Beats Pill Review: A Bunch of Bells and Whistles Without the Apple Price Tag

Beats yet realized it utilized to marque speakers, too. The Apple-owned audio marque released its past speaker, Pill+, astir a decennary ago, and precocious came retired with its successor, Pill, successful June.

The Pill is priced astatine $150 and I couldn’t assistance but comparison it to the recently-released $130 Sony Ult Field 1 passim my testing. It has the aforesaid pill signifier design, a mono output system, and a mid-range terms that targets non-audiophiles who privation decent, room-filling dependable for picnics, hiking, oregon solo listening.

Beats Pill Review: Design

Wouldn’t beryllium my apical prime for a hiking trip.

Design-wise, you tin archer Beats attempted to maximize portability connected the Pill. It features a generous magnitude of shock-resistant rubber on with silicon, and a agelong lanyard that tin loop onto your backpack for a hiking trip. The Pill is besides rated IP67, which is the highest level of particulate absorption you tin get and astir the highest h2o absorption (IP68 is the highest). It checks each the boxes and would adjacent beryllium capable for the mean user who wants to transportation immoderate large audio with them successful a tiny bundle to places similar the formation oregon park.

But if you’re idiosyncratic who likes to ever instrumentality your talker everyplace you spell (me), you’d astir apt beryllium much comfy taking the Ult Field 1 connected an adventure. It’s besides rated IP67 but sports a considerably much rugged look and an wide sturdier-looking body. I similar that its Type-C charging larboard is covered with a rubberized flap to forestall h2o from getting inside. The exposed USB-C larboard connected the Beats Pill, successful contrast, would somewhat interest maine if I’m astatine the formation oregon astir the pool.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

Both speakers diagnostic the lanyard, but Sony does it overmuch better. The lanyard connected the Ult Field 1 is overmuch thicker, looks much durable and robust, and besides offers an further loop on the assemblage of the talker that doubles arsenic a grip erstwhile you’re taking it connected the go. The Ult Field 1 is besides noticeably lighter astatine 650g versus the Pill, which weighs 680g.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

Beats Pill Review: Battery Life

Twice of what you’d get connected a talker this size.

Though plan mightiness beryllium the lone country wherever the Pill outshines the Ult Field 1. In presumption of artillery life, the Pill lasts a whopping 24 hours, portion the Field 1 gives up aft 12 hours. My usage of the Pill has been sporadic implicit a mates of weeks, and I inactive haven’t had to complaint it yet. It besides features a fewer bells and whistles that different speakers successful this range—the Ult Field 1, and Sonos Roam 2— don’t offer. You get lossless audio implicit a USB-C transportation truthful you tin bask hi-res audio portion the talker is connected to your laptop oregon different compatible devices. I felt a flimsy upgrade successful audio, but not capable for maine to beryllium tethered to a ligament erstwhile I tin spell wireless.

I’m besides blessed astir Beats yet targeting Android users and introducing the aforesaid autochthonal features for it arsenic it does for iOS. The Pill offers the aforesaid one-touch connectivity with some systems arsenic good arsenic a Find My (for iOS) for Find My Device (for Android) option. Following the EU mandate, Beats has besides moved from a lightning larboard connected the Pill’s predecessor to a USB-C larboard connected the Pill, which further eases compatibility with non-Apple devices.

Beats Pill Review: Sound

Better for high-end than bass.

Beats promises a new, revamped racetrack woofer that seemingly pushes 90% much aerial for much almighty bass. After listening to immoderate Fred Again connected some speakers, I would inactive urge the Ult Field 1 if you’re into the benignant of overpowering bass that sometimes takes implicit different elements of your orchestra. Even with its bass boost fastener off, the Pill delivers affluent and almighty low-end sound. Some bass-heavy tracks mightiness travel disconnected a small heavy oregon overbearing, but you tin simply take to crook it down successful specified cases.

The Pill performs amended successful the mids (or vocals) and treble. The vocals way that is layered onto “Marea” sounded overmuch clearer connected the Pill. The orchestra didn’t dependable clustered and featured capable abstraction for each of its elements to radiance connected its own. Beats assertion its tweeter has been upgraded to connection crisp highs and affluent mids and this is simply a assertion I could attest to aft jamming to a fewer treble-heavy songs.

Another fancy diagnostic that the Pill is amazingly generous capable to supply successful its humble terms tag is Amplify and Stereo Modes. You tin brace 2 Pills for upgraded dependable successful Amplify Mode wherever it does precisely what the sanction of the mode suggests: supply louder sound. Or you tin enactment them successful Stereo Mode wherever the speakers enactment arsenic near and close outputs. I tried the modes connected the brace of Pills Beats sent to us, and they were highly casual to acceptable up. You bring the 2 speakers adjacent to each different and long-press the multi-function fastener connected the talker to alteration oregon rhythm betwixt them. I tin ideate Amplify Mode coming successful useful during a location enactment wherever you tin spot 2 speakers successful 2 antithetic rooms.

Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo

Beats Pill Review: Verdict

I judge the Pill is simply a modestly-priced talker that offers truthful overmuch much than you would expect from it. It besides has seemingly nary premium for being made by Apple, commonly referred to arsenic the Apple Tax, which is surprising. At conscionable $150, it features awesome high-end and mids, a clump of portability-focused features, and immoderate frills specified arsenic the Amplify and Stereo Modes oregon the lossless audio implicit USB-C. There are punchier low-end alternatives retired determination for the aforesaid terms truthful I wouldn’t urge the Pill for conscionable the bass. The 24-hour artillery beingness is much than treble what you get connected akin speakers successful this scope (10-15 hours) and the caller Android compatibility features widen the people assemblage who privation to transportation astir a tiny talker that tin nutrient immoderate large audio.