The Beats Solo Buds are new entry-level earbuds that sit at the bottom of the Beats range, offering an affordable and easy-to-use option that the brand says doesn’t compromise on sound. Kieran and Nick have been running with the Beats Solo Buds for the last few weeks and give their verdict on the new headphones here.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:12 – Design & Key Stats
01:39 – The Run Test
01:43 – How’s The Fit
02:56 – Design & Controls
06:16 – Battery Life
08:13 – Sound Quality
11:02 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello and welcome to run testers my Name's Nick and this is our review of The Beat Solo [Music] Buds so solo bus are some new inir buds From beats that are the cheapest buds in Their range they cost £79.99 or dollar which puts them beneath The studio Buds and the studio buds plus As the cheapest option within the Beats Range they come in four colors there's This purple color and also black red and Gray they are small in ear buds with a Button on both of them to control Playback and other things you get the Usual ear tips in the case so you get Extra small small medium and large to Try and customize your fit but you not Get a charging cable in the case that's Important to note you have to provide Your own one which is a USB C charging Cable you have a tiny case for the buds It's beat to the smallest yet but it's Not a battery so this doesn't recharge The case the buds themselves though will Last a hefty 18 hours on a charge which Is pretty impressive and you can Actually charge the case from a phone or A tablet if you do have the right cable Obviously uh a 5minute charge will let You an hour of playback in a pinch one Big caveat with these buds we're going To stay straight away is they don't have An official IP rating now in general we
Look for an IP rating of Ip X4 as a Minimum for running headphones to Guarantee some sweat and water Resistance these are marketed as pretty Much all round the buds that people are Using for workouts and that kind of Thing and I'm sure they've gone through Some testing to ensure they are pretty Durable on that front but you don't get That official IP rating for piece of Mind which is a bit of a shame overall Though the aim is to create some cheap Entrylevel Beats buds that people can Use for a bit of everything in their Life they're nice and small plug andplay Easy to use buds but they don't have Some of the Frills and impressive Features you get on the buds higher up The Beats [Music] Range for me the fit on the solo buds Was really good and the Comfort I Thought was fine I've run up to 90 Minutes in them and I've sat editing for A few hours or more all in relative Comfort a big part of that balls down to The fact that the solo buds are tiny and Compact I think more compact compared to Other kind of in that also means there's Absolutely no tugging from the main Bud Unit now I didn't really have to fiddle At all once I put them in my ears they Were they locked in and they stayed put I had no signs of them shaking loose on
The Move On The Run now one caveat that I do have very accommodating ears for Inia buds though I tend to get on with Most iners relatively well that's a big Benefit of having these big old lugs Comes to the fit I had a surprisingly Good fit with the beach seller buds I do Tend to struggle with in ear buds like This that just tend to squirm loose During runs for me I don't really have The right shape of ear or my ears are The just too small or something I don't Know but I had did struggle in the past With the studio buds for example but With the smallest ear tip on the solo Buds they did stay in my ears pretty Comfortably for the entirety of all my Runs I've done pretty long runs in over 90 minutes with the buds used them Throughout the day and the fit is Comfortable and it has been secure for Me on the run I think it's mainly just Down to the fact they are so lightweight They just sit on the ear and don't Really bounce loose or anything like That so yeah fits very good for me Actually I'd say really comfortable and Secure enough for [Music] Running think design is pretty nice of The buds I think I really like the case How small it is it's very pocketable Very easy to take with you on the Run Either in a pair of shorts or in a
Backpack or anything else really is a Very small case fun to play with a good Size to play with as well buds Themselves I think are well designed They do sit in the air comfortably like I say all around they're pretty similar To what we seen from beats before but Yeah it is a nice design all around the Lack of an IP rating is a bit of a Killer I think for running in particular Just because if you're going to go out And do sweaty runs and workouts in the Rain you always going have that little Bit of a worry I mean I have done a lot Of sweaty workouts with these headphones Not just running but also indoor cycling Other workouts like that I've been out In the raining them I don't really have Any real concerns with them but you Don't have the IP rating and it is Pretty much par for the course to get an IP rating of around ipx4 four headphones These days so it's a surprised you Haven't got it here on the solar bus you Do have it in other beats and Apple Headphones haven't been that impressed By the controls I have to say like the Button you know it works but it's Slightly sticky and doesn't really Compress very easily I found so you got To press it pretty hard to actually Activate the button which also means You're pushing the headphone into your Ear which is not the most comfortable
