Beats Pill review: much easier to swallow this time

Beats has been retired of the talker crippled for a agelong time. Its past speaker, the Pill Plus, was discontinued successful 2022 aft being introduced years earlier. Since then, Beats’ genitor company, Apple, has focused connected location speakers similar the HomePod and HomePod Mini, ceding the portable marketplace to brands similar Bose, Sony, JBL, Anker, and countless others. But now, aft a not-at-all-subtle celebrity teaser campaign, the Beats Pill is making a comeback.

The 2024 revamp, connected merchantability contiguous for $149.99, has a acquainted design. But connected the inside, everything has changed, and I’ve been pleasantly amazed by conscionable however overmuch the caller Pill is susceptible of. At its core, you’re getting a mono Bluetooth speaker. And portion determination are ever dependable prime tradeoffs astatine this compact size — that’s conscionable physics — it’s the extras and bonus features that truly assistance the refreshed Beats Pill basal retired from erstwhile models. 

This clip around, the Pill supports lossless audio playback implicit USB-C. You tin usage that aforesaid USB-C larboard to complaint outer devices, a convenience besides offered by galore competitors. There’s a detachable lanyard that makes the Pill casual to transportation around, and the instrumentality is rated IP67 for particulate and h2o resistance. Battery beingness has doubled to a maximum of 24 hours, and Beats inactive includes speakerphone functionality.

Like each of the brand’s caller headphones and earbuds, the Pill is designed to natively enactment some Android and iOS: connected some platforms, you tin instrumentality vantage of one-tap setup and Find My / Find My Device. There are nary hands-free “Hey Siri” dependable commands, and don’t expect AirPlay integration, but Beats has checked disconnected practically each different diagnostic that I could inquire for. As a result, the Pill feels similar its astir focused merchandise successful a agelong time. 

The Pill comes successful 3 colors — red, black, oregon golden — with a metallic grille and silicone wrapped astir the remainder of the talker for added durability. The apical controls are nicely laid out, with a powerfulness fastener connected the near side, a halfway fastener for way controls, and measurement to the right. All of the buttons are casual to consciousness for adjacent erstwhile you’re not looking astatine the Pill, and they person a precise satisfying click. Inside the enclosure are a redesigned woofer and tweeter. 

Beats’ selling materials assertion the racetrack-style woofer is susceptible of 90 percent much aerial measurement displacement and stronger centrifugal unit compared to the Pill Plus and that low-end distortion has been reduced. Both the woofer and tweet person a 20 percent upward tilt that allows dependable to scope your ears much people erstwhile the Pill is positioned connected a table oregon table. Even though the Pill can’t output stereo similar the Pill Plus could, the existent components person improved. If you privation existent stereo playback, you tin wirelessly nexus 2 Pills together. (Two tin besides beryllium paired successful the regular mono listening mode if you privation to usage them successful antithetic rooms during a party.)

People mostly usage speakers similar this for precise casual, noncritical listening — beryllium it astatine home, erstwhile traveling, oregon for play trips to the beach. And successful the bulk of those scenarios, the Beats Pill sounds perfectly good. Not each tracks grip the mono mixdown gracefully, truthful occasionally you’ll onshore connected a opus that leaves you wanting for more. It’s conscionable not arsenic immersive. But mono is the norm among galore speakers of this size. And for the astir part, I’ve been satisfied with the Pill’s dependable performance. It’s clear, tin crank reasonably loud, and is tuned good for today’s illustration toppers.

If you privation the champion audio fidelity this talker tin offer, there’s ever the enactment to plug successful implicit USB-C. I similar having the choice, adjacent if it mightiness look similar overkill for this people of speaker. Whenever a USB-C cablegram is plugged in, the Pill determines whether it should beryllium receiving a complaint from that instrumentality (like a laptop) oregon providing foodstuff to it alternatively (if it’s your phone). You tin manually determine which mode the complaint goes by triple-tapping the powerfulness button. Double-pressing the fastener activates your phone’s chosen dependable assistant, truthful you tin entree either Siri oregon Google Assistant; it’s conscionable not hands-free similar connected a HomePod oregon Nest Audio. I was pleased with the Pill’s speakerphone functionality. Beats’ noise-suppression algorithm did an awesome occupation of isolating my dependable from inheritance sound connected calls. 

There’s truly not overmuch to dislike astir the remastered Beats Pill if you tin get past its mono output — and I deliberation galore radical volition person nary occupation doing so. It works good and tin withstand immoderate outdoor adventures you bring it on for. The artillery lasts a agelong time, and you get plentifulness of bonus features beyond Bluetooth playback. If Beats were charging much than the $150 asking price, I’d astir apt beryllium little effusive astir recommending it. But arsenic it stands, it feels similar there’s hardly an Apple / Beats taxation astatine play here. The Pill is much than competitory for what you’re paying.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge