1 and 7.1 audio as well as Dolby Atmos, just like regular Spatial Audio. Supported apps include Netflix and Apple TV+, and Beats headphones that support Spatial Audio will also support this audio-sharing feature.

FlatpanelsHD has reportedly used the new feature with an Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen) connected to a pair of AirPods Pro and AirPods 3. We assume all Spatial Audio-compatible models of AirPods will be able to use the feature, though that is yet to be confirmed.

However, there's a catch. Connect two pairs of AirPods/Beats to the Apple TV 4K with Spatial Audio enabled, and you won't be able to use Spatial Audio's dynamic head tracking feature. This anchors the sound so that it always seems like it's coming from the audio source even if you turn your head to the side. Instead, only the 'Fixed' option is available – turn your head to the left and the soundstage won't adjust to 'follow' your head movements. For now, anyway. As tvOS 17 is still in beta, this feature could be enabled at some point in the future.

The tvOS 17 software will launch this autumn, probably around the same time as the iPhone 15. It will bring FaceTime for video calls, an Enhanced Dialogue feature through the HomePod speaker, the ability to find your Apple TV remote using your iPhone, and more. 

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There’s a new pair of Beats wireless headphones on the way (Beats Studio Pro), news that should fill us with excitement and cheer. After all, Beats is a massive headphones brand that, after its acquisition by the even bigger mega-corp Apple a few years back, should really be one of the major players in the wearable audio game. 

However, despite the Dr Dre-founded brand being seriously popular since it launched in 2006, that excitement is metered by our past experiences with the Beats brand's line of headphones and earbuds.

Sound quality has not, to be frank, always been the brand's crowning glory. Beats products have been criticised over the years for their overly-bassy emphasis and for prioritising style over proper audio substance. And while that doesn’t seem to have affected sales to what has usually been a relatively youth-oriented demographic, the brand’s reputation as a manufacturer of recommendable headphones to rub shoulders alongside the likes of Bose, Sennheiser and Sony – and even Apple – has always laboured under such criticisms.

Sony, meanwhile, is an audio giant that has gone from strength to strength, delivering consistently high levels of sound quality across its range of headphones and earbuds. These high standards are exemplified in the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM5 over-ear headphones, a class-leading set of cans that, currently at around £300-350 (tested at £380 / $399 / AU$550), are in the same ballpark as the upcoming Beats Studio Pro (£349.99 / $349.99).

That makes the WH-1000XM5 and Studio Pro direct competitors and leads us to examine just exactly what Beats' effort will have to do if they're to come close to what the Sony cans offer, or even stop it in its tracks.  

Sound quality 

Beats’ record leading up to the Studio Pro hasn’t been disastrous, but it’s certainly been patchy. The basic Studio Buds we tested late last year were a strong effort, but they still suffered from a harsh treble and no on-device volume control. The Beats Fit Pro were also a fun pair of buds that offered a more mature balance and were dynamically exciting, even if a slightly excitable treble gave the edge to more authentic-sounding Apple and Sony rivals. Meanwhile, the newer Studio Buds + failed to impress us with their lack of detail and sonic texture when compared with such strong competition.

Rather tellingly, it’s been a long time since we awarded any Beats product the full five stars, so much so that our list of the best Beats headphones doesn’t contain a single five-star product.

It's this constant propensity for either overly-thumping bass tones or rather shrill trebles that have hindered multiple Beats models in the past. Sony seems to nail its sound presentation every single time there's a new release, so the Studio Pro have certainly got their work cut out if they want to deliver a natural, even-toned balance to compete against the best.

More detail and texture, more balance across the frequencies and a greater sense of musicality are all required if the Studio Pro are going to come close to the Sony XM5's level of performance.

Battery life

The Sony XM5 boast a decent battery span of around 30 hours with Bluetooth and active noise-cancelling (ANC) both enabled, although if you switch ANC off you'll be treated to up to 40 hours, a pretty substantial figure. A ten-minute charge provides five hours of playtime, while a separate USB PD charger can give you three hours in a measly three minutes. 

Over to the Beats and it's a similar story. Beats has teased that the Studio Pro will equip you with 40 hours of listening without ANC and Transparency Mode, but that figure does fall to 24 hours with either of said modes activated. Four hours of playback, meanwhile, is granted from a ten-minute charge courtesy of the Beats Fast Fuel feature.

As it stands, then, this is looking like a potential win for the Sony XM5s for the extra handful of hours, although real-life numbers always vary depending on factors such as how loud you listen to music and any extra features that are turned on.

Comfort and ease of use

The Sony WH-1000XM5 are made to a very high standard with a streamlined design that looks and feels worthy of its high asking price. In our review, we did cite a few design issues with the new-look model, mainly that it doesn't fold away fully as in previous generations and there are small niggles with the protruding headband sliders. Still, the construction quality is high, and the memory foam earpads and synthetic leather headband delivered some of the best comfort and fit we'd ever experienced from a pair of Sony over-ear cans.

Beats products have, conversely, been accused in the past of prioritising style over audio substance in the past. That said, build quality and durability go beyond the purely aesthetic when you're listening to your tunes for long periods, so they're still major factors you should consider when the time comes to purchase a new pair of over-ears. 

While we haven't reviewed the new Beats headphones yet, we can look to other recent models as a reference point. For instance, we criticised the more affordable Beats Solo 3 Wireless (£199.95 / $199) as having a fit that was too tight, and while the build quality was of a decently high standard, it didn't blow us away, either. The new Studio Pro may have a familiar-looking design, but we expect a certain level of fit and finish at this higher price point that Beats is aiming for. Here's hoping the Studio Pro absolutely nail it in terms of style, sturdiness and comfort.

Features 

This is where the Beats could really prove something of a dark horse. The Studio Pro will reportedly support Apple Spatial Audio alongside dynamic head tracking for “theatre-like sound” with Dolby Atmos tracks. You can even personalise the spatial audio effect using your phone, something you can do with the latest AirPods Pro 2 earbuds. That could be a serious win for the Beats over-ears if you're a fan of the immersive audio format.

Beats also teased hi-res support details, with the headphones sporting a 24-bit/48kHz DAC that can play 24-bit tracks from hi-res services such as Amazon Music, Apple Music and Tidal. Sadly, that's only possible via the wired USB-C connection. Streaming 24-bit audio over wireless isn't possible as the cans only support the standard SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. You can also play lossless audio using the 3.5mm headphone port, but only as long as you also use an external DAC in between the headphones and your source.

Will this be enough to compete with the Sonys? The XM5 do feature the LDAC codec for high-quality audio streaming at higher bitrates over Bluetooth (e.g. 32-bit/96kHz quality at up to 990kbps data speeds, substantially higher than standard SBC's 328kbps but still lossy), while the brand's DSEE Extreme engine can intelligently upscale compressed music to near hi-res quality to decent effect. 

Meanwhile, features like Wearing Detection and Quick Attention are handy boosts to ease of use on the Sony, while the Beats' hands-free implementation of Siri, not to mention head-tracking spatial audio, make for a fascinating match-up. This could be a decision that could depend as much on personal preference and priorities as anything else.

• What is lossless audio? Is it worth it and do you need it?

Noise Cancellation

ANC is a big deal these days, mainly because frequent commuters, travellers and urban dwellers are realising just how useful decent noise cancelling is for immersing you in the music you love with minimal interference from the outside world. The Studio Pro will offer two main noise cancelling modes: fully adaptive ANC and Transparency Mode which lets the outside world in. These go toe-to-toe with Sony's adaptive ANC and Ambient Mode. In essence, both sets are offering similar noise-cancelling features.

The struggle for the Beats will be when it comes to the performance and effectiveness of the two features. The XM5's automatic optimisation of ANC is excellent, up there with the class leaders in terms of its implementation, meaning the Studio Pro will have to seriously impress on this front. Still, if the ANC actually performs to a high standard, that will really put a feather in the Pro's cap, regardless of whether it matches Sony's supreme effort.

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Here are the best headphones we've tested across all budgets

Read our full review of the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM5 here 

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II vs Sony WF-1000XM4: which buds are better?

The latest Beats over-ears wireless headphones are almost here. Apple’s plans for its newest Beats model were previously leaked online via macrumors.com, but we now have full confirmation, as well as plenty of juicy details, that the Studio Pro wireless over-ears are officially here and ready to go.

We’ve been somewhat critical of Beats headphones' recent performances in the sound department (see the Beats Studio Buds + for proof), so this is an area in which we feel the Studio Pro have to step up if they’re to compete with the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM5 and or the Bose QuietComfort 35 II.

To give themselves a fighting chance, the Studio Pro are equipped with Beats’ custom acoustic platform for an “immersive listening experience”. Each 40mm driver promises optimised clarity and near-zero distortion, with a claimed improvement of up to 80 per cent compared to Pro’s predecessor. There’s also an integrated digital processor to maximise the frequency response for a powerful, detailed and balanced sound profile. We’ll be the judges…

The usual touch controls and ANC options are all locked and loaded as you’d expect. Fully adaptive Active Noise Cancelling continuously monitors the noise around you in real time, while Transparency mode gives you an awareness of your surroundings by letting in essential environmental noise.

Connections, meanwhile, come via Bluetooth, USB-C for lossless audio and simultaneous charging, as well as a 3.5mm analogue input for wired audio sources. If you’re listening via the USB-C cable, the cans will offer three listening modes. Firstly, Beats Signature profile gives the most balanced experience for all genres, whereas the Entertainment profile offers an expressive soundscape for games and movies. Lastly, Conversation Mode optimises voices for phone calls and podcasting.

Spatial Audio is supported, with dynamic head tracking for “theatre-like sound” from Dolby Atmos, something which can be customised from your phone. Upgraded mics tease high-quality calls that enhance human speech for up to 27% better clarity than the Beats Studio3 Wireless cans.

Beats also furnished us with the details regarding hi-res support, and there’s some good news and bad news. An internal 24-bit/48kHz DAC can play 24-bit tracks from hi-res services such as (Amazon Music, Apple Music and Tidal), but only via a wired USB-C connection. The Studio Pro can support lossless over the 3.5mm headphone port, but that uses the DAC in the source device as normal. 24-bit playback over wireless isn’t supported as the cans only support standard SBC and AAC codecs.

9to5mac hypothesised that the Studio Pro wouldn’t use an Apple-designed chip, instead opting for a custom-made Beats chip to facilitate cross-platform support for both Apple and Android. This seems to be the case, as features such as Fast Pair and Find My Device will now be available for Android users, as well as seamless Audio Switching and a dedicated Beats app for Android devices. Apple acolytes, conversely, will enjoy One-touch pairing, automatic software updates, Siri compatibility and Find My Headphones based on their last known location.

Battery life is an important consideration for wireless headphone users these days, and the Beats Studio Pro supposedly boast some impressive numbers. You’ll hopefully enjoy 40 hours of listening without ANC and Transparency Mode, dropping to 24 hours with either of said modes activated. You’ll also receive 4 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge courtesy of the Beats’ handy Fast Fuel feature.

The Beats Studio Pro will be ready to order starting August 9th, with shipping and on-shelf beginning August 10th. Coming in four colours -  Black, Deep Brown, Navy and Sandstone - they’ll be available from apple.com and will set you back £349.99 / $349.99 (further prices pending).

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Apple’s plans for its new wireless over-ear Beats model have been revealed online. According to MacRumors.com, Apple is planning to release the Beats Studio Pro on 19th July, if details shared by Myke Hurley on the Apple-focused podcast "Connected" are to be believed. 