Thing to do with in ear buds and also Really hard to do like the multiple TAPS In a row because of the stickiness of That button so yeah I think beats have Got better more kind of tactile and Clickable buttons on their other Headphones I found it just a little bit Sticky the one on the beat solo buds now You can see that beats went for Streamlined compact Simplicity here with The solo Buds and I'm a big fan of just How small and neat they are there's Something pleasingly basic about the Whole setup here uh the controls are Very basic which is a good thing in most Cases with physical buttons for simple Functions uh like pause play Skip and Back I just wish that there was a little Bump on the B button to make it easier To find that button when you're on the Move I also had a little bit of Troubling when it came to hitting the Kind of three quick Taps to skip back a Track I couldn't quite do it fast enough And I found myself you know it was Logging two Taps instead of three but in General I found the buttons nicely Responsive and the buds don't jog free When you're pressing them you know There's none of that thing that happens With buds sometimes if you if they're Unresponsive and you keep tapping them You wiggle the buds free but because of The basic controls you will need to
Choose between summoning Siri or volume Controls you can't have both but Otherwise you're using your phone or Paired device for the volume controls It'd be better to maybe have these Controls split across the buds that does Make things a little bit more Complicated but yeah you you are got Limited on some of the function other Design notes I'm a big fan of the tiny Case is about as light and Compact and Portable as it gets though I would as Ever I'm always asking for like a little Hook to clip it into my running belt or Bag so I know it's going to be secure Over the Long Haul and it's also a shame That the case doesn't charge though it Is quite handy that you can char charge Off your phone via USB should you really Need to if you've got the case I also Found the lack of light on the case to Indicate that this is charging a little Frustrating but again I can see that's Because beats have stripped things right Back here you know there is a sort of No Frills fill to these one thing I'm less Forgiving about on that front though is The lack of Ip rating that is a real Shame it kind of limits the types of Workouts and training you'd want to risk Now I have run a few sweaty runs and had No trouble so far but that lack of Durability stamp I think leaves you Feeling like you're running the
Gauntness a bit and I'd argue it's kind Of table Stakes these days for Headphones to have a basic level of Sweat and water protection that comes With an IP rated stamp that's whether They're designed for regular or for Fitness use I think you know we all want Our headphones to do a bit of crossover [Music] Now battery life then and as mentioned The solo buds case isn't a charging case So all the juice is held on the buds and On paper you're supposed to get 18 hours Run time in terms of earbud staying Power having 18 hours is kind of streets Ahead of most Rivals what they give you Just on the buds only the jabro elite A8 Active get close with 14 hours on the Buds but without the extra juice in the Case the total case plus buds runtime Falls Way short of the rivals here and Many are coer to 30 hours some like the Jabra Elite a active Gen 2 stretched Beyond 40 hours now however 18 hours Overall is still pretty good for battery Life on a set of compact buds like this At this price and in my tests I found That 1 hour run Bur an average of 4% so I'd expect to maybe even get a little Bit more than the 18 hours listed on Paper depending on how you're using the Volume if you're training an hour a day I reckon you could be looking at you Charging these about twice a month it'll
Also be pretty handy that you can charge Them from your phone if you're on the Move and you really need to but that's Only if you own an iPhone 15 or later Back to life so 18 hours is very good Given the size of the buds they Themselves offer fantastic batch your Life and that's going to see you through You know full week of workouts or two Weeks of workouts pretty comfortably Depending on if you're then using the Buds for everything else in your day Obviously fact that the case isn't a Charger is a shame but I do love how Small the case is so that is the Trade-off you kind of have here it's a Really lightweight and small case very Very portable and all that and the fact That the buds last so long means that I'm prepared to forgive them that's Longer than you know you're going to get For most kind of overair hook style buds Like bone conduction headphones or open Headphones which also don't charge in Their case for the most part so actually I think the battery life is very good Especially given the all around size of The package you have here not having a Cable the buds you know I don't mind That but I think it probably should be An option like I mean I have lots of Cables so I would happily order the buds Without another cable in my life but if You don't have a cable you then have to
Buy another one and that's a shame with A product that's obviously aimed at you Know quite budget conscious [Music] Consumers sound quality I would say is Solid and about what you expect for £80 Like there definitely is a step up in Quality if you look at buds that are More in the kind of 120 to 150 lb range Or other Beats headphones got quite Brash sound I'd say with the solo buds Like you know it's good it's enjoyable Still it's definitely pretty good sound And nothing I'd worry about especially For the price but you certainly get I Think a little bit of kind of congestion And compression with the if you have Really busy tracks at the higher ranges It all gets a little bit busy and like I Said a little Brash it's not exactly Distorted or tinny anything like that But it doesn't sound as kind of clear as You get with other headphones and they Lack a bit of depth and kind of power I'd say compared to more expensive Headphones like same time I was testing Something like the Jabra Elite 8 active Gen 2 which are obviously over double The price but you get a load more kind Of depth and power to the base it's a Much more atmospheric sound all around With those headphones and actually Dropping down the Jabra range or the Beats range you're going to get pretty
