Beats Solo 4 hands-on: the most iconic Beats headphones just got better - 9to5Mac

I've been using the Beats Solo 4 for the past week (listening to hours and hours of Taylor Swift). Head below for a roundup of what's new and my first impressions.

Beats Solo 4 features

• Foldable design that weighs 217 grams.
• Support for Personalized Spatial Audio
  • Personalized Spatial Audio lets you scan your ears using your iPhone to create a unique Spatial Audio profile.
• Custom Beats processor for dual compatibility with iOS and Android, including: one-touch pairing, automatic account setup across your devices, and Find My or Find My Device support.
• "Hey Siri" support on iOS
• Audio Sharing support on iOS
• USB-C port for charging and lossless audio (included in the box)
• 3.5mm headphone jack for "high-resolution, battery-free wired playback" (included in the box)
• Padded carrying case (included in the box)
• Battery life: Up to 50 hours, Fast Fuel can add up to 5 hours of playback with a 10-minute charge
• Price: $199.99
• Colors: Matte Black, Slate Blue, and Cloud Pink
• Availability: Available to order today, with orders shipping starting May 2

In terms of sound quality, the Beats Solo 4 have been "re-engineered for incredible, high-fidelity acoustics." Beats says that this includes custom-built 40mm transducers that "minimize electronic artifacts, latency, and distortion for extraordinary clarity and range."

Hands-on with Beats Solo 4

Boy, these things look familiar - and not just because they leaked multiple times prior to today's announcement.

A lot of what Jeff wrote in his review of the Beats Solo 3 back in 2016 still holds true today. It's a testament to the Beats brand that Beats Solo 3 have stayed so popular for so long, despite existing in a competitive category.

So, what exactly has changed with Beats Solo 4 compared to their predecessors? There's not much, but the things that have changed are welcome improvements.

• Battery life has increased from 40 hours to 50 hours.
• The micro-USB port has been released with USB-C, which also now supports lossless audio
• New features enabled by the new chip inside: Find My integration, Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking
• Beats isn't using an Apple chip like AirPods. Instead, it has once again opted for a custom-designed chip in order to offer better integration with Android.
• "Re-engineered for incredible, high-fidelity acoustics."
• "Upgraded beam-forming microphones and an intelligent noise-learning algorithm" for calls and Siri interactions
• New UltraPlush ear cushion design for added comfort

In terms of sound quality, the Beats Solo 4 sound relatively good to me. They don't sound as good as the AirPods Max or Beats Studio Pro, but they are a step up from the Solo 3 headphones. As I always say, I'm far from an audiophile and audio quality is highly subjective, so your mileage may vary.

Because of the on-ear design of Beats Solo 4, you don't get features like active noise cancellation or transparency mode. You'll have to opt for the more expensive Beats Studio Pro headphones for those features.

The on-ear design, however, comes with several benefits. These are the lightest and most breathable headphones I've worn in years. AirPods Max weigh 385g, Beats Studio Pro weigh 260g, and these weigh 217 grams.

One of the other reasons Beats Solo 4 are so light is that they're made from plastic. In fact, they're made from a lot of plastic. The build quality leaves a lot to be desired, and it's something I really wish Beats would have spent some time fixing in the eight years between Beats Solo 3 and Beats Solo 4.

It's also not just that they're plastic. It's that they're flimsy plastic. They creak and wobble when you take them off or put them on, or when you're folding them up to slide into the carrying case.

Again, the build quality here is not the best, and I'll be interested to see how well these things hold up over time. Another downside is that the design isn't water or sweat resistant.

The Beats logo on the left-hand side of the Solo 4 headphones also doubles as a play/pause button and can control volume when pressed up or down.

9to5Mac's Take

Are Beats Solo 4 a revolutionary new entrant to the headphone market? Absolutely not. Will they continue to sell by the truckload? Probably.

The focus of Beats Solo 4 is taking a tried and true product and bringing it into the modern era. Beats could have discontinued Beats Solo 3 without a replacement and pushed customers toward the more expensive Beats Studio Pro instead. Alternatively, it could've released Beats Solo 4 at a higher price point.

Ultimately, it did neither of those things. Beats Solo 4 come in at the same $199 price point as their predecessors. It's always nice when a product gets better without getting more expensive, but it's especially notable when there's an eight-year gap between those updates. After all, a lot about the economy and the world has changed since 2016.

That being said, there are absolutely things I wish Beats would've taken the time to refine - especially when it comes to design. While the Beats Solo 4 design is as iconic as ever, it still suffers from the same durability and build quality issues that the Beats Solo 3 did. These things are made from a lot of plastic.

I also find myself missing automatic pausing support when I take Beats Solo 4 off. This means you have to take the headphones off, then manually stop playback on your device and turn off the headphones.

Wrap up

The Beats Solo 4 are a welcome addition to the Beats and Apple family of headphones. While there's more I wish Beats would've changed, the improvements they did make were much-needed. I also really don't want to overlook just how key it is that the price remained unchanged at $199.99.

Beats Solo 4 is a significantly better product at the same price. It's hard to knock them with that context in mind. They're are available to order starting today in the United States in Matte Black, Slate Blue, and Cloud Pink for $199.99.

What do you think of the current slate of Apple and Beats headphones? Let me know down in the comments.

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