The Beats Studio Buds are affordable ANC wireless headphones
The tea leaves were pretty clear, the Beats Studio Buds were on their way. Before the official announcement, we had the usual leaks, regulatory filings, and then LeBron James wore them out in public.
And it looks like Beats has some surprises in store with the Studio Buds, as they come with an impressive list of features at a very affordable price.
Beats Studio Buds are surprisingly affordable
There were rumors that the Beats Studio Buds would feature noise cancellation, but we guessed that this would have tipped them more towards the true premium wireless zone. The price announcement - £ 129,99 in the UK - shows that Beats is synonymous with business in the affordable segment of the market.
Active noise cancellation aims to prevent unwanted noise from impacting audio by using real-time “adaptive gain control”. Beats says Studio Buds use an algorithm that monitors the source file, while simultaneously correcting and cleaning up audio artifacts up to 48 times per second for clearer audio performance.
If you want to hear what's around you, this is where Transparency mode comes in handy. Long press on the « b« the button is activated and filters the sound of the environment. Like other Apple headphones, the noise cancellation on the Studio Buds does not appear to be adjustable.
Headphone audio is piloTee by a proprietary 8,2mm dual element diaphragm driver with a rigid center piston paired with a dual chamber acoustic design. Beats claims that the design helps the headphones achieve "exceptional stereo separation and low harmonic distortion on the frequency curve." As always, we'll have to wait for a review sample and see if the hype lives up to it.
Spatial audio support with Dolby Atmos is included, a benefit for Apple Music subscribers. For call quality, Studio Buds feature dual-beam microphones that target your voice and filter the wind for clarity.
Battery life is 8 hours per earbud, with two additional charges for Studio Buds up to 24. This is, however, without noise cancellation enabled. With ANC or Transparency on, that's up to five hours of battery life and 15 hours in total, indicating that these are headphones for short bursts. Fast charging is supported, with five minutes providing up to an hour more.
Kind of a change of direction, the Beats Studio Buds will work well with both iOS and Android devices. One-touch pairing is possible on both platforms, and the headphones support each platform's respective Find My feature to locate the headphones if they go missing.
There is Bluetooth connectivity (presumably 5.0), touch controls (play, calls, skip track, and toggle between ANC and Transparency modes), while iOS users can activate Siri hands-free.
The emphasis is on comfort with the earpiece's acoustic nozzle featuring a "laser-cut micro-vent" to relieve pressure on the eardrum. There's no common rod with the AirPods line, and at 5g per earbud, they're quite small and don't weigh much. Three sizes of soft silicone tips are included to find the best fit and seal.
Continuing a trend we've seen with the Sony WF-1000XM4, the Beats Studio Buds packaging is 92% plant-based instead of plastic. Every little contribution.
The Beats Studio Buds go on sale in the UK this summer for £ 129,99.
