They look like Beats headphones. They sound like Beats headphones. Battery life can reach a new high of 50 hours. These factors alone are a guarantee that the new Beats Solo 4 wireless on-ear headphones will be just as successful as their predecessors – and it won’t be long before you see them worn by athletes and music stars everywhere you go.
But there’s more to it than just a logo. Unlike the Solo 3, the fourth-generation cans uniquely support native software features (like one-tap pairing and Find My/Find My Device). both Android and iOS; Beats has quietly become Apple’s Android-friendly brand, in case you haven’t been paying attention. And for an old-school guy like me, I love that the company is putting an emphasis on wired, lossless listening via USB-C or the 3.5mm headphone jack. In terms of sound, these headphones are worlds different from Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 or the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e headphones that I often wear – both are more expensive. But they are also aimed at a completely different audience. As always, Beats is all about cultural cachet, the distinctive “B” logo, and entertaining (if not mind-blowing) sound.
That doesn’t mean that Beats turned everything on its head. A complete lack of active noise cancellation any A pair of $200 wireless headphones is hard to miss; The earpads provided relatively good natural noise isolation at my local coffee shop and while crossing Brooklyn, but ANC is always appreciated when the noise starts to bubble up. The short-lived Solo Pro had it, but not these, which are technically a sequel to the eight-year-old Solo 3.
The flagship Studio Pro from Beats easily prevails on the ANC front. But the Solo 4 really have one thing: they are passively tuned. Many wireless headphones have an active EQ profile constantly active, which ensures the fullest sound. This is all powered by the battery. Once you run out of power, some headphones will stop playing – even if they’re wired – or will revert to very poor audio quality until you charge them again. Thanks to passive tuning, the Solo 4 continues playing endlessly when plugged in, even when the battery is empty, and the sound never changes. “Unlimited wired playback” is actually one of the bullet points on the back of the box. We love seeing it, although these days that inevitably means pulling out a headphone dongle.
The Solo 4 wears well on the head. They are narrower, slimmer and significantly lighter than the studio cans. And they use the same “UltraPlush” memory foam pads as the Studio Pro, which account for a significant part of the comfort. Beats claims that the new cover material – a weak point of some previous headphones – should offer better durability and longer lifespan compared to the Solo 3. With Beats headphones there is always a moderate clamping force; Many people use them in the gym or during outdoor activities. But despite my enormous courage, I never felt the pressure to tread on uncomfortable territory.
I also like the included fabric carrying case, but why doesn’t it match the color of your headphones? Blue, pink and black are the hardware choices at launch, but Beats has released many other colors over time in the past. The design of the headphones is similar to previous models, as are the controls. The Beats logo on the left acts as a play/pause button and there are volume controls directly above and below, making these headphones as easy to use as possible. You can double-tap the logo to skip forward a track, or triple-tap to go back – all very familiar controls for Beats fans.
Instead of integrating an Apple chip, which would make them unilaterally attractive to iPhone owners, Beats is sticking with the same proprietary platform that has been the brains of its recent products. In practice this means you get some (but you don’t). all) Ecosystem software tricks, whether you use iOS or Android. To me this seems to be the right approach. Apple fans get at least one exclusive: personalized spatial audio with head tracking. But Android users benefit from automatic device switching between Android, Chromebooks and other devices.
I’ve been listening to the Solo 4 for several days and the sound is honestly more reserved than I expected. They are not particularly bass-heavy and avoid over-emphasising any part of the frequency range; The goal was to achieve consistent tuning that fits music, podcasts, work meetings/voice calls, and more. Speaking of calls: The voice quality is quite decent, as Beats has trained its ML algorithm “in over 7,000 hours of use in real environments”. What puts the Solo 4 over the top compared to more expensive headphones is the overall fullness and a fairly compressed soundstage that lacks much breadth. But in my opinion they will be more than sufficient for the target group.
The loss of noise cancellation on the Solo 4 could be a real hindrance for some, but I don’t think it will be enough to dampen their appeal to the masses who have been using Beats products for so many years. Even if you’re buying primarily for coolness, these on-ear headphones are now at least platform independent, more comfortable, and more versatile since you can just plug them in when you hit the 50-hour battery life. As with all Beats products, it’s worth waiting until they go on sale – and the Solo 4 definitely will.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge