Well, there’s not much left for Apple-owned Beats to “advertise” after that. Tuesday evening, Amazon prematurely Post a retail listing For the rumored Beats Studio Buds Plus. The page contains all the latest details about the buds: among other upgrades, they have stronger active noise cancellation than original studio headphones, better air venting, and an improved transparency mode.
The Studio Buds Plus will retail for $169.95 when they’re released on May 18th, according to Amazon. That’s an extra $20 compared to the standard Studio Buds released in 2021. The buds and case share a very similar design to the original pair. This will be a good thing for many; I didn’t like their sound quality or find the ANC to be particularly effective, but the Studio Buds were at least very comfortable.
Of course, the Studio Buds Plus will now have to go up against another, even more amazing Apple product: the second generation AirPods Pro. These earbuds have been praised for their sound fidelity, noise cancellation, and adaptive transparency mode.
I wouldn’t expect the Beats to outperform the AirPods Pro, but it’s clearly trying to get closer to the original Studio Buds.
The Amazon listing mentions 36 hours of total battery life, larger microphones (which could theoretically improve voice call quality), and four sizes of bundled ear tips including an extra small set.
And of course, the Studio Buds Plus will support spatial audio. But as with the first pair, they’re marketed equally to iPhone and Android customers. These don’t actually have an Apple-branded chip like the more premium AirPods or Beats Fit Pro do. But they do offer some of the same features like hands-free Siri, Find My Integration, and more.
I’m looking forward to checking out these buds (and that lip set) as soon as possible; I was hoping Beats would nail this style since the company briefly released an apparent pair of Studio Buds in a behind-the-scenes video for the original product. Nothing is about to be some competition.
The Studio Buds Plus will also come in white or black, depending on which the listing will likely be gone any moment now.
“Writer. Friendly troublemaker. Lifelong food junkie. Professional beer evangelist.”