Beats is preparing to shake up its line of wireless earbuds with the Beats Studio Buds+, a successor to the widely popular Studio Buds from 2021. The new pair leaked ahead of its May 18th release date thanks to an Amazon listing (now removed from their website), which also shared three key details: the specs, the price, and the colors.
On the specs, the Studio Buds + are expected to offer 1.6x more activate noise cancelation than the Studio Buds, which will help to isolate your music a lot better. Transparency mode is supposed to be better, processing power is getting a boost, and the microphones will grow three times larger. Battery life is getting a boost from 24 hours with the Studio Buds to 36 hours, which seems quite substantial and will be subject to a lot of real-world testing once the buds go on sale.
The Amazon listing also confirms the Studio Buds+ will carry spatial audio support, hands-free Siri, Find My integration, and full support for Android phones thanks to the Beats app.
The new buds will cost $169.95 according to Amazon, a $20 increase over the Studio Buds. With the improved ANC, battery life, and (presumably) sound quality, I think the extra $20 will be easy to justify for a lot of consumers. They’ll go on sale May 18th.
Of course, the big news is around the buds’ design. They’ll look almost identical to the regular Studio Buds, but Beats will outfit them with a new transparent finish. It’s very similar to what Nothing did with the Ear (2) earbuds, and I’m here for it. (If you don’t like it and want something a bit more normal-looking, Beats will also sell them in black and ivory finishes.)
The world of earbuds needs more experimental designs like this, and it looks like the Studio Buds+ will absolutely nail it. I’ll be curious to see how well they can compete with other buds like the Ear (2)s, second-generation AirPods Pro, and Sony LinkBuds S when I get them in to review.
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