It has been two years since Beats released their first true wireless earbuds with the Powerbeats Pro. Over the summer they decided to release their smaller more portable successor of sorts with the Beats Studio Buds. These managed to strip away the bulky interior of not only its earbuds but its ever so cumbersome charging case. But does the Studio Buds strip anything else?
Style
For starters Beats manage to make the case of the Studio Buds compact and light even with the earbuds inside. They come in three colors of Black, White, and the eye popping Red. The case has a clamshell lid and features just the Beats insignia on front and LED light. Interestingly Beats has gone for the more universal USB-C charging port which is more Android territory even though Apple is slowly creeping to it for most its devices. Unfortunately, they don’t support wireless charging.
The earbuds themselves are small and designed to curve into your ear. I found them to be quite light and comfortable even for long periods of wear. Just like the PowerBeats Pro before them they are also IPX4 rated which means water/sweat resistance. Just remember the case is not.
There are clickable buttons on each earbud which I found best way to achieve using a finger behind your ear and then pressing.
Included with the Beats Studio Buds and Charging Case is a USB-C cable and additional ear tips.
Features / Sound
Beats has known to have their products be Apple-esque even prior to its acquisition some years back. But these Beats Studios Buds don’t utilize Apple’s H1 chip but rather a chipset from MediaTek. This was more likely to make them more compatible with Android devices. This holds true when setting them up with my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
To setup with Android, you need the Beats app and the connect window will pop up like it does on Apple devices. They connected seamlessly with my Z Fold 2 making it a painless process.
Going back to the buttons on the earbuds they are pretty limited on what you can do besides the usual play/pause features. There is noise control and voice control and that’s about it really.
These earbuds support AAC and SBC. If you are using with Apple Music you can also get Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support as well. They have the usual Beats signature sound which relies more on the bass side. They don’t have the most detailed sound such as clear crisp vocals and coming off a bit muddy but still manage to have a presence.
Experience
Using these for long periods of time I did find the battery life to be on point as the earbuds give you 8hrs of playtime and the case giving you an additional 16hrs totaling out to 24hrs. I like the grip on these especially taking them in/out my ear or putting them in case. These have no sensors on them so they will keep playing even taking them out your ears FYI.
ANC is solid on these having used these on the crowded subways to being in an office space. I wouldn’t consider the ANC better than on the AirPods Pro but its not bad to me that is. It can also be due to how well they fit in your ears sealing out any outside interference. Viewing content whether it be on Netflix or YouTube sounds good and audio syncs up well with the video.
I like the fact these sync up with android devices just as good as they do with my iPhone.
Verdict
Studio Pros are a step in the right direction for Beats when it comes to their true wireless earbuds. Even though they are missing things like wireless charging and sensors when removing from your ears they manage to have other features like ANC, long battery, and support for Apple Music’s various enhancements like Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio. They are some steps down form AirPods Pro but also are $100 down as well. Right now Beats Studio Pros are going for $149.99 $129.99
