Even as AirPods have become some of the best earbuds in the world, Apple has kept the Beats brand around following its 2014 acquisition. They’ve produced quality earbuds since then, like the Beats Fit Pro and the Beats Studio Buds. Now, two years after the Buds debuted, Apple has updated the product line with the Beats Studio Buds+. They’re better than the original model in just about every way, and they’re good enough to challenge the AirPods Pro 2.
With a more balanced soundstage and much better active noise cancelation (ANC) features, the AirPods Pro 2 are still the best Apple earbuds out there. But the Beats Studio Buds+’s price and feature set make that choice more complicated. The Studio Buds+ retail for $170, which is about $80 less than the AirPods Pro 2. That alone makes them worth considering as an AirPods Pro alternative, and the feature parity between iOS and Android might be even more compelling.
Beats Studio Buds +
The Beats Studio Buds+ take the best features of AirPods Pro and put them in a neat and colorful form factor. They aren’t quite as good as Apple’s best, but they get close enough for the price. Plus, the transparent design is a really cool touch.
- Battery Life
- Up to 9 hours
- Charging Case Included?
- Yes
- Microphone?
- Yes
- Brand
- Beats
- Audio codecs
- AAC, SBC
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Price
- $170
- IP Rating
- IPX4
- Wireless Charging
- No
- Case battery
- Up to 27 hours
- Colors
- Ivory, Black, and Transparent
- Noise Cancellation
- Yes
Pros
- Up to 9 hours of listening on a single charge (36 with case)
- Fast Pair on iOS and Android
- USB-C port for charging
Cons
- Weaker active noise canceling than the competition
- No wireless charging
- Spatial Audio is always on when using Apple Music
Beats Studio Buds+: Pricing and availability
The Beats Studio Buds+ were first revealed in late April after Amazon accidentally published a listing for the earbuds, but became available for purchase starting May 18. The earbuds retail for $170, which is $20 more than the original Beats Studio Buds. They can be purchased directly through Apple or through third-party retailers like Best Buy and Amazon. There are three colors for the Beats Studio Buds+: black, ivory, and transparent.
Design
So lightweight that you forget it’s even there
Photo: Brady Snyder
The Beats Studio Buds+ are a lightweight pair of earbuds, and sometimes, I forgot they were even in my ear. Unlike a lot of earbuds, like the AirPods and the Nothing Ear lineup, the Beats Studio Buds+ don’t have a stem that protrudes from your ear. Instead, the bud sits in your ear nicely while still being large enough to grab when you want to remove or adjust them easily.
The button on the Beats logo is designed great, too. I usually don’t like these types of buttons because pressing them often pushes the in-ear step deeper into your ear canal, which can be painful. But on the Beats Studio Buds+, I was able to press the main button without causing any discomfort. Overall, the Beats Studio Buds+ has a great design that ends up being more comfortable and better looking than some of the more premium options out there.
You’ll probably need to swap ear tips if your ears don’t fit the medium-sized pre-installed ones on the Studio Buds+. Unlike the AirPods Pro, there’s no fancy snap-on connection system or Ear Tip Fit Test. The Beats Studio Buds+ use the same ear tips as most earbuds today and slide onto a plastic stem that sits in your ear canal. The good news is that this choice means you can easily swap your ear tips for better ones, like memory foam ear tips. But the bad news is that the plastic stem might become uncomfortable after long periods of listening.
Apple gives you three size options in the box: extra small, small, and large. I have trouble making some in-ear headphones fit right, but the Beats Studio Buds+ were comfortable and secure after swapping sizes. With four total ear tips included, you’ll probably be able to find one that fits your ear shape.
Setup process
Same simple setup on iOS and Android
Photo: Brady Snyder
Beats products are unique because, unlike AirPods, they have feature parity between iOS and Android. For people who switch devices often, using Beats is a huge benefit. When I connect my AirPods to Android devices, I need to download a handful of third-party apps to gain a fraction of the features available on Apple products. Beats, on the other hand, are the only earbuds to have fast pairing on both operating systems.
The pairing process on my iPhone was painless. Just open the case, hold it near your unlocked iPhone, and a setup window will appear at the bottom of your screen. You can choose to set up a few features immediately, like what button presses can be used to end calls or whether you want notifications to be announced. Make sure that your iPhone is updated to iOS 16.5 or later, though, because I ran into a few bugs while initially using the earbuds with iOS 16.4.