Hurley's own source comes from an anonymous insider who claims the Studio Pro will come in four colours – Black, Navy, Sandstone and Deep Brown – with leaked images revealing the headphones to have a very similar look to the current Beats Studio3 cans.

The fundamental differences, it seems, are less cosmetic. There’s a USB-C port for charging instead of the old micro-USB, while the microphones have been upgraded to improve voice clarity by up to 27 per cent over the Studio3. The new cans will keep the standard 3.5mm headphone jack, but they do come with their own bespoke carrying case.

9to5mac provides further details. According to one of the site’s “previously reliable sources," the Studio Pro will greatly improve audio quality thanks to two custom 40mm drivers capable of massively reduced distortion levels and increased audio fidelity.

Further, the Studio Pro will come with an integrated digital processor that “optimises the final frequency response for a powerful yet balanced sound profile crafted to bring out the subtle details of whatever you’re listening to”. Classic Beats features such as ANC, Transparency Mode and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos will also be onboard, as will personalised spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. 

What about chips? According to 9to5mac, the Studio Pro won’t use an Apple-designed chip, instead opting for a custom-made Beats chip to facilitate cross-platform support for both Apple and Android. For those Android users, features such as Fast Pair and Find My Device will now be available, as well as seamless Audio Switching and a full Beats app for Android devices. 

Apple users, meanwhile, will enjoy One-touch pairing, automatic software updates, Siri compatibility and Find My Headphones based on their last known location.

If you’re listening via the USB-C cable, the upcoming cans will offer three listening modes. Firstly, the Beats Signature Mode gives the most balanced musical experience, whereas the Entertainment profile offers a more expressive experience for games and movies. Conversation Mode, meanwhile, optimises voices for calls or podcasting.

Battery life is an important consideration for wireless headphone users these days, and the Beats Studio Pro supposedly boast some impressive numbers. 9to5mac touts up to 40 hours of listening without ANC and Transparency Mode, dropping to 24 hours with either of said modes activated. You’ll also receive 4 hours of playback from a 10-minute charge courtesy of the Beats’ handy Fast Fuel feature.

According to an early reseller listing, the Studio Pro will retail for around the €399 mark in Europe, roughly the same price tag as the Studio3. MacRumors speculates this will mean a likely US cost at launch of around $349.95.

That release date of July 19th hasn’t been officially confirmed, but sources and rumours do seem to indicate that a launch could be imminent with retailers “preparing to begin shipments soon”, according to 9to5Mac. We’ll keep you posted as confirmation of further details become available. 

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Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: which wireless Beats earbuds are best?

Best Beats headphones: from budget to premium

Beats has a new pair of wireless earbuds in its line-up. The Beats Studio Buds + (or Beats Studio Buds Plus) might be a mouthful to say (and type), but its proposition is fairly simple. A mid-priced pair of wireless earbuds with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from a modern, features-packed model, backed with technology upgrades inspired by its more decorated parent company, Apple. 

There's no shortage of similarly-specced buds in this ever-crowded market, so what makes these Beats buds stand out? For one, they offer iOS-only features to Android users for seamless use and wider customisation (unlike AirPods' strictly iOS-focussed ecosystem). And secondly, to our minds, they've picked the right place to start with sound quality improvements.

Beats has taken a leaf out of Apple's acoustic design playbook by furnishing the new Studio Buds + with three new vents for better airflow through the buds, to deliver "powerful, balanced sound". Better venting and better airflow were key aspects in the acoustic design and resulting five-star sound of the brilliant AirPods Pro 2, so we're pleased to see this acoustic principle surface in the new Beats buds.

Those new vents and better airflow should improve both sound quality and noise-cancelling (ANC) quality. How? By offering better bass reproduction, a more open soundstage, and by relieving the pressure on the ears, meaning they should be more comfortable to wear for longer periods, even with ANC turned on.

Coupled with the new vents, there are three larger microphones and powerful processing that promises better ANC and Transparency quality than before, too. And while you can't customise the level of ANC in the app (you can't with AirPods either), the adaptive ANC with "custom tuning" is designed to offer the best sound profile, says Beats. You now get a fourth XS eartip to get a better fit, too.

Calls should also be clearer, thanks to the combination of a new voice mic and machine learning that zones in on just your voice in noisy environments. 

Battery life has been improved as well, to deliver 'all-day' playback. With ANC turned on, you get six hours on a single charge in the buds, with a total of 24 hours with the charging case. With ANC off, this extends to nine hours in the buds and 36 hours in total. Five minutes of fast charge will get you one hour of juice when the battery is flat.

Bluetooth 5.3 is on board, with support for the standard SBC and AAC codecs. Spatial audio is supported but only of the fixed variety; the dynamic head-tracking variant remains the reserve of the flagship Beats Fit Pro, which sport the Apple H1 silicon chip. 

The Beats Studio Buds + currently comes in three colours: an on-trend transparent finish (not unlike the Nothing Ear (2) buds), ivory and black/gold. We imagine it won't be long before more colourful options are added down the line, too.

The Beats Studio Buds + are priced at £179.99 / €199.95 / $169.99. Pre-orders are open now for US customers, while UK buyers will have to wait for June 12th; shipping starts on 13th June. Will the new Beats offer that sweet spot of great features and improved performance for the price? They've got tough competition in this crowded market, but we're looking forward to finding out in our full review.

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Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: which wireless Beats earbuds are best?

Here's our current pick of the best wireless earbuds that money can buy

Amazon has accidentally leaked a new pair of Beats wireless earbuds. The Studio Buds Plus were spotted on a premature retail listing on Amazon's website which revealed various details about the upcoming model, including images and features. 

It looks like the new  Beats Studio Buds Plus will offer a skeletal, transparent design, similar to the Nothing Ear (2), which also opt for a see-through aesthetic, and will be available in either white or black.

Transparent look aside, the earbuds and the accompanying charging case for this latest model do seem to ape those of the original Studio Buds from 2021, with no extended ear stems and a small, compact look. 

Battery life is a reported 36 hours in total, a decent amount when you consider the first Beats Studio model managed up to 8 hours from the buds and up to 24 hours from the case. According to MacRumors, there are also three larger microphones for supposedly better-quality voice calls, and you get four sizes of ear tips for a bit more choice thanks to the inclusion of an XS option.

The big news for Beats fans is that the Studio Buds Plus will finally bring in spatial audio support for both Android and iPhone users. This means you'll be able to use them with compatible tracks from services like Apple Music and Tidal.

The listing also claims the Studio Buds Plus boast a Transparency Mode twice as good as the first Studio Buds, and active noise-cancelling over one-and-a-half times better. There’s even Hey Siri compatibility for iPhone users, as well as one-touch pairing and automatic device switching, not to mention a handy “Find My” earbuds feature, too.

If you want waterproof wireless headphones to take down the local swimming baths, however, you might want to consider looking elsewhere, as the Beats Buds Plus only have a reported IPX4 rating, making them resistant to splashes of water but unprotected against strong jets or any form of liquid immersion.

According to the listing (which has since been removed), the Beats Studio Buds Plus will go on sale for $169.95 when they make their debut on May 18th, although there was no sign of UK and Australian pricing. For comparison, we tested the original Studio Buds model at £130 / $150 /AU$200, although prices have dropped since their release. We rated the originals at four stars - here's hoping the new model can go one step better.

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Read our Beats Studio Buds review

Beats has come a long way in just a few short years. What started as the brash brainchild of Dr Dre and producer Jimmy Iovine was bought by Apple in 2014 and, since then, has grown up considerably. While it originally had a reputation for earth-shattering bass at the expense of all else, its sound has become considerably more refined. Want proof? Just look at some of its current offerings.

The Beats Studio Buds are a demure little offering, with muted branding and a comprehensive feature set. Want something a little more exercise-friendly? The Beats Fit Pro are more fitness-focused but still offer active noise-cancellation and both iOS and Android compatibility.

Want to find out which Beats earbuds would suit you best? Let's have a look and see...

Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: price

The Beats Fit Pro are the more premium pair of the two. They launched at £200 / $200 / AU$299, a price which has so far held firm. Keep a lookout though – headphones (especially true wireless earbuds like these) are prime candidates for price drops come sales time, so keep your eyes peeled come Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday.

At £130 / $150 / AU$200, the Beats Studio Buds are a fair bit cheaper. Again, their RRP hasn't dropped in price since their release, but they could well be first in line for a discount come sales time.

**Winner: Beats Studio Buds**

Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: design

Whatever you might criticise Beats for, you can't say the brand doesn't put in the work when it comes to designing products. The Studio Buds are very well thought out – the ergonomically tilted acoustic nozzle features a laser-cut micro-vent to help ensure pressure relief on the eardrum, and with three silicone eartip options in total, there's decent scope to find the right fit. In fact, we found they fit well without even switching the pre-fitted eartips.

The eartips taper from the rounded capsule buds to a thinner pill shape – like a switch – where the 'b'-branded multi-function button meets driver housing. This isn't just an aesthetic flourish; it helps promote the twist-to-lock method of fitting them.

There's only a single LED to indicate battery life and when the buds are pairing with a device, however. This could be made more obvious at a glance, but it's a minor quibble on the design front.

Another quibble is that the Studio Buds don't have any volume controls on the buds themselves, but the Fit Pro do.

The Beats Fit Pro also bring their A-game in terms of design. The earbuds are lightweight, comfortable, and even more secure than the Studio Buds thanks to the wingtips that tuck into your shell-likes. This makes sense, given they're aimed at sports use, though their IPX4 rating splash- and sweatproof rating (the same as the Beats Studio Buds) could be higher considering their sport headphones status.

They're more eye-catching than the Studio Buds too and come in seven finishes (including the limited edition Kim Kardashian-tie-in colours) compared to the Studio Buds' six.

For their flashier finishes and more secure design, the Fit Pro take this round.

**Winner: Beats Fit Pro**

Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: features

Beats is owned by Apple, but you'll be pleased to know both pairs don't discriminate against Android. Unlike Apple's own AirPods (the AirPods 3 or AirPods Pro 2, for instance), the two Beats buds here have their own app so Android users can customise their experience further.

The Android app enables features such as one-touch pairing, Ear Tip Fit Test, battery status and customisable controls – all of which were previously exclusive to iOS users. Android users with Apple Music also benefit from Spatial Audio. But that's not the whole story.

Because the Beats Fit Pro use Apple's H1 chip (also found in the first-gen AirPods Pro), they do have some features that only iOS users can enjoy. These are audio sharing with other Beats and Apple earbuds, auto-switching between devices, hands-free Siri and dynamic head tracking when listening to Spatial Audio tracks. In fact, the Beats Fit Pro is, so far, the only non-Apple product to feature full Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. 

The Beats Studio Buds don't have the H1 chip and so miss out on auto-switching between devices and dynamic head tracking, but they do retain the other features.

Both pairs have three listening modes – Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), ANC off and Transparency mode – which you toggle between by long-pressing the 'b' multi-function button on either earpiece, or via the Bluetooth menu on iOS. You can also personalise the 'b' button to change the volume.

The Fit Pro win for battery life, giving you six hours of use from the buds plus another 21 from the case. The Studio Buds's figures are five and 10 hours, respectively. Both benefit from a five-minute Fast Fuel charge to give you an hour's use.

