Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker Review: Risen from the Dead and Improved in Some Key Ways

Beats owned by Apple a few years ago I stopped taking Pill Plus Released in 2015 for $200, Bluetooth speakers were quite popular until the market was flooded with more competitively priced, smaller Bluetooth speakers. To be honest, I never thought I’d see another Beats Pill. But in 2024, a new and improved Pill was released with better sound, battery life, durability, USB-C charging, and audio features, along with a cheaper price ($150). Bose’s Top-Rated SoundLink Flex.

What is a better portable wireless speaker? Read on to find out my thoughts on it.

Read more: Best Bluetooth speaker of 2024

Beats Pill (2024) Design

The last time I saw the Beats Pill Plus was in a moving box when CNET closed its New York offices at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The box was eventually moved to the new office and sat unopened for several years.

When you hear that a new drug is coming out (Beats I made fun of it in April, courtesy of LeBron James’ social media post) While looking through the box, I found the Pill Plus at the bottom. It was the white version, and although it only charged to 50%, it worked so I could compare it to the new Pill.

Although both speakers have a similar shape, the new Pill is much more cylindrical. It also has a speaker grill on only one side, whereas the Pill Plus has grills on both sides. Available in red, champagne, and black, the new Pill weighs 24 ounces (680 grams), about 2 ounces less than the Pill Plus (26.4 ounces, or 748 grams). The new Pill looks slightly larger than the previous Pill, but not by much.

The Pill Plus has a Lightning port, while the new Pill, like all of Apple’s latest products, is equipped with USB-C. The new Pill also comes with a detachable strap, making it easier to transport the speaker and potentially hang it on something. There’s a volume control along with a power button and universal control buttons, and the speaker itself (at least the back two-thirds) has a soft-to-the-touch rubber finish. Overall, the design is a definite upgrade over the Pill Plus, which is to be expected considering the company launched the Pill Plus about 10 years ago.

Another key difference is their water and dust resistance ratings. While the previous Pill had no IP rating, the new Pill has an IP67 rating, making it fully water and dust resistant. The Pill Plus has rubber gaskets that cover the lighting, USB output, and auxiliary input ports. This model only has a single USB-C port for both charging and charging and no cover. The Beats “b” logo is smaller and has been moved from the top of the speaker (the “b” button on the Pill Plus) to a more prominent location on the grille. It seems like a good brand choice.

Although you can hang the speaker vertically using a strap, the speaker is designed to be placed horizontally and has small rubber feet on the bottom. I didn’t drop it, but the speaker should survive a brief drop fairly well (the edges of the speaker are rubberized, and probably provide some impact resistance), as long as you don’t drop it directly on the grille on the front third of the speaker.

Beats Pill(2024) Features

This speaker is equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 and is compatible with Apple, Android/Chrome devices, and other devices capable of Bluetooth audio connectivity. Features are very similar for Apple and Android users, including one-touch pairing, but Android users will need to use the Beats for Android app to access firmware updates and limited settings options.

As in beats studio pro and solo 4 The headphones feature multi-point Bluetooth pairing for Android users with automatic switching between devices connected to your Google account. If you’re an Apple user, your speaker will connect to your iCloud account, but you’ll have to manually switch between devices. Some people prefer this because automatic switching can be a bit tricky and frustrating.

You can connect multiple fills together in Amplify mode, or create a stereo pair with two fills (you must connect them in Amplify mode and then press the universal control button and the volume up button on one of the speakers to designate that speaker as the left “reference” speaker). box). Needless to say, creating a stereo pair allows for real stereo separation.

Both Apple and Android users can use the Find My feature (Google calls it Find My Device). It will show you where the device was last used, but it lacks the much more advanced Precision Find My feature found on the AirPods Pro 2.

As mentioned, there is no auxiliary input, but you can connect a USB-C equipped smartphone or computer to the USB-C port to get a wired digital connection. enters wired mode). Beats says the Pill can play lossless audio over USB-C at sample rates of up to 48kHz/24bit. I noticed very little difference when connected in wired mode. There is a bit more detail and clarity, but the sound quality doesn’t improve day or night.

