Design & Construction

With much success from the Studio Buds line. Beats is back with a budget-friendly alternative aimed at their money-conscious consumers. The Solo Buds is the smallest ever pill-shaped case that Beats has created. In fact, it is so small and compact, no other earbuds on the market has managed to achieve its scale just yet. Like all true wireless earbuds, the case feature magnets inside that keeps the earbuds docked in securely. There is a USB-C port at the back of the case. One of the coolest coloured finishes has to be the transparent red version of the case which shows the inner workings, continuing its legacy from what we saw earlier from the Studio Buds+ transparent version. As for the earbuds, Beats still uses a similar earbuds style as the Studio Buds+ and went with lower quality pjhysical buttons that were pretty hard to get a click. Every press felt like an intentional effort to jam the earbuds further in and it was indeed discouraging to use it. A single press on either earbuds will play/pause your music, a double press skips forward and a triple press skips backwards, while a long press will toggle between Siri or volume control. In terms of battery life, we are looking at strong 18 hours of music playback per use. The case does not hold any additional power, which aligns with why we have the lightrest and smallest case ever. If you are in a rush, there is always quick charge which will allow for 1 hour of playback with a 5 minutes charge. In the box, there are extra-small eartips alongside the regular Small, Medium and Large sizes to ensure a tight seal and secure fit. The Solo Buds also does not have any water resistance, so users should be wary when used for intense workouts or during rainy days.

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Sound Quality

Loud, lively and energetic is how I would describe the sound of the Beats Solo Buds. The dual-layer transducers produced an exciting sound signature out-of-the-box. So let's start off with the bass response. In short, it is deep, punchy, and tight. It never managed to distort at loud volume. The bass never bleeds into the mids when it is at a low volume level and it hits as deep as the CMF Buds Pro and Sony WF-C500. The highs sounded too bright and somewhat too sharp at louder volumes. The mids do sound average with enough detail to keep regular music listeners happy. If you are not a fan of the out-of-the-box sound signature, it is with a heavy heart to let you know that it will not be easy to alter the equaliser unless you are using a third-party option. Clearly, some alteration to the sound quality is required as the sound quality is tuned against higher frequencies. On more bass-focused songs, the Solo Buds do very well with balanced bass reproduction that didn't sounded too boomy. The soundstage is close to none as there was no Spatial Audio support or any form of enhancements to wider the surround. There was decent instrument separation with distinct left and right channels. There is a compatible Beats app for Android users and built-in settings for IOS users. Inside, you will see the battery life of the earbuds. You can also customise the press and hold control on the earbuds to change between Siri or control the volume. The call controls can also be customised to answer/end calls and mute/unmute the microphones with a single or double press. Since Beats is part of Apple, Find My detection is built into the buds for you to trace them back if you lose them, however the location tracking will only work when the earbuds are in use, otherwise the app will only show its last used location. The software should be update periodically in the background without you knowing as in typical Apple fashion. There is no active noise-cancelling capability on the Solo Buds, only passive noise isolation. However, based on user experience, passive noise isolation is ample for everyday commutes on true wireless earbuds with a tight seal and music above 50% volume. There is also no Transparency Mode so if you need to take note of your surroundings, you should use only one earbud to help you do so. If you are looking for auto-play and pause when you remove one earbud, the Solo Buds does not have that feature either. In terms of call quality, the earbuds uses just 1 mic per earbud with an noise-learning algorithm to capture your voice. In my opinion, the quality is average as I sounded robotic and needed to speak up when I picked up calls in outdoor and windy environments.

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Connectivity & Portability

The earbuds support the basic AAC and SBC codecs together with Bluetooth 5.3. The earbuds also automatically power on/off when docked and taken out from the case. The battery life is contained within the earbuds itself at a solid 18 hours. There is no wireless charging and the package do not come with any USB-C cable for charging. Either earbuds allow for one-sided listening as they use an independent connection to your phone. If you try to watch videos or movies with these, they do not have any latency in audio transmission.

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PROS​​

• Durable Construction

• Compact and Small

• IOS & Android Compatibility

• Quick Charge

• Long Battery Life

• Bluetooth 5.3

• Find My Location Tracking

• USC-C Charging

• A Range of Colours

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CONS​​​​​​

• No Sound Customisation

• No ANC or Transparency

• No Charging Cable Included

• No Water-resistance Rating

• No Wireless Charging

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The Bottom Line

In all, the Beats Solo Buds+ is a basic everyday option, aimed at budget-conscious consumers. It retains essential features from the most expensive Studio Buds+ line while introducing new features such as a strong 18 hour battery life and compact size case. It is indeed a seamless and hassle-free experience that Beats nailed for both IOS and Android users. The Solo Buds comes in a variety of colours including Transparent Red, Artic Purple, Storm Gray, Matte Black and in typical Beats fashion, we can expect to see new colourways to drop in the near future.