They might still have the Beats logo on the side, but they're Apple through and through.
Apple has in a few short years managed to completely dominate the
wireless earbud market. Since the launch of the original generation of
AirPods in late 2016, the in-ear headphones have become a culturalphenomenon, and are likely the best-selling earbuds on the planet.
But as of yet, Apple hasn’t translated that success into higher-price
headphones. Many iPhone owners, who may be willing to part with a
sizable chunk of cash to complement the ecosystem of Apple devices they carry with them, have not had the option to. Instead, they would have to turn to other companies’ great products, like Bose’s QC 35 IIs, or Sony’s difficult-to-remember WH-1000XM3 headphones. There’s still a chance that Apple will produce its own wireless, noise-canceling headphones—rumors continue to fly—but
for now, Apple has a surprisingly competent pair of headphones produced
by Beats, the company started by Monster Electronics and Dr. Dre back
in 2014.
Beats recently released its new Solo Pro wireless headphones, and Quartz spent the week with them to see how they fared.
What’s good
Easy to turn on and off. This is a really smart
piece of engineering from Beats (or Apple?)—instead of having an on/off
switch, the Solo Pros turn off or on when you fold or unfold the
headphones. The number of times I’ve had a pair of wireless headphones
die on me because I forgot to turn them off after I’m done with them
really makes these headphones worth it just for this feature.
They cancel noise well. Although they’re not likely going to be the most
effective noise-canceling headphones you’ve ever used (more on that
below), they block out surprisingly well for what they are. I used them
on a few flights this week, and was impressed by how quiet they made the
experiences. Wearing them at home right now writing this, I can’t hear
the screaming children down the hallway or the pile-driver at the
construction site across the street that I definitely didn’t think about
when I decided to work from home today.
They use a Lightning cable. If
you’re bought into the Apple ecosystem, you’ll certainly appreciate
having to carry around just one cable to charge your iPhone and your
headphones.
Long battery life. Beats says the
headphones can get around 22 hours of battery life on a single charge
(or up to 40 if you turn off the noise-canceling software), and I found
myself barely needing to charge them in a week’s worth of on-and-off
usage.
Pretty comfortable. Headphones that press
onto the sides of your head are rarely comfortable things to wear for
long periods of time, but the Color Pros have a ton of cushioning on the
ear cups. I didn’t wear mine for more than about two hours at any given
time when I was reviewing them, but I didn’t find them bothering me.
Siri works. Much
like on the most recent AirPods, you can summon Siri just by saying
“Hey Siri” while wearing these headphones. It works well, but I’m not
sure it’s something you’ll really want to do that often.
Solid colors. Most
people seem to choose black for headphones, but the Solo Pros come in
some excellent colors. I’m partial to the navy blue, and they also come in a quite Apple-esque “ivory.”
They just work. Apple products, when they succeed, are excellent because using them is a stress-free experience. The company hasn’t always achieved that
of late, but AirPods are a great example of solid Apple design. You
open them up for the first time, and your phone recognizes them and sets
them up in seconds. There’s no fussing. The Solo Pro experience is
effectively the same.
 |
| © Provided by Atlantic Media, Inc. The Beats Solo Pro folded up |
The Beats Solo Pro, folded up, in navy.
What’s not so good
They’re not over-ear headphones.
There are two main types of bulky, studio headphones that you can buy:
ones where the speaker cups sit on top of your ears, and ones where they
cover your ear entirely. Unsurprisingly, the latter (called “over-ear
headphones”) block out more sound, meaning you’re less likely to hear
external noises. The Solo Pros sit on the ear, so there is still some
leaking from the outside world that seeps in. Beats did release
the Studio3 over-ear headphones back in September 2017, but they could
do with the tech advances Apple has made in headphones since then.
They use a Lightning cable. Even
if you’re in Apple’s world, you might have preferred a faster-charging
USB-C cable, found on the iPad Pro, which is also generally used by
every non-Apple product on the market these days.
They’re expensive. Like
any good Apple product, the Solo Pros cost a lot. They start at
$299.95, which is more in line with what larger, over-ear
noise-canceling headphones tend to cost.
Should you buy them?
If
you’re looking to graduate from Apple’s AirPods to something else with
similarly tight integration to the company’s ecosystem, this is pretty
much your best option. They might still have Beats’ logo on the side,
but these are Apple hardware through and through, down to smarter design
engineering and Apple circuitry. And for a pair of Beats headphones,
they look good too.
But there are certainly other options for
noise-canceling headphones at around the same price. I’m a big fan of my
Bose QC 35 IIs, which have brought me through many flights, train
rides, and loud days with ease. But if you want something that looks a
little less like you spend a lot of time in airport lounges, Beats might
be a better choice.
Apple has kept Beats at arm’s length since
the acquisition, slowly integrating its products to its stores, and
eventually opening up its engineering team to Beats devices. But it’s
likely Apple will eventually make its own Apple-branded headphones in
the future—where does Beats stand then?
For now, though, the Solo Pro are the best Apple headphones you can buy—even if the branding wouldn’t tell you that.
COMMENTS