The process requires an extra step on Android; you’ll need to download the Beats app to access all the customization options available. However, the initial setup was just as easy here as it is on iOS. It only took two steps to connect the Studio Buds+ to my Galaxy Z Fold 4 — actually quicker than on iPhone — but you can’t change settings straight from the setup window on Android.
Sound quality and active noise cancelation
Good but not great
Photo: Brady Snyder
The Beats Studio Buds+ sound great, and I actually prefer the earbuds’ sound signature over my AirPods Pro 2. They sound fuller in the low end and have more bass, but it’s not overpowering like the Beats of old. The AirPods Pro and the Nothing Ear 2 probably have a more accurate soundstage than the Studio Buds+, but that doesn’t change the fact that I think the Studio Buds+ are more fun to listen to music with.
I listened to a ton of different music in more than a week of testing, from jazz to rap. The Studio Buds+ sounded good while playing everything I threw at it, but they sound best when listening to pop and hip-hop music. That isn’t a knock on the Studio Buds+, though, because I feel the same way about the AirPods Pro 2.
ANC is where you really start to see the difference between the Beats Studio Buds+ and the competition. Considering their price tag, the noise-canceling is definitely passable, but it’s not impressive. The Studio Buds+ don’t completely drown out the background noise of the New York City subway or my rowdy coffee shop, but it makes a dent into the ambient noise. I still use noise-canceling on the Beats Studio Buds+, but they aren’t as effective as the AirPods Pro 2 or the Nothing Ear 2.
Transparency mode is, put simply, useless. The earbuds don’t do a good job of separating the ambient noise from voices while in transparency mode, so I end up just hearing the ambient noise. To actually hold a conversation in transparency mode while listening to music, I’d have to turn my volume down to about 10 to 20%, which isn’t usable. If you like transparency mode, and it’s a must-have, then the Studio Buds+ probably aren’t for you.
Companion App
Solid app control, with a notable exception
Photo: Brady Snyder
You can fine-tune the Beats Studio Buds+ fairly well on both iOS and Android, with one key caveat: They support Spatial Audio, but only on Apple Music. And there’s another catch: Fixed Spatial Audio is used anytime you listen to music on Apple Music, and there’s no way to turn it off. This isn’t a deal breaker, as fixed Spatial Audio isn’t as jarring as when it’s head-tracked, but you definitely should be able to turn this off. I hope Apple adds that feature in a subsequent firmware update.
Controlling the Studio Buds+ is similar on iOS and Android, but the place you find these settings is different. When you open the Settings app on iOS, you’ll see a new tab for your Beats Studio Buds Plus when they’re connected. This allows you to see things like battery life, noise control settings, and other features. On Android, this happens in the Beats app, which provides the exact same customization options.
Speaking of battery life, it’s one of the best things about the Studio Buds+. The earbuds last nine hours on a single charge, and you can charge them fully three more times with the included charging case. That’s better than the AirPods Pro 2 and bests most of the competition. Plus, you can get an extra hour of listening time with a five-minute quick charge.
Beats Studio Buds+: Should you buy them?
Photo: Brady Snyder
You should buy the Beats Studio Buds+ if:
- You switch between iOS and Android devices often
- You like Beats’ sound signature
- You want earbuds with a long-lasting battery life
You should not buy the Beats Studio Buds+ if:
- You need best-in-class active noise-canceling features
- You don’t like Spatial Audio while listening to Apple Music
- You need wireless charging
The Beats Studio Buds+ have compromises, there’s no doubt about that. But it’d be hard to find a more well-rounded pair of earbuds at their $170 price point. At that price, they’re clearly one of the best earbuds in 2023. They have strong feature parity on both iOS and Android, sound great, and offer solid ANC. They also look great and, dare I say it, the transparent version looks cooler than even the Nothing Ear 2.
Beats Studio Buds +
Top-tier Apple earbuds
The Beats Studio Buds+ take the best features of AirPods Pro and put them in a neat and colorful form factor. They aren’t quite as good as Apple’s best, but they get close enough for the price. Plus, the transparent design is a really cool touch.