The first under-$100 true wireless earbuds from Beats (and, by extension, Apple) are here. Starting today, you can order the $79.99 Solo Buds online in four different colors — black, purple, red, and gray — and they’ll be in stores on June 20th. The red earbuds come with one advantage over the others: they include a translucent case that’s reminiscent of the one that comes with the Studio Buds Plus. The earbuds themselves are opaque, but it’s still a great look. I’ve been testing the Solo Buds for a few days, and that candy red case really pops. And whatever color you choose, it’s the smallest carrying case for any Beats earbuds yet.
But therein lies one of the tradeoffs that the company made to hit this lower price point. See, unlike basically all competitors on the market, this case doesn’t include a battery for recharging the buds whenever you’ve put them away. Instead, Beats decided to give the earbuds themselves a marathon 18-hour battery life, after which you’ll need to plop them into the case and recharge them over USB-C. In theory, this could help the Solo Buds last longer since they’re likely to go through fewer charge cycles over their lifetime. But it’s an important thing to be aware of.
Note: Beats provided The Verge with a non-mass-production sample of the Solo Buds. As a result, this is an unscored first look. Stay tuned for further coverage on voice call performance and more once we receive the shipping version.
Beats Solo Buds
$80
The Solo Buds are the first true wireless earbuds from Beats to cost under $100. They omit features like noise cancellation and a battery case in favor of lengthy 18-hour playback time.
theverge.com