**Winner: Beats Fit Pro**

Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: sound quality

The Studio Buds were the first pair of Beats to really appeal to us. Why? The sound quality. Gone is the bass-heavy profile in favour of a more nuanced approach.

They still pack an expansive bass floor, but it never clutters up the mix. The low end is grippy and times pretty well, with plenty of texture. They score highly in terms of spacious presentation and placement too, even handling more frenzied tracks with aplomb.

They are bettered by the best wireless earbuds at their level in terms of detail and refinement, however, and their midrange sounds slightly harsh in places. 

Fittingly for a fitness-focused pair, the Beats Fit Pro sound lively and enjoyable whatever you throw at them. They're not as neutral as Apple's AirPods range, with things reined in amiably at both ends of the frequency spectrum.

Songs time well, with basslines that go deep without ever overpowering the balance. They have excellent timing and punch, and a very pleasing presentation that ties the music together cohesively, resulting in a great sense of drive.

The Fit Pro's treble can be a little bright sometimes, especially at the upper ends of the volume scale. But things never sound too sharp or uncomfortable – you can listen happily for hours.

**Winner: Beats Fit Pro**

Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: verdict

So there you have it. Beats might still enlist the A-listers to promote its wares (current ambassadors include Kim Kardashian and LeBron James), but it's moved away from its bass-at-all-costs approach. And both pairs of Beats earbuds prove that this is a very positive move.

The Studio Buds are an affordable AirPods alternative with a great feature set for iOS and Android users alike. They're bettered by their more expensive stablemate in every area except price, but they remain an excellent choice for anyone looking for Apple features on a budget who doesn't care for a fitness-friendly fit.

The Beats Fit Pro are just better all-rounders, though. They sound better, fit better, and have a couple of extra features (for iOS users) that elevate them above most of the crowd. If you can afford them, they're worth the extra outlay.

MORE:

These are the best AirPods alternatives

Best Beats headphones: budget and premium

AirPods Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM4: which should you buy?

Spatial audio could be a feature of your next Android phone. At its annual Snapdragon Summit today, Qualcomm announced its next-generation flagship chip, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and a standout feature of that platform's updated Snapdragon Sound package is spatial audio with head-tracking.

Spatial audio is essentially a 3D audio technology that aims to make the audio of films, music and games more immersive, predominantly through headphones. It ‘spatialises’ the sound, delivering a 360-degree soundscape into which effects are placed, while the ‘dynamic’ part refers to its ability to ‘track’ and adapt the audio as you move your head.

Apple began offering its own 'Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking' through its devices and AirPods and Beats headphones earlier this year, and thanks to Qualcomm’s just-announced 8 Gen 2 platform, a variant of the technology will be available on the 2023 phones that use it.

We have been impressed with the Apple spatial audio experiences we’ve had – not least with movies. We have described it as “...stunningly effective, with voices coming from all round you, and it's predictably impossible for a stereo setup to recreate”. “It’s a much more claustrophobic and affecting experience with spatial audio activated,” we said in our AirPods 3 review. We continued: “as we move our head to the right the soundscape tilts towards the left earbud – subtly but effectively.”

So presuming spatial audio on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is just as effective, Android users can very much look forward to it.

Snapdragon Sound on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip isn’t just getting an update to deliver dynamic spatial audio, though. Part of Snapdragon Sound is support for aptX Lossless, which allows for truly lossless Bluetooth transmission at 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD quality) – and now Qualcomm is expanding that to 48kHz. Importantly, it is also bringing lossless transmission to the Bluetooth Low Energy standard (previously it only supported Bluetooth Classic).

And lastly, Qualcomm has also reduced Bluetooth latency to 48 milliseconds so that the time between seeing the action on your (compatible) phone and hearing it through your (compatible) earbuds will be effectively unnoticeable.

MORE:

Apple’s Spatial Audio is a music revolution, but try it without the headphones

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The best wireless earbuds you can buy

The Beats Fit Pro are an intriguing proposition. At first glance, they look every bit the stylish, workout-friendly, active noise-cancelling earbuds with all the latest trappings that are currently glutting the market.

But there are glimmers of brilliance here: the innovative new wingtip design promises a more secure fit for active lifestyles. The presence of a Beats app for Android allows non-Apple users to reap the benefits and features of Apple’s own brand products, which are usually closed off to anyone not in the iOS ecosystem. Better ANC, better sound and Spatial Audio are also teased – and all for a decent price.

It doesn’t take us long to realise these Beats earbuds are one of the friendliest propositions around, and we think they sound rather good too. 

Price

The Beats Fit Pro cost £200 / $200 / AU$299 at launch, although you can find them at a decent discount if you look around. In the UK and the US, you can pick them up for £180 / $180 at major retailers – not a bad deal considering all the features and performance you get with these earbuds.

The Beats’ pricing is more competitive than its Apple, Bose and Sony rivals – all of which we tested at £249. However, a few of these dropped in price recently, with the superb Sony WF-1000XM4 available for £199 now, and Apple AirPods Pro down to £189. Not only is that a good deal, it also brings them right into the crosshairs of the Beats Fit Pro.

Build & Design

The earbuds themselves are lightweight, comfortable and offer a very secure fit thanks to the new flexible wingtips that tuck into your ear. Whether you’re running or on your daily commute, the Beats Fit Pro stay put without ever falling off or feeling uncomfortable. We prefer the reassuring fit of these over the sometimes-fiddly AirPods Pro. The IPX4 rating for water and sweat resistance means they’ll survive rain, a sweaty workout or a very humid day, too.

You only get three sets of ear tips (small, medium and large) in the box, but we found the best fit easily thanks to the Ear Tip Fit Test – in the Bluetooth menu for iPhones, or in the Beats app for Androids. This analyses if you’re wearing the right tip for the best seal, or need to size up or down. 

The Beats Fit Pro come in four finishes: black, white, sage grey or our review sample’s stone purple. The colour-matched charging case is like a large pebble – smooth and flat. The case is bigger than the ones that come with the AirPods Pro, the Sony XM4 and the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but that smooth flatness makes it fairly easy to slip into most pockets and bags. Some might want a more rugged finish, although we found the Beats case didn’t pick up any scratches or get damaged when shoved into a bag with keys (or even when dropped a few times).

We also went for days – close to a week in fact – without reaching for the USB-C charging cable. Battery life is a total of 27 hours with the charging case, with ANC mode turned on. You get a decent six hours in the earbuds with ANC on, which rises to 7 hours if ANC is turned off.

In comparison, the Apple AirPods Pro offer a paltry five hours with ANC on, while the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds are on par with six hours. The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 offer seven, but the Sony XM4 still lead the pack with 8 hours in the earbuds, which extends to 12 hours with ANC turned off.

Happily, the Beats have the same fast charge feature as its competition: five minutes of charge will give you one hour of battery when running low. The only downside is it doesn’t support wireless charging.

Features

Beats is owned by Apple, and with that comes all the slick convenience of AirPods and the superb H1 chip powering the buds. From instant set-up and pairing, immediate access to battery status, to customising the control buttons and Siri voice control – the Beats Fit Pro are supremely easy to start listening to within seconds of getting them out of the box. They’re flawless in use. We didn’t once experience any drop outs or connectivity issues when paired with our iPhone 12.

Instead of touch-sensitive controls, the Beats Fit Pro use reliable button-presses. Press the earbuds (where the ‘b’ icon is) to control music playback, while a longer press switches between ANC and Transparency modes, or you can customise it to change the volume. Volume control on the earbuds is one feature missing from the Beats Studio Buds and AirPods Pro, so it’s nice to see it added here.

Inside each earbud is a proprietary 9.5mm drive unit specifically designed for these ANC earbuds. Sensors in the bud also detect when you take an earbud out and automatically pause the music, which is always a handy feature. 

The powerful H1 chip also brings support for Spatial Audio. Like the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro, the Beats Fit Pro can play Dolby Atmos tracks on Apple Music, with Spatial Audio’s multi-dimensional performance and optional dynamic head tracking offering a more immersive experience when listening to music or watching TV and films. You can choose whether you want the spatial audio to be fixed, track your head’s movements, or have it completely off and stick with good ol’ stereo – it’s worth trying out all the options to find your preference. If you do keep Spatial Audio on, just remember that any non-Dolby Atmos tracks will default to stereo.

There are a total of six mics in the Beats Fit Pro that contribute to active noise cancellation (ANC), Transparency mode and better call quality. The earbuds use a mix of outward and inward facing mics to adjust the ANC according to your environment, while dual beam-forming mics work with a digital processor to cut out noise and wind so your voice is clearer when taking a call. 

In practice, voices come through clearly on calls, although some surrounding noise will still come through on the other side. We found the Beats’ ANC effective at damping down traffic and crowd noise to a distant murmur, letting you focus solely on the music.

You can toggle between ANC and Transparency mode, and when both are turned off, Beats’ Adaptive EQ kicks in. This tailors the earbuds’ sound to the shape of your ears – all the more reason to ensure you get the perfect seal and fit in the first place.

While a lot of these features seem catered to Apple users, Beats emphasises that Android users don’t miss out here: they get the very same advantages of one-touch pairing, Ear Tip Fit Test, battery status and customisable controls using the dedicated Beats app. Android users with Apple Music also get the benefit of Spatial Audio through the Fit Pro. 

The only features exclusive to iOS users with the H1 chip are audio sharing with other Beats and Apple earbuds, auto-switching between devices, dynamic head tracking, and hands-free Siri.

Sound

These earbuds sound lively and enjoyable with any song you play through them. We've already noted how Beats is moving away from its bass-heavy past in our Beats Studio Buds review, and the Fit Pro continue this move towards a more balanced approach.

There is still more energy at both frequency extremes than would be deemed strictly neutral, but for the most part things are kept well in hand.

Songs time well, with clearly defined basslines that go deep without overpowering the overall balance too much. They have excellent timing and punch, and a very pleasing presentation that ties the music together cohesively. Whether it’s the foreboding intensity of Massive Attack’s Angel or the more laid-back, deliberate pace of Elevators (Me & You) by Outkast, there’s a great sense of drive that keeps you hooked on the song.

Voices are firmly in focus and delivered with clarity, and never get lost in the mix. There’s enough detail that vocal texture and emotion come through whether you’re listening to Wet Leg or Nick Cave. 

The treble is a touch bright and forward when we first start listening, but calms down after a few hours of running in. Eminem’s biting vocals on Forget About Dre are delivered with all the intensity and snappiness it requires, but there’s an edge to the treble that can get a tad excited when the volume is pushed high.

Despite that forward presentation, the Beats never sound too sharp to make things uncomfortable, however. We don’t get fatigued when listening for hours, and we’ve spent a good few weeks commuting with these earbuds now. 

The sound profile doesn’t change much when ANC is turned on, and we rather like the added weight and solidity to songs when we’re out and about. Thankfully, it’s not done in a heavy-handed way, although we prefer listening with the mode off when not needed.

When Spatial Audio is activated, you immediately experience the big, immersive soundfield when listening to Dolby Atmos tracks or watching 5.1-soundtracked Ms Marvel episodes on Disney Plus. The dynamic head tracking is more subtle than showy; when listening to Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, we wish it flowed better when panning from left to right.

When compared with their natural Apple alternatives, the Beats’ emphasised treble and bass stand out more. The AirPods Pro have a smoother balance and are dynamically subtler, but there’s not much in it – we swapped between the two buds for hours and still kept reaching for the Beats, even if the sound is less refined. 

And our best-in-class Sony XM4 earbuds remain so: they offer heaps more depth and accuracy to the flow of a song. There’s an authenticity to voices and instruments that strike true, and they simply manage to dig in deeper to offer better dynamics and layers of detail. If you listen to podcasts regularly, the Sony earbuds deliver nuances in tone and personality more obviously than the Beats.

Verdict

None of this changes the fact that the Beats Fit Pro are fun to listen to, and how easy they are to get along with on a daily basis. They have all the advantages of the AirPod Pros’ intuitive set up and extensive features, but with added boons of their own. The fact they aren’t restricted to Apple’s walled garden and play well with Android devices is hugely appealing, and makes them easy to recommend to everyone. 

As an AirPod alternative, these Beats Fit Pro are superb – they offer a more fitness-focused design, a more secure fit, the choice of more colours, and they sound just as good. As wireless earbuds in their own right, the Beats are just as worthy of your consideration. 

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Comfort 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our Sony WF-1000XM4 review

See how Beats stack up in our Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro

Best sports headphones: keep active with the best workout earbuds

Beats might be owned by Apple, but its headphones have consistently scored worse than the best AirPods money can buy. So why bother with them?

Well they have a unique selling point. Because they're made by Apple, they offer a lot of the same features as AirPods, but because they're not Apple-branded, they work just as well with Android phones as with iPhones. Unlike AirPods, they have their very own Android app to make sure fans of Google phones don't miss out.

AirPods, on the other hand, do work with Android phones, but you'll only be able to use a fraction of their feature set.

While it's true that Beats headphones might have scored less well than Apple's finest, some have still scored four stars in our reviews, which is very good. We have high standards here at What Hi-Fi?.

But that's hardly surprising, given we have almost 50 years' experience of reviewing – and our reviewers over 100 years' experience between them. We know a thing or two about what makes a decent pair of headphones.

For more information on our reviews process, see our how we test page.

• Beats Studio Buds vs Beats Fit Pro: which wireless Beats earbuds are best?

The best Beats headphones we recommend in 2026

Best overall

The Studio Buds are unlike any Beats headphones that have come before them: gone are the over-ear clips, the brash branding and lurid colourways. Instead, they're demure – understated even – with a true wireless design and one-touch wireless pairing not only to iOS, but Android devices too.

They're the smallest and subtlest of any Beats headphones, with impressive longevity. Battery life totals up to 15 hours with noise cancelling on, or 24 with it disabled, while a five-minute Fast Fuel charge gives up to an hour of playback if you need to dash out the door.

Apple Music users can enjoy Spatial Audio for available tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos without having to enable it in their phone's settings (as with other headphones). They can also speak to wake Apple's Siri personal assistant. Active noise cancellation adjusts 48,000 times a second to mute background noise, though it doesn't have adjustable levels, just on or off.

Sonically, the Beats Studio Buds are more refined than the usual bass-heavy Beats sound, marking these out as a cut above the rest of the pack. We even prefer its balance over the newer, pricier Studio Buds +. A refreshing change of direction from Apple's subsidiary.

Read the full Beats Studio Buds review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for exercise

The Beats Fit Pro are the usual stylish, workout-friendly, active noise-cancelling earbuds, yes, but they also have glimmers of brilliance.

The wingtip design promises a more secure fit so they don't fall out of your ears mid-burpee. The Beats app for Android allows non-Apple users to enjoy the features of Apple’s own brand products, which are usually closed off to anyone not in the iOS ecosystem. The performance has been taken up a notch too, with better noise-cancelling, better sound and the addition of Spatial Audio. And they come in at a very reasonable price.

It's a good job too, as the wireless earbuds market is now more competitive than ever. But the Beats Fit Pro show that Beats can mix it up with the best at their price level.

While it's just shy of achieving the full five stars, this is by far the most enjoyable and balanced-sounding Beats buds package we've heard. Looks like Beats might have just come of age...

Read the full Beats Fit Pro review

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Best budget

The Beats Flex are a step up from Apple's bog-standard EarPods.

They’re available in some fresh hues (including the Yuzu yellow sample before you), they charge via USB-C, have a 12-hour battery life, and courtesy of one-tap audio share you can split sounds with nearby Beats or AirPod headphones (provided you have an iPhone 8 or later running at least iOS 14). They're very affordable, too.

Four ear tip options give a good chance of finding a decent fit, and the cable is flat, like a strand of tagliatelle. Magnets keep the earbuds together when not in use.

Pairing is a doddle (even more so using an Apple device). They don't support some iOS features, including automatic switching to another device or hands-free Siri‌ support. And there’s no noise cancelling either. But with the correct seal you’ll still enjoy good levels of passive noise isolation.

Audio quality is good, but not great. There's just not the same impact that the best Beats headphones manage to pull off.

Still, the Flex offer a considered, smooth sound profile that’s preferable to one that is harsh or bright through the upper frequencies. A solid Beats bet at this end of the market.

Read the full Beats Flex review

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Also consider

The best Beats alternatives we've tested:

Apple AirPods 4 with ANC: These pack active noise cancellation without eartips providing a tight seal with your ear canal. It sounds crazy, but it works. They're also available without ANC. But remember, AirPods are for Apple users only, if you want to use all their features.

Sony WF-C710N: A step up from the excellent Sony WF-C510, and a little pricier, but still around the same price as most Beats pairs. Sound quality is fantastic, while the noise cancellation impresses for the price. Great transparent blue finish, too.

JBL Live Pro 2 TWS: If you want a pair for the track or gym, these are a good shout. They offer lots of features and decent performance at a reasonable price.

SoundMagic E80D: For a wired pair of in-ears on a budget, you can't do much better than these. Theirs is a balanced sound with oodles of detail, and the build quality is solid for the money.

Technics EAH-AZ100: These Award-winners are a little pricier than the Beats Fit Pro, but they're worth every penny. They're comfortable enough to wear for hours, and offer a spacious, expressive and engaging sound.

How to choose the best Beats headphones for you

All of these Beats pairs are wireless, so it really comes down to what you prioritise: low-end or portability.

The Studio Buds are an altogether rather sedate offering, though still impressive in a more understated way, than peppier models such as the engaging sound profile of the Beats Fit Pro or, by way of comparison, the punchy and more mature Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen).

Beats offers some brash colourways too – check out the Yuzu yellow of the Beats Flex, while the various shades you get with the Fit Pro is a neat alternative for those bored of Apple AirPods' all-white design.

And active types will want a pair made for exercise, like the Beats Fit Pro with their clever ear-hook design that keep the buds from falling by the wayside during your marathon training.

We've included other specs like weight and battery life too, to give you an idea of what they're like to live with on a day-to-day basis.

How we test headphones

Testing headphones is all about real-world use. While we do have state-of-the-art testing facilities, we take headphones out and about on crowded commuter trains and the London Underground, to packed pubs and busy shopping centres.

In short, we use them as if we had bought them – that's as true for Beats headphones as it is for those from any other brand. It's the only way to get a true representation of what they're like to use.

We compare each pair to the best in their class, too – and this is where Beats pairs tend to come unstuck. Because while they might sound pretty decent in isolation, the headphone market is fiercely competitive, and the truth is you can get better for your money.

We give each pair we test a fair crack of the whip, partnering them with a range of devices and listening to all different styles of music. We also make sure to test other features like noise cancellation, as well as Siri and Find My for compatible Beats headphones.

We agree all our review verdicts as a team, not as individual testers – that eliminates personal preference while also ensuring thoroughness. We are completely impartial, with no input from sales or PR people, so we can give you the best possible buying advice. It's how we've always done it in our nearly 50 years in the business, and how we always will.

For more, see how we test headphones at What Hi-Fi?

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F.A.Q.

Recent updates

• 16th February 2026: Replaced the quick list with the new tabletop grid. Refreshed the introduction and copy throughout.
• 3rd November 2025: Rewrote intro to reference the 2025 What Hi-Fi? Awards. Updated a reference to Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds with the 2nd Gen model. Added Technics EAH-AZ100 to 'Also consider'.
• 9th June 2025: Replaced Sony WF-C700N with the newer C710N model in 'Also consider'. Also replaced the end-of-line Panasonic RZ-S500W with the SoundMagic E80D in the same section.
• 14th January 2025: Rewrote intro. Linked to 'How we test headphones at What Hi-Fi?' . Added Apple AirPods 4 with ANC to 'Also consider' section. Updated references to Sony WF-C500 to newer WF-C510 model.
• 23rd July 2024: Switched to new Best Buy format. Rewrote intro. Added author block, Also Consider, How to Choose, How We Test, F.A.Q. and Recent Updates.
• 7th September 2023: Removed Beats Powerbeats Pro and Beats Solo 3 Wireless from main list. Updated intro. Added new images.
• 29th June 2023: Removed Beats Solo Pro from main list.
• 15th December 2022: Added Beats Fit Pro to main list. Added picture captions.

Today's best Beats headphones deals

Over the past few years, spatial audio has become a big deal for most major headphone manufacturers, quickly evolving into a staple feature in the arsenal of many premium wireless earbuds and headphones. Apple first announced its move towards employing spatial audio back in June 2020, and around four years later, the 3D audio technology has gained significant traction not only for Apple but for many major manufacturers around the industry. 

Essentially Apple’s take on 'Dolby Atmos for Headphones' and Sony’s PS5 3D Audio and 360 Reality Audio, Apple Spatial Audio is designed to deliver surround sound and 3D audio via your headphones, with some specific AirPods and Beats models offering a more extensive experience and enhanced features such as dynamic head tracking.

The feature first arrived for movies and TV shows as part of iOS 14 in September 2020 and was then released on Apple Music on 7th June 2021. Since then, spatial audio has been extended to tvOS for use with the Apple TV 4K, with Macs powered by the company's latest M1 chip and in conjunction with select AirPods headphones and earbuds. As of late 2023, Apple's HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini smart speakers also have spatial audio support, while 2023's AirPods Pro 2 and 2024's AirPods 4 (both versions) also feature the Apple-branded tech.

So how do you get Apple Spatial Audio? How does the implementation differ between movies and music? And how does it compare to Dolby Atmos? Scroll down to discover answers to (almost) every question you ever had about Apple Spatial Audio.

• Keen to try it for yourself? Here are 11 of the best Spatial Audio tracks on Apple Music to get you started

What is Apple Spatial Audio?

Apple Spatial Audio takes 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and applies directional audio filters, adjusting the frequencies each ear hears so that sounds can be placed virtually anywhere across a three-dimensional space, meaning that sounds appear to be coming from in front of you, from the sides, the rear and even above. The idea is to recreate the audio experience of a cinema setup whereby speakers and sound literally surround you and immerse you in your music and movies.

This isn't the first technology of its type. Dolby Atmos for Headphones has been around for some time now, while Sony has its own 360 Reality Audio format accessible via platforms such as Tidal and Amazon Music.

Apple’s Spatial Audio also tracks your head movement using sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) in the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max and some Beats headphones to position the sound accurately. The tech even tracks the position of the iPhone or iPad that you’re listening to music or watching videos on so that sound is also placed relative to the screen. This means that if you turn your head or reposition your device, dialogue (or vocals) will still be anchored to the action on the screen. 

Other brands have implemented their own versions of spatial audio – JBL's Tour Pro 2 earbuds have a spatial audio option, while Bose offers its 'Immersive Audio' technology in its Ultra Headphones and Ultra Earbuds, for instance, but these aren't tied to a specific audio format. Many are also pushing their respective takes on head tracking for flagship models, including the Sony WF-1000XM5, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.