Good sound that's a step up on this I'd Say for more like1 120 or even 150 so I'd say the sound is about in line with Their price I think you can actually get Better sound at this price I think Something like the Jabra Elite 3 for Example which are exactly the same price On RRP have I think a little bit better Sound but it's pretty good all around It's certainly powerful enough to Motivate you during workouts it's loud Enough enjoy I've listened to a lot of Je leaper lat and OB that's very you Know big basy busy music and it all came Across fine on these headphones and They're enjoyable to use outside of Workouts as well but obviously there is A certain element of you get what you Pay for on sound quality it's good Enough for me but if you're someone Who's very into sound quality and that Kind of thing you will notice a step Down from more expensive headphones for Sure now I say this in all our headphone Reviews but I'll repeat it here I'm no Audio file these big old ears are not Really Golden Ears when it comes to Sound so I'm not connoisseur fussy when It comes to the audio quality out my Running headphones I like full Rich Balanced with good base that's not Overbaked and a top volume that has the Power to deliver a big motivational kick In the pants if you can basically drown
Out gym Grunts and commu a hubub I'm Generally happy now the Beat Solo Bud Tick those boxes for the size of the Buds and that sub 80 price tag they kick Out competent competitive sound can you Find Better Sound absolutely will most Runners find them lacking I don't really Think so now some people might miss Audio features like custom EQ active Noise cancell ation the awareness modes Those aren't here but when it comes to Isolation I actually found the seal on The buds pretty good they did a great Job of cutting out the world around Passively just because I get a good seal From the buds without that battery Draining need forc though that benefit Obviously has the converse result on Situational awareness where you don't Hear Too Much coming in now I'm not a Big user of hearr modes but if you are You might miss that here there's also no Custom EQ or saving personalized sound Profiles this is about plug andplay Simplicity it's kind of get what your Given territory [Music] Here verdict then I really enjoyed using These in testing yes there are a lot of Features tools and tricks missing when You compare them to the likes of the Pricey a Jabra Elite or things like the Airpods airpods pro those kind of higher End headphones even some cheaper end
Headphones from the likes of jlab or JBL All the first gen nothing ear one Probably offer more bells and whistles On balance but on the whole I don't mind That beats have gone with Simplicity Here what the solo buds set out to do They actually do really quite well There's a happy compact Simplicity Paired with comparatively decent sound Really great fit and pretty good staying Power from the battery that will cover The training and racing needs of most Runners for me that makes a solid Package for the sub 80 price if you're Not fussed about all those extras like ANC and custom EQ I think the Beats Solo Buds represent decent value is I do Really like the beach solo buds there I Think the design is really nice it's a Very small case it's very easy to use The headphones you just pop them in they Play music pretty well the fit is nice And comfortable the battery life is Pretty impressive it's a good little Package at a good price I would say you Are missing features here compared to More expensive headphones but it's less That I'm worried about and more kind of The competition even in the area around The Beat Solo bud so there is the Jabra Elite 3 now I think Jabra has said it Stopped making consumer headphones from Now on but they will be supporting their Headphones that exist already and the
App is already out there obviously and Those are fantastic headphones that are Also small in a buds they've got shorter Battery life on the buds but better Battery life with the case youve got Better sound quality you have a Transparency mode which does make a Difference when you're running sometimes To be able to hear the sound around you And they come at exactly the same price And are actually often available for a Lot less in sales these days CU they're Slightly older headphones they also have An IP 55 waterproof rating so you're not Going to have to worry about that at all Which you obviously do have that worry With the beats and another really good Budget set of iner buds I've tried and Really like is the tribit fly buds three Which kind of one of those headphones You see on Amazon you're not really sure About but have tested them and they're Fantastic you got a massive amount of Battery life cuz the case is I think Quite chunky but it does pack in you a Lot of battery life in the beds Themselves off a decent amount of time Got a good fit comfortable fit there's Some wings options with those headphones To give you a slightly more reliable fit Than just the inner fit sound quality is Pretty good ipx8 waterproof rating so Again big step up what you have from Beats here which is no IP rating so I do
Think there are more competitive options Out there you certainly can also upgrade On sound if you look up the Beats range And then you'll also get the ipx4 rating As well but as a little package I do Think these are an attractive product I Think they're something that you can buy Use for everything including your Workouts as well as general use and They'll pretty much satisfy you on all Fronts there are certainly some Trade-offs made here to get the buds out There at this price but as long as You're aware of them and know they're Not going to bother you I think you are Going to get a pretty solid set of Headphones for running and general use With the solo [Music] Buds all right that's our review of The Beat Solo buds let us know what you Think in the comments below please like And subscribe ring the little bell and We'll see you next time
