Two years ago, Beats by Dre stopped producing speakers and focused on headphones. Now the Apple subsidiary is introducing a fresh version of the Beats Pill. Is it worth buying?
Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre finally gave up on its Bluetooth speakers around two years ago and devoted itself exclusively to headphones. But now a familiar device is returning to stores. The Beats Pill has been resurrected in the USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia, and from August 6th the devices can also be ordered in Germany and 90 other countries for a price of 169.95 euros. Delivery begins on Thursday, August 8th. The news agency spot on news had the opportunity to test the speaker before the market launch.
Externally, the new Bluetooth speaker retains its original cigar shape and can only be distinguished from its predecessor at second glance. The Beats Pill is available in matte black, champagne and signal red and immediately gives the impression of a high-quality and well-made product. However, in contrast to the old Pill variants, a lot has changed on the inside – and to be honest, this was urgently needed. Many users of the older models criticized the fact that deep tones and bass did not achieve the pressure of comparable devices – something that was actually expected from Beats headphone products.
Beats Pill scores with impressive battery life
In the test, the speakers fulfilled the advertised improvements. A strong emphasis on low frequencies and a clearly bass-heavy sound profile bring a lot of pleasure, especially to fans of electronic sounds or hip hop music. An impressive result for a device of this size, which in many respects even surpasses the subjective sound perception for this type of music compared to products from Sonos, Bose, Sony or JBL. The volume that can be achieved is more than sufficient and annoying distortion and clipping like with the predecessor are now a thing of the past.
The Beats Pill also produces a pleasant sound for music with less bass or for podcasts, but it falls short in nuances compared to Sonos or Bose, which ultimately produce crisper and clearer sounds. However, the battery life is unmatched, a decisive factor in the new Beats Pill.
In the test, the stated 24 hours of continuous listening were easily achieved. No comparable device in this price range with this size and performance can keep up. For comparison: The Sonos Roam 2 promises a battery life of just ten hours, the Bose SoundLink Flex, Sony ULT Field 1 or the JBL Flip 6 only offer twelve hours.
The Beats Pill is easily compatible with iOS and Android devices, which includes 1-click pairing and the “Find My” or “Find My Device” option. In addition, two Beats Pill speakers can be connected to play music on both devices using the amplifier or stereo mode. Unfortunately, Beats has not built in AirPlay, which unfortunately prevents full integration into the Apple universe.
Conclusion:
The Beats Pill is not going to revolutionize the market for small, portable Bluetooth speakers. However, anyone who wants to use the device intensively and permanently outdoors and is looking for a loud, bass-heavy listening experience should consider buying one. Anyone who wants to use the speakers as a sound system at home may find more useful devices from competitors such as Sonos and Co. Nevertheless, it is a high-quality product with strong sound quality and outstanding battery life for a fair price.
By (dr/spot)