• Bose’s spatial audio tech is a nice idea for headphones but it’s too hit-and-miss

What devices support Apple Spatial Audio?

Apple Spatial Audio was initially launched as part of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, and Apple released the newer Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature for Apple Music on the 7th June 2021 as part of the free iOS and iPadOS 14.6 software updates.

Not all devices with the 14.6 software update can handle spatial audio. Here's the full list of Apple and Beats devices that support spatial audio.

• AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd generation), AirPods Max, AirPods 3, AirPods 4 (standard and with ANC)
• Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Pro
• iPhone 7 and later
• iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11‑inch
• iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
• iPad (6th generation and later)
• iPad mini (5th generation and later)
• iOS or iPadOS 15.1 or later
• The built-in speakers on a Mac computer with Apple silicon
• Apple TV 4K with tvOS 15 or later
• Apple HomePod (1st and 2nd generation), HomePod Mini
• Apple Vision Pro
• Audiovisual content from a supported app (e.g. Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix)

It’s worth noting that Dolby Atmos is only available on Apple devices launched since 2018. While you don’t need Atmos for spatial audio, the two working together will likely produce the best results.

There are newer products from Apple (including the top Beats models with an Apple silicon chip) that support spatial audio, and we imagine that any future headphones (such as the upcoming AirPods Max 2 and AirPods Pro 3) will include spatial audio as standard.

As of March 2023, select Sonos products support Apple Music's spatial audio tracks, such as the Era 300 wireless smart speaker. See the list below for a rundown of all 'foreign' devices supporting Apple Spatial Audio.

• Sonos Era 300
• Sonos Arc
• Sonos Beam Gen 2

On the software side of things, as long as an app supports 5.1, 7.1 and/or Atmos, it will work with spatial audio. That list already includes Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Go, Hulu and Apple TV+. This means that owners of a compatible iPhone/iPad and AirPods can watch TV shows and films with surround sound and the spatial audio effect. 

Stereo content on an app can also be converted to spatial audio; all a developer needs to do is allow stereo spatialisation via an Apple plug-in.

How do you turn Apple Spatial Audio on?

To listen in Apple Spatial Audio using an iPhone or iPad, make sure you're wearing compatible AirPods that are connected to the device, and have an app open (Disney+ or Apple Music, for instance). Open up your device's Command Centre by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen, then press and hold the headphone volume icon. On the panel that pops open, you will see a spatial audio icon in the bottom row.

Press the spatial audio (or Spatialise Stereo when playing Apple Music) icon to choose between three further options: Off, Fixed and Head Tracked. Choose Head Tracked if you want to deploy spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, while Fixed refers to spatial audio only. If you want to stick with good old stereo, simply tap Off.

On Apple TV, follow the same process of connecting your AirPods to the Apple TV, then head into Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth, select your AirPods, and then choose either spatial audio while you’re playing multi-channel video content (e.g. on Disney+), or Spatialise Stereo while you’re playing two-channel stereo content.

Additionally, if you want to listen to spatial audio with Dolby Atmos songs on Apple Music, you have to turn the option on in the app first. On your iPhone, head to Settings > Music and then scroll down to the Audio section. You'll see a Dolby Atmos setting and can choose between Automatic, Always On and Off. Automatic means that the Dolby Atmos version will play correctly and automatically whenever connected to the compatible AirPods or Beats and with the spatial audio (or Spatialise Stereo) turned on. Crucially, don't use this setting if you're using third-party headphones. If you switch this option to Always On, the non-Apple headphones will play back the Dolby Atmos tracks correctly.

For listening to the Dolby Atmos tracks in Apple Music on a HomePod, Apple TV 4K, MacBook or Android device, simply find the settings for the Apple Music app (or just Music settings) and turn on Automatic or Always On accordingly.

Is Apple Spatial Audio good with movies?

Having given spatial audio an initial whirl with the AirPods Pro and a more thorough go since during our subsequent AirPods Max and AirPods 3 testing, we've certainly impressed with the technology. 

The way the audio is tied to the screen is effective, while the extra openness and spaciousness of the sound make for a much more cinematic and engaging experience. There appears to be a slight drop off in terms of directness and punch, but it's not huge and, broadly speaking, Apple Spatial Audio so far appears to be a worthwhile upgrade.

To quote our AirPods Max review, "All told, the effect is superb. The whole presentation is very open, spacious and convincing, and the tracking is amazingly smooth and accurate as you move your head.

"The opening of Gravity is recreated brilliantly by the AirPods Max. The placement of the various voices coming through the radio is brilliantly precise and convincing, there’s excellent weight to the dull thumps against the satellite and the heavy bass notes of the soundtrack, superb all-around clarity, and excellent dynamics as the peaceful scene turns threatening and then catastrophic. It’s easy to forget that you’re listening using headphones, such is the spaciousness of the delivery. It’s terrifically cinematic.

"Simply put, combining an iPad with a pair of AirPods Max headphones gets you the most convincing portable cinema experience that we can think of."

Even with the more modest AirPods 3, we found the feature worthwhile when watching TV shows and movies. "In reality, there will probably be few occasions where you have to move your head or screen much while watching a movie or TV show, but when you do, the technology is true to its word, keeping voices and action tied to the screen regardless of movement. We watch See on Apple TV+ on an iPhone 13 while cooking, and as we move our head to the right the soundscape tilts towards the left earbud – subtly but effectively," we said in our review.

• Get knee-deep in Apple: Apple One subscription bundles Apple TV+, Apple Music and more

How do 'Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos' tracks sound on Apple Music?

There are thousands of Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio tracks available in Apple Music's catalogue. Curated Dolby Atmos playlists have been created by Apple, too. Apple Music Classical features songs in spatial audio as well.

As with movies and TV shows, you can listen to Dolby Atmos music in spatial audio with dynamic head tracking with the supporting AirPods and Beats models with a compatible iPhone or iPad. However, because the implementation of spatial audio on Apple Music is sound-only, head-tracking doesn't have to be involved – and that opens it up to more devices. Basically, you don't need a pair of Apple or Beats headphones to listen to Dolby Atmos tracks from an iPhone or iPad – any headphones will work, as long as you enable the correct option in the Apple Music settings as stated above. Crucially, if you do want dynamic head tracking or personalised spatial elements, you will need the specific Apple AirPods or Beats headphones listed above that support these features.

You can also listen to spatial audio with Dolby Atmos tracks through the built-in speakers of your iPhone or iPad – but not the older models. As we reported in July 2021, an updated Apple support document confirms that playing spatial audio out loud requires, "the speakers built into an iPhone XS or later (except iPhone SE), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation or later), 11-inch iPad Pro or iPad Air (4th generation)".

Whether connected to AirPods or an external Atmos-supported surround sound system, the Apple TV 4K can output spatial audio with Dolby Atmos tracks through its Apple Music app too.

We've spent hours listening to these tracks on Apple Music, and here are some of the best spatial audio tracks we've experienced. In our AirPods 3 earbuds review, we said: "We spend hours delving into Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio tracks – from Kraftwerk and Lorde to Ludovico Einaudi and the Beatles – and find ourselves preferring stereo presentations for some, spatial audio for others. You lose some of the directness, immediacy and often musicality that the stereo presentation delivers, but in return, especially when tracks are mixed well, you can get a truly unique (and sometimes exceptional) atmospheric boost from the immersive surround-sound mix that’s much more than a gimmick – just as you can with Atmos tracks on Tidal."

We found the same still during the flagship AirPods Pro 2 review: "As before, some tracks fare better than others, and overall we still prefer the stability and tight cohesion of the original stereo mix."

The spatial audio delivery on the latest HomePod fared better. We said in our HomePod 2 review: "A stereo pair of HomePods is particularly beneficial with Dolby Atmos tracks, which sound even more open and three-dimensional, with very impressive spatial placement of voices and instruments."

• Opinion: Apple’s Spatial Audio is a music revolution, but you'll need to ditch the headphones

What about Apple Music Spatial Audio support on Sonos products?

When Sonos introduced its 'spatial audio speaker', the Era 300, last year, the inevitable question was raised: will Apple Music's Spatial Audio tracks be available to play on another brand's product?

The answer was yes. The Era 300, plus its Arc and Beam Gen 2 soundbars, became the first products outside Apple's ecosystem to support spatial audio tracks on Apple Music. It was a welcome confirmation: the Arc and Beam Gen 2 already supported Dolby Atmos playback with TVs and movies, and the Era 300 was originally set to launch with only Amazon Music Unlimited's Atmos tracks supported. With Apple Music's large library of spatial audio tracks available, it's great to see both brands delivering more choices to their customers through this agreement.

The Era 300 was designed specifically for spatial audio playback and is a direct (albeit more expensive) rival to Apple's own HomePod 2. Sonos's efforts are certainly impressive, with the Era 300 delivering the most convincing spatial audio music experience we've heard yet. It's more immersive than the HomePod 2, which sounds comparatively small-scaled when playing the same spatial audio tracks. 

We said in our Era 300 review: "The ‘spatial audio’ effect, for the most part, doesn’t feel separate from the original musical intent; it simply sounds more immersive – something we’ve not encountered before with so much enthusiasm. How well the effect is communicated does vary depending on the song and how it’s been mixed for spatial audio, however."

Indeed, how the songs have been mixed in spatial audio has a big impact on how effective the effect is, whether you're listening on headphones or through speakers. There are spatial audio tracks where the spatial audio effect is beneficially immersive and entertaining, but there are also songs that feel far too removed from their original stereo mix.

As Apple's Spatial Audio becomes increasingly ubiquitous (and is inspiring many other brands to adopt this immersive format in different ways), we can see it becoming a typical fixture in future products from now on. Apple's recent AirPods 4 with ANC, for instance, offer spatial audio support. Considering they're around £179 / $179 / AU$299, the threshold for including the technology appears to be lowering a little. 

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The might be a bitter pill to swallow – Apple has discontinued the Beats Pill+, the last remaining Bluetooth speaker from its Beats subsidiary. 9to5Mac spotted that the device is no longer listed on the Apple or Beats websites. 

This leaves the HomePod Mini as the only Bluetooth speaker in Apple's line-up – could a new speaker be on the way? 

Launched in 2015, the Pill+ was the first Beats device to launch following Apple's 2014 takeover of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine's company for $3 billion. The Pill+ was very similar to the original Pill, with the addition of a Lightning port and a cleaner, slicker design. While we found it performed well at low volumes, it didn't fare so favourably further up the volume scale.

Apple discontinued the original HomePod last year. With the Pill+ also gone, that leaves the HomePod Mini as the only first-party speaker that Apple sells. But not to worry – there are plenty of Bluetooth speakers from other brands to choose from.

Beats' focus is very much on earbuds and over-ear headphones. It recently refined its line-up, discontinuing the Powerbeats, Solo Pro and EP to make way for the new Beats Fit Pro.

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Featuring an all-new flexible wingtip, a custom-designed acoustic platform, a 27-hour battery life with charging case, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency, Adaptive EQ, Apple's flagship spatial audio with head tracking plus its top-tier Apple H1 chip, the Beats Fit Pro are certainly worthy of further investigation. 

