Beats
just
announced
its
new
Solo
4,
its
latest
in
a
long
line
of
on-ear
wireless
headphones.
The
latest
model,
priced
at
$199.99,
offers
battery
life
of
up
to
50
hours.
That
endurance
is
no
doubt
helped
by
the
fact
that
these
lack
active
noise
cancellation,
a
feature
present
in
many
competing
products
at
the
same
price
point.
But
Beats
says
plenty
of
other
improvements
await
buyers
of
the
Solo
4.
For
one,
they
support
wired
audio
over
both
USB-C
and
the
3.5mm
jack.
And
these
headphones
have
passive
tuning,
meaning
they
can
keep
playing
when
plugged
in
even
when
the
battery
is
dead
—
without
any
degradation
in
sound.
Beats
is
also
hyping
all
the
custom
acoustic
architecture
that’s
gone
into
the
Solo
4.
And
just
like
the
Beats
Studio
Pro
headphones
released
last
year,
these
support
native
software
features
on
both
iOS
and
Android.
Wouldn’t
you
know
it,
but
I’ve
actually
been
testing
the
Solo
4
on-ears
for
about
a
week
now,
and
you
can
read
my
full
review
right
now.
The
red
ones
just
look
so
good.Image:
Beats
But
the
Solo
4
aren’t
today’s
only
new
Beats
hardware.
The
Apple-owned
brand
is
also
introducing
the
$79.99
Solo
Buds,
which
now
serve
as
its
entry-level
wireless
earbuds.
They
deliver
“big
Beats
sound
in
the
smallest
case
we’ve
ever
made,”
the
company
said
in
its
press
release.
Again,
there’s
no
ANC
to
be
found
here
—
apparently,
a
Beats
product
must
have
“Pro”
in
its
name
for
that
—
though
Beats
claims
the
Solo
Buds
provide
a
good
amount
of
noise
isolation
to
help
mitigate
ambient
noise.
Another
concession
at
this
price
point
is
that
the
case
doesn’t
actually
provide
any
battery
recharges;
the
earbuds
themselves
can
last
up
to
18
hours
on
a
charge,
but
after
that,
you’ll
need
to
juice
them
up
over
USB-C.
They
come
in
four
colors
including
black,
gray,
purple,
and
a
very
snazzy
red
that
has
a
translucent
case
a
la
the
Studio
Buds
Plus.
With
this
launch,
the
Beats
wireless
earbud
lineup
now
looks
like
this:
The
Solo
Buds
are
shipping
later
than
the
Solo
4
and
will
be
available
sometime
in
June.
As
Beats’
first
true
wireless
earbuds
to
cost
under
$100,
I’d
expect
them
to
do
very
well.
It’s
looking
like
a
busy
season
for
the
brand
overall.
LeBron
James
was
spotted
with
an
unannounced
Beats
speaker
of
some
sort
earlier
this
month,
so
the
new
hardware
releases
might
not
be
done
just
yet.
When
you
consider
that
new
AirPods
are
rumored
to
be
announced
this
fall,
it
makes
sense
for
Apple
to
give
Beats
its
own
attention
over
the
spring
and
summer.
Original author: Chris Welch
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