Lastly, the Pill can be used as a speakerphone and works well in this function. The caller said he could hear me clearly even though there was some background noise in the house. Speakerphone functionality is not available on Bose SoundLink Flex.

Beats Pill(2024) Sound Quality

Beats says the Pill features a newly designed woofer system to “deliver improved bass response and sound performance.” The Pill has a single racetrack neodymium woofer that Beats says has 53% more “piston area” than the dual round woofers in the Pill Plus. Additionally, the enhanced magnet rating (N50H) “enables 28% stronger motor force and 90% more air volume displacement compared to Pill Plus’ dual woofer system.”

All of this translates into a speaker that definitely sounds better than the Pill Plus. The new Pill sounds louder and offers better bass definition and overall clarity. That’s a big difference.

I compared the Pill to the Bose SoundLink Flex ($150). Sonos Roaming 2 ($180). The Pill is a slightly more dynamic sounding speaker than the SoundLink Flex, it seems slightly brighter and has a slightly more forward midrange (where vocals live). I wouldn’t say they necessarily sound better than the Bose, but they play a little louder and have a more sculpted sound.

Although all three of these speakers are essentially mono speakers, both the Pill and SoundLink Flex have fairly wide soundstages. The sound seems to extend a bit more laterally than what you get from the Sonos Roam 2. I listened to the Pill and Roam 2 with CNET’s home audio editor Ty Pendelbury, and we both agreed that the Roam 2 is a bit smaller and sounds very good for its size. It’s a little more uniform and balanced in sound. , both the Pill and SoundLink Flex produce slightly more bass.

It’s always a bit difficult to compare the sound of these speakers because there will be slight differences from track to track due to the tonal balance of the speakers. Sometimes I thought the Pill sounded better than the Bose on certain tracks, but sometimes the opposite was true. Additionally, while the bass response is more impressive than you’d expect from a compact speaker, there are limits to the amount of bass these speakers can produce, especially when playing more complex tracks with many instruments playing simultaneously. hour.

All three speakers sound better than before. JBL Flip 5, costs about $100. And I would choose Pill and SoundLink Flex. JBL’s favorite Charge 5 speaker This is because you can get similar sound quality from a more compact speaker.

As long as you pair two Pills in stereo, you get real stereo separation and a significant improvement in sound quality, as I said. You won’t get the same sound quality you’d get with a set of small bookshelf speakers that cost about $300, but you’ll get decent sound that can fill a small to medium-sized room with sound.

Beats Pill(2024) Battery Life

The Pill Plus’ battery life is rated at 12 hours. Beats says the new Pill can deliver up to 24 hours of battery life at a 50% volume level, or double what the Pill Plus offers. In my testing, I was listening at a variety of volume levels (I tend to have the volume set to around 70%, sometimes maxing it out to see how well the sound holds up without being distorted). So I haven’t fully evaluated the battery. Life. That means we didn’t need to recharge the speakers during the four days we tested, and we left them on for several hours a day playing background music at low to medium volume levels. It is also worth noting that the battery can be used for 2 hours with 10 minutes of charging.

Beats Pill (2024) Final Thoughts

The Beats Pill improves on several key aspects compared to its predecessor, especially in terms of sound quality, durability, battery life, and price. I like the form factor and lighter weight of the Bose SoundLink Flex. Tribit Stormbox Flow and Soundcore of Anker Motion 300 $80 (or less if on sale). However, the Pill has some attractive additional features, such as USB-C audio wired mode and speakerphone functionality.

When comparing the weight of the Bose SoundLink Flex and Pill, you need to decide how important these additional features are to you. But in some ways, the Pill is a very good small Bluetooth speaker. Like the Bose, this is a portable wireless speaker that’s easy to recommend. This is especially true if the price of the SoundLink Flex drops $20 or $30, like it does during flash sales.