According to the Cupertino giant, the latest Beats Fit Pro true wireless buds are its "most advanced earphones to date" and are pitched as a sort of hybrid "all-day fitness" proposition thanks to that new wingtip design. To that end, they promise three listening modes, auto play/pause, sweat- and water-resistance (IPX4) plus all the extra perks enabled by the inclusion of Apple's H1 chip – the same chip that's built into the company's premium offerings such as the AirPods Pro and is already renowned for enabling a flawless wireless performance and supremely quick pairing.

Under the bonnet, there's an all-new custom transducer to boast robust sound in a tiny form factor, plus an innovative vent system that promises to minimise treble distortion across the flexible diaphragm. 

The three listening modes comprise Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) that continuously adapts in real time up to 200 times per second, Transparency mode with a push of the “b” button on either bud when you need to hear the world around you, and Adaptive EQ. Powered by Apple’s computational audio, in this mode, the inward-facing microphone in each earbud apparently 'listens' to the sound you are hearing and automatically tunes the low- and mid-frequencies to the shape of your ear for superior sound quality and a consistent listening experience. 

You're also getting Apple's levelled-up spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, boasting an immersive experience for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos.  Here, the gyroscopes and accelerometers in both Beats Fit Pro and your iPhone or iPad are used to track the motion of your head as well as your device and compare the motion data. The sound field is then remapped so it stays anchored to the device, even as your head moves.

The Beats Fit Pro battery claim is up to six hours of listening time per earbud with ANC deployed, but the pocket-sized carrying case (which charges via USB-C) promises 21 additional hours of battery life, totalling 27 hours of combined playback. However, when in Adaptive EQ mode, each earbud boasts seven hours of listening time and 30 hours with the case. And when you’re crunched for time, a quick five-minute Fast Fuel charge offers an hour of playback.

Also, Beats Fit Pro’s internal components are made from recycled plastic. The core packaging content comes from a zero-waste facility and the packaging is 88 per cent wood fibre-based – 84 per cent of which is post-consumer recycled material.

Beats Fit Pro actually launched in the US late last year and are available now for $200. They will be available for pre-order in the UK  and Australia from 24th January, to begin shipping on 28th January, in four striking colours (Black, White, Sage Grey and Stone Purple) for £200 / AU$299, making them an interesting – and cheaper – alternative to the AirPods Pro on paper... 

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Fresh from launching the Beats Fit Pro, Beats has refreshed its product range by culling some of its older headphones (as spotted by MacRumors). The Powerbeats, Solo Pro and Beats EP have all been discontinued, to spend some time in the headphone retirement home.

The retail pages of all of these have been taken down from the Apple Store. (Beats is owned by Apple.)

The Powerbeats 3 Wireless are wireless, albeit not truly wireless because of the cable connecting them; the Solo Pro are an on-ear pair with a battery life of up to 40 hours; and the Beats EP are also on-ear but strip back the specs to achieve a lower price.

All three models are quite old – the Powerbeats and Solo Pro came out in 2019, while the EP launched in 2017 (to put it in perspective, that's the same year as the iPhone X).

So, the Beats line-up now comprises the Beats Studio Buds, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Pro Over-Ear Headphones, Beats Flex, Beats Studio3, Beats Solo3 and Beats Fit Pro.

Apple has also slashed the prices on certain Beats headphones in some territories, though not the UK. Eligible models include the Beats Flex, Beats Studio Buds, and Powerbeats Pro.

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The rumours were right. Just a couple of weeks ago, we heard Beats would announce the Beats Fit Pro true wireless earbuds on 1st November. And lo it came to pass.

They're just as the rumours said. Looking like the Beats Studio Buds but with added wingtips to keep them in place, they're positioned somewhere between the Studio Buds and Powerbeats Pro.

Described by Beats as its "most advanced earphones to date", they're designed for active types looking to listen to tunes or take calls while working out. But their subtle design and four colour schemes – Stone Purple, Sage Grey, White and Black – mean they look just as at home in the workplace as the gym.

The specs look pretty good. Inside is Apple's H1 chip, which is the same as found in the AirPods 3 (and also the much older Powerbeats Pro). This enables such features as one-touch pairing, an eartip test to ensure best fit, automatic switching between iCloud devices, audio sharing, hands-free access to "Hey Siri" and the Find My feature in iOS (should you lose your headphones).

They also have a new custom transducer that, Beats claims, delivers "robust sound in a tiny form factor". And a vent system minimises treble distortion across the flexible diaphragm. It should, says Beats, all add up to "an emotive, powerful and balanced listening experience".

Active noise cancellation (ANC) is onboard, and just like Apple's AirPods, it adjusts up to 200 times a second to constantly counter outside sounds. Want to let in the outside world? Tapping the 'b' button on either earbud activates Transparency mode, letting you hear your surroundings. There's also Apple's spatial audio with dynamic head tracking tech, which adjusts the sound relative to how you move your head.

Battery life is pretty respectable. You get six hours from the buds with ANC or Transparency switched on, or seven hours with the Adaptive EQ mode activated. The USB-C-rechargeable carry case gives you a total battery life of 27 hours with ANC/Transparency, or 30 with Adaptive EQ. A five-minute quick charge gives you enough juice for an hour's listening.

Like some other Beats models, they're compatible with Android phones as well, though you'll miss out on the iOS-exclusive features like handsfree Hey Siri, automatic switching and Find My.

The Beats Fit Pro are available to order now in the US for $199.99 (about £150, AU$270), with shipping starting on Friday 5th November. They will come to China in early December and other countries next year.

Will they make out list of best Beats headphones? Stay tuned for a full review soon...

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Think of Beats headphones and attention-grabbing ear-clip designs, fluorescent collaborative neckband models or padded over-ears with the trademark lower-case ‘b’ probably spring to mind. Beats is not readily associated with muted or minimalist aesthetics.

So, a demure little box that could hardly house a bar of soap feels like a marked change in direction from the Apple-subsidiary brand, especially since the model it contains is emphatically the latest big thing from Beats. The Beats Fit Pro have launched since, though they are more of a fitness-focused pair.

The headline for the Beats Studio Buds is support for convenient one-touch pairing for both iOS and, for the first time, Android devices. Simply unbox them and draw the case close to your phone. A rotating picture of the case and earpieces pops up on the screen and calmly invites you to connect – a classy introduction to a product that costs significantly less than similarly specified alternatives born of its parent company. This is a good start.

Price

The Beats Studio Buds launched in June 2021 for $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$199.95, putting them at the more affordable end of the noise-cancelling wireless earbuds market. They now sit even more comfortably there courtesy of a price drop in the US and Australia. 

There is a decent choice of wireless earbuds around this price these days, though not many feature ANC, with the five-star Panasonic RZ-S500W being a rare exception. If you can forego active noise cancellation, the Cambridge Melomania 1+ and Sony WF-C500 are decent Beats Studio Buds alternatives.

Importantly, the Studio Buds significantly undercut Beats owner Apple's noise-cancelling AirPods Pro 2, which are in another price league alongside the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM4.

Build

The Beats Studio Buds certainly employ the smallest, subtlest and most sustainable form factor to date from Apple’s Beats brand – the packaging is made from 92 per cent plant-based material sourced from recycled fibre and/or sustainable forests too.

The ergonomically tilted acoustic nozzle features a laser-cut micro-vent to help ensure pressure relief on the eardrum, and with three silicone eartip options in total, there's decent scope to find the right fit. Certainly, they fit very comfortably and securely for us, even without switching the pre-fitted eartips.

Each earpiece is refreshingly small, weighs 5g and is cleverly formed to taper from the rounded capsule buds to a thinner pill shape – like a switch – where the 'b'-branded multi-function button meets driver housing. It helps promote the twist-to-lock method of fitting them known to most true wireless headphone users. 

Upon fitting them, we wonder why more wireless earbuds aren’t shaped this way. Place them on your desk and they’ll probably find each other and join neatly together too, thanks to useful magnets hidden in the base of the casework. 

The sound is driven by a proprietary 8.2mm dual-element diaphragm driver, which features a central rigid piston with a flexible outer surround, coupled with a two-chamber acoustic design. 

The case is svelte, pocketable and well-finished, and the earpieces snap in easily, staying put thanks to magnets in both the case and its lid. The buds offer up to eight hours of listening time (or five when active noise cancelling is switched on) with two additional charges provided by the case, totalling up to 15 hours of playtime with noise-cancelling enabled, or 24 hours of combined playback without it – a shade under class-leading, but perfectly acceptable at this level. If you need a little extra juice, five-minute Fast Fuel charging gives up to an hour of playback thanks to the USB-C charger.

Only two aspects of the build here feel a little disappointing. One is the single LED light on the charging case, which flashes red when charging, glows white when charged, or flashes white when pairing a second Bluetooth device (which is done by pressing the solo button inside the case while the buds are seated). A more readily available indication of battery life is desirable, especially in a product aimed at portability.

When the Studio Buds launched, the multi-function ‘b’-branded buttons on each earpiece worked very well indeed for functions including playback control, call-handling and toggling between ANC and Transparency profiles – but they could not help with volume adjustments, which we deemed a shame, not least since on-device volume control was a feature of the previous Beats Powerbeats Pro. Thankfully, that was rectified by a software update in January 2022. Users can now customise the functionality of the on-bud button to control volume, as is possible with the Beats Fit Pro and AirPods Pro 2.

If you own an iPhone, go into the Bluetooth menu, click on the paired buds and you can scroll between the level of noise control, or choose whether you want to switch noise control profiles, access Siri or adjust volume when long-pressing each bud. With Android phones, this is just as simply done in the app.

All in all, and considering the product’s IPX4 splashproof rating, things look promising.

Features

For Apple Music users, Beats Studio Buds offer a couple of extra perks. Firstly, they will automatically play Spatial Audio for available tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos, so you can enjoy Apple’s multidimensional presentation. Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos content will work with any headphones, you just need to manually enable it in your phone’s settings, but here, you won’t need to.

Secondly, you can access Siri hands-free by saying “Hey Siri”. Android users can download the Beats app to unlock additional features, and Beats is keen to stress that, for the first time, the Beats Studio Buds feature one-touch pairing for Android as well as iPhone devices.

However, the Studio Buds still feel every inch a ‘made for iPhone’ product – scroll left to your iPhone’s widgets and you’ll see a neat square featuring the Studio Buds illuminated by a wheel of green light, to denote battery life. We might have chastised Beats for omitting to supply an iOS app, but unless you want EQ tweaks (there are none here) it isn’t really necessary.

Apple's proprietary H1 chip – as found in most of the AirPods and a handful of Beats headphones – is, perhaps surprisingly, not on board, so while you are getting Bluetooth 5.2 compatibility thanks to Beats’ own software platform, you will never get multi-device pairing for automatic switching between your laptop and your phone, say. However, there are three listening modes in total: Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), ANC off and Transparency mode.

Toggle between them by long-pressing the 'b' multi-function button on either earpiece, or via the Bluetooth menu on iOS. ANC, which Beats says employs an algorithm that monitors and corrects audio-compromising artefacts at up to 48,000 times a second, is efficient at cancelling low-level noise, though it is not possible to tweak the levels further than ‘on’ or ‘off’.

External-facing mics mix the sounds of your surroundings back in with your music for a natural listening experience when you deploy the Transparency mode, and when you find it, it is similarly effective. 

There’s no announcement to tell you whether you’ve just accessed noise-cancelling, ANC off or transparency profiles from the buds other than a tone. Thus, switching between each profile in search of a neutral listen (ie: no mic processing) involves a bit of listening to the profiles, but we find we get used to it and the results are effective for the level.

