Aiming for a minimum price, the Apple brand has reduced many functions and features. So much so that it seems difficult to recommend them in the face of very active competition at these prices.
A pair of true wireless headphones from Beats for less than 90 euros? That’s the performance these Solo Buds achieve. To achieve this, the brand still made a lot of concessions on the features valued in the brand’s other models.
The most visible lack is obviously that of a battery in the storage case, which therefore loses its rechargeable qualifier here. Therefore, it simply serves to protect the headphones to transport them and only recharges when you connect its USB-C port (you can also recharge them from a smartphone). No cable is provided in the box, so we’ll use the one that came with our phone instead.
But what might seem like a major drawback to these Solo Buds isn’t that big after all. To compensate for this lack, Beats equips its headphones with autonomy rarely seen in this segment: 18 hours. Even when we used them heavily during our test, we actually found that the promise was kept, just requiring an occasional recharge without ever having to worry about damage. However, no lights on the headphones indicate battery level, you have to rely on a descending beep or your smartphone’s interface to see when it’s time to plug them in.
No battery, therefore very compact
This lack of battery allows Beats to take advantage of it: the case is extremely compact and light compared to other models: 66 mm x 35 mm x 24 mm for 22 g. Even in the pocket of your jeans, you barely feel its presence. The plastics used, on the other hand, are basic and very hard, they also love fingerprints.
Four sizes of tips come with the Solo Buds, making it easy to find the one that fits your ears. They are of the same type as those of the AirPods Pro, semi-in-ear. There is nothing to complain about this, they are very comfortable and therefore can be worn for hours without a problem. They are also not afraid of sports, they stay in place and Beats assure that they are resistant to sweat without any problem, although they do not officially benefit from an IP certificate.
Customizable buttons
A physical button is placed on each earpiece to control several parameters. A short press pauses or plays music. By holding, you activate Siri on the iPhone, but it is also possible to configure this gesture to control the volume: left earbud to decrease it, right earbud to increase it; or vice versa. To do this, you’ll need to go through the Beats app on Android or directly through System Settings on iOS.
Auto-detection is available, but it only serves to transfer music from your device to the Solo Buds when you’re wearing them. Playback doesn’t stop if you ever remove them for a moment. Another disadvantage is that they are not multipoint; To listen to music from another device, you have to connect them manually every time, even on an Apple device. Therefore, the use is much less smooth than with AirPods when switching between several terminals.
No spatial audio
If the in-ear system passively blocks out some external noise, you have to rely on it alone, as Beats didn’t see fit to include active noise cancellation at this price point. It’s a shame because competitors in the same price range do. And even if it’s less efficient than high-end models, it’s still partially useful. Note that this choice nevertheless allows the autonomy of the headphones to be preserved.
Beats has also reduced the audio features, choosing not to implement spatial audio control when other models in its range benefit from it. This is one of the signatures of Apple’s latest audio models, which therefore disappears there as well.
Where’s the bass?
The other signature that we also don’t find on these Solo Buds is pure audio. We’ve known for a few years that Beats is looking for a more balanced sound with its devices, much less bass than in the beginning, as seen by the latest Solo 4 headphones. These true wireless devices are no exception to the rule, but it sounds more like a flaw than a real choice. We’re even surprised, for the first time with a product from the brand, to say that the Solo Buds are woefully lacking in low frequencies.
This is all the more unfortunate as the rest of the sound spectrum is quite well balanced. Mids and highs are rich and detailed, but this lack of bass or even low mids results in a lack of depth and sometimes even warmth in low voices. Certain styles of music suffer from this, the brand co-founded by Dr. Dre, finds himself in trouble in hip-hop, for example, where we even regret the sometimes hypertrophied bass of his old products.
A final disappointment, the quality of the hands-free calling feature. Just OK in a quiet environment, gets completely confused as soon as noise is felt around it. So much so that our interlocutor could hardly hear our voice.
