The Beats Studio Buds are finally here, following weeks of high-profile leaks and rumors – and they might be the best Beats earbuds yet. We’ve spent a little time getting to know them, and while we can’t give a definitive verdict on their performance until we run more tests, we’re mightily impressed by the Studio Buds so far. They’re so impressive, that we think they could be a big competitor for the Apple AirPods Pro, especially as the Studio Buds are much cheaper than Apple’s popular noise-cancelling earbuds. If you’re wondering whether you should buy the AirPods Pro or the new Studio Buds – especially with Prime Day 2021 looming on the horizon – making the right choice can be tricky. That’s where we come in. We’ve examined the specs of both earbuds, and with our knowledge of the AirPods Pro and early thoughts on the Studio Buds, we’ve put together this handy guide on all the differences between these Apple wireless earbuds. The Beats Studio Buds are available to pre-order now, with an official release date yet to be confirmed. So far, Apple has said that they’ll be available to buy “this summer”, so that could mean any time between now and the end of August. They’ll cost $149.99 / £129.99 / AU$199.95, which is far cheaper than the Apple AirPods Pro. The AirPods Pro launched in 2019 with a price of $249 / £249 / AU$399, though discounts are sometimes available. In fact, Prime Day 2021 is coming up soon, so we could see some excellent AirPods Pro deals in the near future - in any case, it’s worth holding off on buying a pair until June 21, when the sales event kicks off. The Beats Studio Buds look very different to the brand's previous true wireless earbuds, the Powerbeats Pro, getting rid of the large, sports-friendly earhooks in favor of a sleeker design. Coming in red, white, and black, these compact buds come with silicone eartips and a lightweight build, as well as a tilted acoustic nozzle with vents to relieve pressure on the eardrum. They come in an egg-shaped charging case, which has a USB-C port on the bottom, and a status LED on the front – there’s no wireless charging support, though we wouldn’t necessarily expect it at this price. The earbuds themselves feature a raised control panel, giving you something to grip onto as you take them out the case. All in all, they look very different to the Apple AirPods Pro, which feature protruding stems (though they’re not nearly as long as those on the 2019 AirPods), and an Apple-esque all-white design. Unlike the Studio Buds, the AirPods Pro charging case supports wireless charging, so you can pop it on a charging pad when you’re running low. The AirPods Pro also use touch-capacitive sensors that allow you to control your music playback, while the Studio Buds feature a physical button – which you prefer largely comes down to personal taste. However, there are some similarities between the two models. For example, both the Studio Buds and the AirPods Pro come with silicone eartips and an IPX4-water resistance rating that means you can use them while working out. We’ve only spent a short time with the Beats Studio Buds, but so far, we’re impressed by what we’ve heard. With 8.2mm dual-element diaphragm drivers coupled with a two-chamber acoustic design, they boast a lively sound that elevates both the low and high ends of the mix, for a toe-tapping result – unlike previous Beats headphones that blasted you with thumping bass. The AirPods Pro also offer a lively performance, with rich vocals, warm bass, and clear mid frequencies. While they aren’t a patch on audiophile earbuds like the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 in terms of detail or clarity, they’re enjoyable to listen with. Both the Studio Buds and the AirPods Pro support Apple’s Spatial Audio technology, so when you play tracks mixed in Dolby Atmos, you should be able to experience immersive, cinematic sound through your earbuds – though this particular feature is only available to Apple Music users currently. Sadly, neither model can handle Apple Music’s Lossless Audio, with their Bluetooth compression making hi-res audio unattainable. Both the Beats Studio Buds and the Apple AirPods Pro come with active noise cancellation, which means they should be able to block out annoying environmental sounds when you want to listen to your music in peace. In the time we’ve spent with them, we found the Studio Buds’ ANC to perform moderately well, though they aren’t as effective as models like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. We think they’ll work well as an office companion, but they may struggle to block out the rumbling sound of an airplane cabin. The Apple AirPods Pro perform well in this respect too. If you’re in an office and there’s music playing, a small amount might still bleed through – but, when walking down the street, the AirPod Pros practically shut off all the noise of a motor bike, and any constant noise (like a fan or constant wind) is shut out very well. Both models come with a Transparency mode, as well, allowing you to hear your surroundings via external-facing microphones that mix the sound of your environment back in with your music. Beats says the Studio Buds deliver eight hours of playback, with a further 16 hours in the charging case, though that number drops to five hours onboard and 10 hours from the case with either ANC or Transparency mode turned on. That's not the best battery life we've seen for noise-cancelling earbuds – the new Sony WF-1000XM4 offer eight hours onboard and a further 12 hours from the charging case, for instance. The AirPods Pro don’t fare much better. Their charging case will give you over 24 hours of listening time when fully charged, with each full charge of the AirPods Pro getting you five hours of listening (that’s with noise cancelling or Transparency off – you’ll get four and a half hours with it on), or three and a half hours of use if you use the AirPods Pro as a hands-free mic for calling. As an Apple-owned brand, you may expect the new Beats earbuds to be only optimized for use with Apple products – however, they are the first Beats headphones to support one-touch pairing for both iOS and Android users. That’s because they use a proprietary Beats headphone chip, as opposed to the H1 chip found inside the AirPods Pro. That’s good news for Android users – but it does mean that the Studio Buds don’t support iCloud device syncing or multipoint pairing like the AirPods Pro. According to Beats, the Buds use Bluetooth 5.2, and support both Find My in iOS and Find My Device in Android. The AirPods Pro, on the other hand, use the slightly older Bluetooth 5 wireless transmission standard, but there are some nifty features for Apple users, like making sure the fit of your earbuds is correct by heading into your Bluetooth settings. A 2020 upgrade also brought a new auto-switching feature that means the AirPods can now "magically switch over between devices", detecting automatically which device you are using – handy if you're already embedded into the Apple ecosystem. A more recent upgrade means that AirPods will also be able to announce notifications with Siri, thanks to an update coming with iOS 15, which builds on the earbuds' ability to announce your messages. No more digging your phone out of your pocket to analyze every ding, buzz, and alert. Without testing the Beats Studio Buds fully, we’re hesitant to say whether you should buy them over the AirPods Pro – but there are a few instances where you may be better off opting for one model over the other. For instance, if you’re an Android user, the Studio Buds are the only pair that offer one-touch pairing – this only works for iOS users with the AirPods Pro. We’d also recommend the Studio Buds if you hate the look of the AirPods Pro’s protruding ear stems. But, if iCloud device syncing or multipoint pairing are deal breakers for you, you’ll want to go for the AirPods Pro. In terms of sound quality and noise cancellation, the Studio Buds and the AirPods Pro seems to be quite evenly matched, though we’ll need to carry out more tests before we can give a definitive verdict. The biggest difference between the two models is price: the Beats Studio Buds are $100 / £120 / AU$200 cheaper than the AirPods Pro, despite sharing many of the same features. But, if price is a big consideration for you, don’t forget that Prime Day 2021 will likely see in some great AirPods Pro deals – and while they may not be reduced enough to undercut the Studio Buds, you could still save a lot of money. As they’re so new, it’s unlikely that the Studio Buds will see any significant discounts this year. Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: price and availability
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: design
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: audio performance
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: noise cancellation
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: battery life
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: connectivity
Takeaway
source https://www.techradar.com/news/beats-studio-buds-vs-apple-airpods-pro-the-noise-cancelling-earbuds-compared/
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Beats Studio Buds vs Apple AirPods Pro: the noise-cancelling earbuds compared