During phone calls, the dual beamforming microphones on each earpiece do a good job of filtering out wind noise for vocal clarity, completing a six-mic set-up in total.

It’s also worth mentioning that Beats Studio Buds are the first Beats product to support both FindMy in iOS and Find My Device on Android. It’s a neat feature and means you will be able to locate lost earbuds using their last known location (when paired via Bluetooth) or by playing a sound when they are nearby.

Sound

We stream Clash by Dave and Stormzy on Apple Music in Dolby Atmos, and it is immediately apparent that Beats is keen to shed its bass-heavy notoriety with the new Studio Buds. The bass floor is expansive but not to the detriment of space within the mix. The low end is grippy and times pretty well, with the defining nuances in both rappers’ voices celebrated with a healthy dose of petulance. 

Our playlist continues to Learning Curve by Aitch and the Studio Buds continue to impress for a new-found improvement in terms of bass articulation. The vocal is textured and emotive in rockier tracks such as Man On The Moon by R.E.M too, with good separation between the bass, electric and rhythm guitar and drums. It’s a cohesive, energetic mix for the level. 

We stream Electricity by Captain Beefheart and score the Beats Studio Buds high marks for spacious presentation and placement, with the raucous vocals snaking between our left ear and the back of our skull, even in the more frenzied musical passages. 

It’s only when we switch to the class-leading Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus earbuds that we hear an extra ounce of detail and refinement in the backing vocals through the treble. As the track ends, the intentional electrical feedback through the top end is more detailed and clear through the competing set of in-ears. 

We stream Woman by Doja Cat using the Beats, but lose a modicum of definition around the leading edges of the notes in the upper midrange, coming off slightly harsh in places. Switch to the Melomania 1 Plus and the female vocal is more three-dimensional, as a minor shortfall through the dynamics in the upper frequencies continues to reveal itself in the Beats Studio.

Verdict

The Beats Studio Buds mark nothing short of a full rethink from Beats sonically – and it’s a decision that sounds resoundingly positive. The fit here is light, secure and comfortable, the earpieces themselves are remarkably small, the case pocketable and the audio clean and more agile through the bass. The noise-cancelling and transparency profiles are also useful additions for the money. 

Although we noted a slight harshness through the treble during certain songs, the sound profile will suit Beats fans looking for a cleaner listen through lower frequencies. The easy one-touch iPhone and Android pairing – and the clever iOS14.6 integration hacks – complete a compelling, affordable Beats alternative to AirPods. 

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Features 5
• Build 5

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Apple's just announced that it's adding lossless, hi-res and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos tracks to the Apple Music service. Not only are these benefits being added without the subscription price going up, we've also now discovered that you won't even need to use Apple's own headphones in order to listen to tracks in Dolby Atmos.

In a post-announcement briefing, Apple confirmed to What Hi-Fi? that the new Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature will work with any headphones – as long as you manually enable it.

Once the update goes live next month, if you go into Settings on your iPhone or iPad and then to Music, a new Dolby Atmos option will be available. This is set to Automatic by default, which means Dolby Atmos tracks will play correctly when you're listening via any W1- or H1-enabled pair of Apple or Beats headphones (the AirPods Max, AirPods Pro or standard AirPods, for example), but not when you're using third-party headphones. However, if you switch this option to Always On, even these non-Apple headphones will play back the Dolby Atmos tracks correctly.

It's worth noting that this setting only applies to Spatial Audio Dolby Atmos tracks in Apple Music and not to Spatial Audio content in other apps such as TV. Spatial Audio in the TV app is a slightly different beast in that it also utilises the sensors in Apple's own headphones to enable head-tracking. It seems to us that this does open the door to more simplified, non-head-tracking Spatial Audio movie support coming to third-party headphones in the future, though.

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As has been rumoured for the past week or so, Apple Music is adding support for lossless audio, as well as and Dolby Atmos-powered 3D audio (aka Apple's Spatial Audio). 

The service's 75 million-strong catalogue will be available in CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) or hi-res (24-bit/48-192kHz). There will be 20 million songs in lossless audio at launch, with the full 75 million available by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, "thousands" of tracks will be available in Apple's Spatial Audio tech (as previously featured in its AirPods Pro and AirPods Max headphones). Spatial Audio adds "multidimensional sound and clarity", making the audio sound much more immersive.

Both features will launch in June and won't cost Apple Music subscribers any extra money. The monthly subscription cost remains £10 ($10, AU$11.99).

Apple has described the new features as Apple Music's "biggest advancement ever in sound quality" – which we'd have to agree with.

• Read all about: Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos and hi-res audio

• Apple Music lossless supported devices: what will (and won't) play lossless and Spatial Audio, and why

It's not the first streaming service to support lossless, of course – Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and Amazon Music HD all offer lossless listening. But it has pipped Spotify to the post, with the green giant not launching its own lossless tier, Spotify HiFi, until later in the year. 

As expected, Apple's lossless streams use ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) to offer more detail and informationion in a recording. That should mean higher audio quality, albeit also bigger file sizes – estimates put it at around 36MB of data for a three-minute track.

There are three tiers of lossless audio to accommodate different files sizes and situations in which you can play them: CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz), 24-bit/48kHz, and 24-bit/192kHz. You can choose which quality you would to stream or download in through the Settings > Music > Audio Quality section of Apple Music. While music up to 24-bit/48kHz can be played natively on Apple devices, playing anything above that – 24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz streams, for example – requires connecting an external DAC. Apple is calling these highest-quality streams 'Hi-Resolution Lossless'.

Apple's Spatial Audio, meanwhile, is enabled by Dolby Atmos for Apple Music. By default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip*, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Compatible devices, therefore, include the iPhone 12 family, AirPods 2 and Beats Powerbeats Pro. Playing from an Apple TV 4K into a Dolby Atmos device will work too.

What's more, Apple's Buddy Judge has now confirmed to us that Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos will also work with all headphones. If you're using non-Apple headphones you'll simply have to switch the new Dolby Atmos setting to 'Always On' rather than the default 'Automatic'.

At launch, there will be "thousands" of tracks available in Spatial Audio, and Apple says it will be adding new tracks "constantly". It will also put together a set of Atmos playlists so you can easily find something to listen to. Albums available in Dolby Atmos will sport a badge on the detail page to make them easy to spot.

Apple says it's working with artists and levels to produce more songs in Spatial Audio.

Now all we need is the heavily rumoured, suspiciously imminent AirPods 3 to drop this week...

*Compatible headphones: AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, BeatsX, Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats Studio3, Powerbeats3 Wireless, Beats Flex, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Solo Pro.

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As recently as 2017, one could argue that most true wireless in-ear designs were beyond the budgets of many music-loving commuters. However, a less fancy neckband design offered a wallet-friendly and still (sort of) wireless solution.

As competition and manufacture intensified and improved, though, true wireless earphones with wireless charging became a reality for about the same price as a round of drinks for your household bubble. So why, in 2020, has Apple decided to buck the true wireless trend by releasing the Beats Flex, an affordable wireless neckband design under its Beats subsidiary brand?

Consider that the iPhone giant has stopped bundling free headphones with its new devices and things become clearer. You can still buy a set of budget Lightning wired buds from Apple, but for anyone concerned with their smartphone sound, one rung up now brings you neatly towards the Beats Flex.

They’re available in some fresh hues (including our Yuzu yellow sample), they charge via USB-C, have a 12-hour battery life, and courtesy of one-tap audio share you can split sounds with nearby Beats or AirPod headphones (provided you have an iPhone 8 or later running iOS 14). And did we mention that they’re only £50 ($50)?

Comfort

The Beats Flex comes with four eartip options, which is a good thing since the pre-fitted pair is too big for our ears. An unusual and smaller double-tip option suits, but the tips are on the larger side in general.

The necks of the buds are nicely mounted at a slight angle from the driver housings with the aim of offering a fit that doesn’t tug on the cable when worn. You shouldn’t have to worry about touching the earpieces at all once they’re in, since all touch functionality is located on two in-line control centres on the cable, both of which sit comfortably on your collarbones for easy access.

The cable is flat, almost like a strand of tagliatelle, and though it’s more than long enough to suit most wearers, we find it kinks and tangles a little during the course of our listening. There is some minor noise from the cable as it pulls, too.

One useful feature is a set of magnets in the Beats-branded top surfaces of the earbud housings, which are strong enough to find each other when you remove them from your ears. Voila, the whole set-up instantly becomes a secure necklace. Overall, the Beats Flex have a satisfyingly fuss-free build and finish.

Build

These earbuds are essentially an evolution of the neckband-style Beats X from 2017. They now charge via USB-C and have longer battery life (12 hours over 8 hours), while a ten-minute ‘Fast Fuel’ charge that gives 1.5 hours of playback. They have also been reworked for better sound quality and improved mic performance.

The control centre on the left side has an easily accessible volume switch (push the upper end to increase, the lower edge to decrease) and a little button on the inside which can be tapped once to play and pause music, twice to skip tracks and three times to skip backwards. Long-pressing it accesses Siri.

During calls, we find the built-in mic clear and call-handling a breeze. The right control centre houses a power button that perfectly mirrors the placement and size of the USB-C port on the left-hand side of the controls, but it features a solo LED light to indicate power and battery life: this glows white for ‘on’, flashes white when pairing and blinks red when charging.

As you might expect from an Apple product, using them with an iOS device has its perks. Turn the Beats Flex on and bring them close to your Apple device and you get quick pairing functionality, for example. Android users have to pair either manually via Bluetooth or by downloading the Beats app for Android, which offers quick pairing access, firmware updates and battery level information.

So, while Android users get a basic Bluetooth experience, Apple's W1 chip here elevates things to the next level for iOS users. Audio Sharing, which lets you connect two pairs of compatible ‌AirPods‌ and Beats to a single device, to simultaneously listen to the same content, is another bonus.

We’re testing with an older iPhone 8 running on the most recent iOS update and find the promised auto-pause functionality when the buds’ magnets click together a little hit and miss. Nevertheless, these are entry-level wireless buds and their main function must surely be an improved wire-free sound over the £19 ($19) EarPods.

One thing to note here is that W1 chip is the same one found in the previous Beats X, not the more advanced H1 chip found in the second-generation ‌AirPods‌, ‌AirPods Pro‌, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo Pro and Powerbeats 4. 

That means the Beats Flex won't support some iOS 14 features, including automatic switching to another device or hands-free Siri‌ support. There’s no noise-cancelling either, but with the correct seal you’ll still enjoy good levels of passive noise isolation.

Sound

The Beats Flex headphones easily better Apple’s 2012 wired EarPods for sound – in direct comparison, the once-bundled EarPods sound overly bassy. We stream The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon on Tidal, and the Beats Flexes offer a far more cohesive mix across the frequencies and a better sense of timing throughout.

Melissa Etheridge’s textured and emotive vocal in Come To My Window is central and detailed through the mid to low frequencies. It isn’t perfect, mind. As the song continues, we note limitations in the treble.

Instruments such as the pulsating electric guitar riffs come through a little weak, without the sparkling impact through the upper registers offered by our reference product at the price, the true wireless Earfun Air. It’s a shame, because while the Beats Flex in-ears still offer a foot-tapping sound and an agile, taut bassline, there’s an extra ounce rolling off through the top end.

