How does the Beats Solo Buds TWS headset fare against the competition?
Beats Solo Buds is available in Arctic Purple (pictured) and three other colourways
Beats Solo Buds — the latest truly wireless stereo (TWS) headset from Apple's subsidiary — was launched in India in August, two months after they were introduced in the US. This model offers longer playback time on a single charge compared to its more expensive siblings, but the charging case doesn't provide any additional battery life. The Beats Solo Buds works with iOS and Android smartphones and features customisable buttons on each earphone. I've spent a few days with the TWS headset, trying to find out if it can stand out in a highly competitive price segment.
The Beats Solo Buds is priced at Rs. 6,900 in India, and it's available in Arctic Purple, Matte Black, Storm Gray, and Transparent Red colour options. The company sent over the purple variant for this review.
These are the most affordable TWS earphones made by Beats, but they sport the brand's signature design language. It closely resembles the more expensive Beats Studio Buds+ model in terms of size and design, featuring a plastic body with a stem-free design. The company's logo is prominently featured on each earphone.
The Beats Solo Buds headset has a light purple plastic body with a matte finish, while the panel with the button on each earbud is a slightly darker shade. It's easy to hold and twist into place, and you can choose from four ear tip sizes for a comfortable fit — you'll need to make sure the in-ear earphones fit snugly, as it only features passive noise isolation, unlike its more expensive siblings.
Beats Solo Buds features customisable button controls
Like the earphones, the carrying case has a two-tone design with a lighter shade inside. It is one of the smallest and lightest cases I've held so far, and the lid snaps shut with an audible click. While the lid and the earphones are both held securely by magnets, it's easy to open the case and take them out with one hand.
While TWS headset fitting can be subjective, I found that the Beats Solo Buds headset was quite comfortable, thanks to the rounded design. The earphones are very light, but I was always aware of their presence in my ears, thanks to the in-ear design.
The Beats Solo Buds are compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, and I tested them with an iPhone running on iOS 17.6.1 as well as a smartphone running on Android 14. Apple includes built-in controls for the TWS headset inside the iOS settings app, but I had to download a companion app for Android via Apple's support website.
When I opened the lid of the Beats Solo Buds for the first time, I saw a prompt to pair the headset pop up simultaneously on iOS, Android and even a Swift Pair notification on my laptop that runs on Windows 10. There's no dedicated button to initiate the pairing process, which is automatic. If you want to pair it with another device, you can hold the button on either earphone for three seconds until it emits a chirping sound.
Beats customisation options on iOS and Android (tap to expand)
By default, pressing the button on either earphone once will answer an incoming call, while pressing it once during a conversation will mute or unmute your microphone, and a double press will end the call. You can swap the mute/ unmute and end call controls, but the single button push answer calls can't be modified.
The Beats Solo Buds also include the option to press and hold the earphone button to decrease (left) and increase (right) the playback volume. However, I turned off this functionality as it allowed me to activate Siri (or Google Assistant on Android) by long pressing the button.
The companion app doesn't include any equaliser controls or audio presets, so I had to rely on the app-specific equaliser options on Apple Music and Spotify on Android and iOS to customise the audio output of the wireless headset.
The app also includes a feature that lets you see the location of your earphones on Android, while iOS users can use the Find My app for the same functionality. On both platforms, you'll be able to see the last location when the earphones were in use or connected to your phone.
The company says that the Beats Solo Buds TWS headset is equipped with a dynamic driver with two layers and a custom acoustic design with vents that reduce air pressure while wearing the earphones. Apple hasn't included an H-series or W-series chip on the device, so it doesn't support seamless switching between Apple devices, nor does it offer multipoint connectivity.
Despite the lack of equaliser controls on iOS and Android, I found that the Beats Solo Buds offers a rather good soundstage, which means that it can handle tracks across genres, including rock, pop, R&B, and classical music. While listening to Diljit Dosanjh and Sia's Hass Hass, the duo's vocals were clear while the headset delivered the right amount of bass — it's a little more restrained than the company's other wireless headsets.
The Beats Solo Buds TWS headset has a stem-free design
With its neutral sound signature, the Beats Solo Buds is able to reproduce the more complex Hustle and Bustle of Ormos by HOYO-MiX, a track with a range of musical instruments that are all distinctly audible. It delivers a little more rumble on Esther Abrami's The Gadfly, Op. 97 III Youth (Romance), but the violin is distinctly audible.
The Beats Solo Buds handles bass-focused tracks like The Weeknd's Blinding Lights with ample separation between the mid and lows, allowing both to shine. However, I noticed a bit of distortion while listening to Save Your Tears with the volume turned up, even though there was no "muffling" on that track.
While the lows on the Beats Solo Buds are not as aggressive as the company's other models, I found that it actually delivered more balanced audio than its competitors in the same price segment that offer more powerful bass performance or even the original Beats Studio Buds headset that was introduced in 2021.
There's no active noise cancellation on the Beats Solo Buds, which means that I was either turning up the volume while listening to music or podcasts while travelling. It's a little disappointing because competitors offer support for the feature at a lower price point.
Beats Solo Buds features a USB Type-C port for charging
According to the company, the Beats Solo Buds feature a microphone on each earphone that utilises a custom machine-learning algorithm to reduce environmental noise. In my testing, people I spoke to on regular phone calls and WhatsApp and Google Meet calls said they could hear me clearly, even when I was in a crowded, noisy area.
The Beats Solo Buds are claimed to deliver up to 18 hours of media playback on a single charge. I got about 12 hours of battery life, with a mix of listening to music, calling, and gaming.
While the earphones offer excellent battery life, the carrying case doesn't include a battery — this means you'll need to plug in a charger after placing the buds in the case when the battery is depleted. You can charge it via the Type-C port on the case with a USB-PD charger or even connect it to your phone or other devices.
The Beats Solo Buds is a unique TWS headset in this price segment, as it delivers a balanced, neutral sound signature and works very well with both iOS and Android devices. It also offers the longest battery life on a single charge and support for quick charging.
However, the company's most affordable TWS model also has a couple of notable drawbacks. For starters, the earphones offer up to 18 hours of battery life, but the compact charging case doesn't provide any additional power.
Beats Solo Buds doesn't ship with a charging cable in the box
Another notable drawback is the lack of ANC support on the Beats Solo Buds. These days, nearly every TWS wireless headset around the Rs. 5,000 mark offers some degree of active noise cancellation, preventing you from cranking the volume too high outdoors and potentially damaging your ears.
If you own an iPhone or other devices from Apple or you just want a pair of no-frills TWS earphones that offer good sound quality, then the Beats Solo Buds are worth considering if the lack of ANC isn't a deal breaker. Other alternatives worth considering in this price range are the Oppo Enco Air 3 Pro, Nothing Ear (a) (Review) and OnePlus Buds 3 (Review) — most wireless headsets in this price range also offer decent audio quality and ANC for the price, along with support for multipoint connectivity.
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