We stream Charles Bernstein’s theme tune for the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street and find plenty of atmospheric tension through the mids and lows. It’s just that synths, twigs crunching in the grass, spine-tingling keys and tinkling, distant laughter peals aren’t quite as impactful as they are through the Earfuns. 

It’s a small issue; the Beats Flex offers a considered, smooth sound profile that’s preferable to one that is harsh or bright through the upper frequencies, but even at this affordable level it’s important to note.

Our Halloween Tidal playlist continues to Danny Elfman’s orchestral original score, Tales From The Crypt, and the brass section comes through musically strong and full-bodied. The cymbal crashes, darting strings and woodwinds feel slightly recessed, but it’s a competent performance nevertheless.

Verdict

If your budget can stretch northwards a little, Earfun’s true wireless option bypasses potential cable noise, sounds better for detail through the higher frequencies and lasts longer before needing a charge.

That said, the Beats Flex easily betters much of what is currently on the market for iOS users at £50 ($50) – it's nicely featured for the money and competently made. For those after an affordable, Apple-centric neckband design, the Beats Flex offers just the thing.

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Comfort 4
• Build 4

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Apple's AirPods (2019) are the most popular wireless earbuds in the world. Step onto a train or bus and chances are, you'll see at least one person sporting a pair of the distinctive, high-tech white 'Pods. 

It's hardly surprising. The AirPods 2 offer a superb combination of excellent battery life, simple-to-use controls and good sound quality. That's why we awarded them an impressive four out of five in our review.

But wait, don't buy a pair just yet. The AirPods face some serious competition in the shape of the Beats Powerbeats Pro true wireless earbuds. As you might know, Apple acquired Beats Electronics for $3billion back in 2014. Since then, Beats' signature sound profile has benefited from Cupertino's state-of-the-art technology. 

As a result, the Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds feature Apple's H1 chip (also in the AirPods), which uses the latest version of Bluetooth for better, faster connections, Audio Sharing and Siri voice controls.

While both these products offer basic compatibility with any Bluetooth device, they're tailored for iOS smartphones and tablets. For example, both buds have the ability to seamlessly pair with an iPhone when you open their charging case. 

In many ways, the Apple Airpods (2019) and the Beats Powerbeats Pros offer much of the same functionality, but there are some major differences that will help you decide which is best. 

Here's what you need to know.  

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Design and build

At first glance, the new AirPods (2019) look identical to the original 2017 version: a long-stem design constructed from glossy white plastic. They're almost impossibly small and light, too.

Their "one-size-fits-all" design is laudable, but while some find they fit snugly, others have trouble getting them to stay in. It really depends on the shape of your ears. You're best off trying a pair for yourself before you buy, to make sure they fit.

The AirPods are not sweat-proof, either, so they're not ideal for exercise.  

The Beats Powerbeats manage to walk the fine line between being sporty and luxurious. They're chunkier and heavier than the AirPods, but they come with ear hooks and a four pairs of removable silicone ear tips, meaning you're pretty much guarantee a snug, secure fit at all times. They're also sweat and water-resistant, with an IPX4 rating.

Style-wise, the AirPods come in white (quelle surprise). The Powerbeats Pro come in a range colours: black navy, green and ivory.

*Winner: Beats PowerBeats Pro*

Features

The Powerbeats Pro use the same H1 chip that's in the AirPods (2019), so expect faster switching between devices, lower latency (good for watching video), and support for hands-free "Hey Siri" activation. 

Both products offer consistent playback. In fact, we didn't experience any dropouts during testing.

Both products also share many of the same sensors, including ear detection that plays/pauses music when you pop them in and out of your ears. There's also the option to use one bud or both at the same time.

One extra tick in the Powerbeats Pro column is that they feature "beam-forming" microphones on each earbud to filter out ambient noise. Essentially, they pick up your voice better when giving voice commands or making voice calls.

*Winner: Beats PowerBeats Pro* 

Controls

Both the AirPods (2019) and the Powerbeats Pro can be controlled by Siri voice commands and simple touch controls. 

In the case of the AirPods (2019), users can assign one double-tap control to each earbud. Problem is, you have to remember which earbud does what. And while the lack of physical buttons looks super-sleek, it does limit the scope of the controls – especially for those who don't want look like they're talking to themselves.

The Powerbeats Pro offer a far more comprehensive suite of controls (including physical buttons). There's a volume rocker switch and the Beats symbol itself is a button. You can use it to take calls and play/pause music with a tap. A double-tap skips forward a track; a triple tap goes back. You can even fast-forward and rewind by holding on to the last of these taps. 

Best of all, the controls are duplicated on each earpiece, so there’s no need to remember which earbud does what.

*Winner: Beats PowerBeats Pro* 

Sound quality

Beats is known for producing bass-heavy headphones, and the Powerbeats Pro are certainly 'on message' in that regard. The good news is that the Beats sound profile makes the best of lower-quality music streaming services. Presentation is smooth and clear at normal volume, and there's a decent amount of detail, extracting plenty of emotion from vocals and guitar riffs. 

The thundering bass is clearly aimed at gym-goers. But while it makes total sense for those who love to pound the pavement or pump iron, it's fair to say that audiophiles will find the lack of dynamic range disappointing. If sound quality is your number one priority, consider making a beeline for the award-winning Sony WF-1000X true wireless earbuds.

The new Apple AirPods (2019) are a marked improvement over the (dull-sounding) first generation version. There's no artificial bass boost, but they're louder and more composed. Sound is neutral and low-level dynamic shifts are handled with admirable subtly. Presentation is open and spacious, delivering an engaging performance.

Since the AirPods offer little in the way of noise isolation, you'll need to crank up the volume more than you would with the Powerbeats Pro. Sometimes, the sound can veer into harshness. But overall, the AirPods offer great, all-round performance underpinned by a good sense of timing.

*Winner: Apple AirPods 2*

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Battery life

The Powerbeats Pro provide an impressive nine hours playback per charge. But when combined with the charging case, that stretches it out to 24 hours of playback. On the downside, the Powerbeats Pro case doesn't support Qi-based wireless charging, and must be charged with a Lightning cable.

The AirPods (2019) provide just five hours of listening, with another 19 hours available via the standard charging case.

Apple also offers the option to upgrade to a wireless charging case, either in a £199 bundle with the new AirPods (a £40 premium over the standard charging case) or as a separate, £79 purchase. This new case works with all Qi-compatible charging mats and has the battery level-indicating LED on the front for easier reference. 

One other thing worth noting is that the Powerbeats Pro charging case is a chunky affair, whereas the standard AirPods charging case is svelte enough to fit in a jeans pocket.

*Winner: Beats PowerBeats Pro*

Verdict

So which is better? That's a tricky one, since the AirPods and the Powerbeats Pro are aimed at very different audiences and boast very different prices. The AirPods are lighter, more portable, sound better, and are perfect for casual day-to-day listening. However, if you have a passion for exercise, the Powerbeats Pro make a whole lot of sense. They're waterproof and offer a better fit that's ideally suited to strenuous workouts.

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Days after appearing in a Walmart store and months after their impending arrival was rumoured, the Beats Powerbeats 4 have been officially announced.

Apple has quietly lifted the lid the highly anticipated wireless earbuds, which indeed sport many of the leaked features – a 15-hour battery life, IPX4 rating sweat and water resistance, Apple's H1 chip and "Hey Siri" hands-free voice control support.

Simply called 'Powerbeats' (without the nod to their fourth-generation status), they feature the "same audio" audio and earbud design of the truly wireless Powerbeats Pro but instead have a neckband and are much more attractively priced at just £129.95 ($149).

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Found in the Powerbeats Pro, the H1 chip enables faster pairing, switching between iCloud devices, and hands-free “Hey Siri” on iOS devices. As we said in our Powerbeats Pro review, "in terms of consistency of connection and ease of pairing, it really is Bluetooth at its best". The potentially bad news is that we didn't find the Pro's sonic performance very compelling – although if it is indeed mirrored in the much cheaper Powerbeats, it should be more competitive. We hope to soon find out just how competitive.

The Powerbeats' battery life can be topped up quickly: five minutes of 'Fast Fuel' charging gives you one hour of playback. There's dual beamforming microphones for improved call quality, while on-bud buttons (including a two-way volume rocker) provide direct playback control. 

Last – but perhaps not least in the world they arrive in – the cable is now rounded as opposed to flat to minimise contact surface area.

The new Powerbeats wireless headphones will be available from tomorrow in black, white and red finishes. It seems Apple has a few more new products up its sleeve for spring unveils – new iPad Pros, cheaper iPhones and AirPods Studio headphones included – but we don't expect them to come so quietly.

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These are the Epic Air Sport headphones by JLab - and they're epic by name and epic by nature.

 Just yesterday, Cambridge Audio launched its Melomania 1 true wireless earbuds with a 45-hour battery life that is very rarely heard of. More often than not, figures around durability are half that. 

That said, less than 24 hours later we already have news of a contender for endurance. The Jlabs promise a marathon 70-hour battery life. The buds themselves last 10 hours before needing juicing up, while the carry case doubles as a portable charger, adding a staggering 60 hours to the mix.

That's almost three days of uninterrupted listening. Or a fair few Ironmans...

As the name suggests, they're a sport-focussed pair. Their IP66 rating means they're sweat- and dust-proof, they're controlled using touch controls on the earbuds, and the Be Aware Audio feature lets in sounds from the outside world – handy for staying safe while running.

The ear hook design promises to keep them in place during workouts, too.

They will be up against some stiff competition. The wireless earbuds space is getting pretty crowded now, with the Apple AirPods, Beats Powerbeats Pro, Bose SoundSport Free and Sony WF-1000X all clamouring for your attention. But with a class-leading battery life, that certainly gives them an edge.

The JLab Epic Air Sport are available to pre-order now for $149.99, and will land at Best Buy in July.

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Fiat has announced details of a new collaboration with Beats by Dr Dre that will see a 520W, Beats-branded audio system feature as standard across the Italian car manufacturer's new 500L range.

The new 500L Beats Edition range features two petrol engine and two diesel engine models – all of which will incorporate a premium BeatsAudio system to offer a rich, immersive in-car experience.

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An eight-channel DSP-equipped amplifier generates the 520W total output, with the seven-speaker system including two 80W mid-range speakers located in the lower part of the front door panel.

You'll also find two 40W tweeters in the upper part of the front door panel; two 60W full-range speakers in the rear door panel; and an 80 + 80 W subwoofer located in the boot of the 500L.

Meanwhile, the BeatsAudio system's amplifier will make use of advanced equalisation algorithms to recreate the sound spectrum that is experienced by artists during studio recordings.

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The inclusion of the BeatsAudio system is just one component of the new 500L Beats Edition range, which also boasts new engine variants and new optional equipment, as well as an urban design.

In-car technology is one of the trends expected to go large in 2014, and we've already seen some of the examples of what's coming our way this year at CES 2014 in Las Vegas last month.

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We heard that Google had joined forces with General Motors, Honda, Audi, Hyundai and Nvidia to form the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), which will build an Android platform for in-car use.

Meanwhile, Monster was on the CES showfloor to announce it will be producing a high-performance in-car audio sound system for the £3m Lamborghini Veneo Roadster. Just nine will be made though.

Add to that the Naim for Bentley in-car audio; the Panasonic and Abbey Road Studios in-car concept seen at CES; and BMW's in-car streaming service and you'll see this trend moving into second gear.

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by Pete Hayman

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