- Solid sound quality
- Sleek design
- Fast pairing
- Distorts at higher volumes
- Easy to put the speaker into pairing mode when you're trying to turn it off
It may have taken nine years for Apple to release a new Bluetooth speaker, but the Beats Pill was worth the wait. The sound quality alone is good enough to make it a great buy for $249, but a slick design and some thoughtful features make the Beats Pill a top-tier pick.
Given the smallish form factor and comparatively affordable price tag, I was surprised by how good the new Beats Pill sounds. You're not getting perfect audio quality by any means, but it's perfect for casual listening.
In general, the new Beats Pill is crisp and clear; most songs we listened to on it sounded great. Songs from our audio testing playlist like Carly Rae Jepsen's "I Didn't Just Come Here To Dance", Nina Simone's "Feeling Good", and The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" all scored top marks thanks to the clarity on offer. While the smaller speaker size limits the amount of bass you can get, the Pill was still able to deliver a solid sub-bass kick on Childish Gambino's "3005".
There are a few quirks worth noting, however. Following densely layered tracks like Radiohead's "The National Anthem" can be hard to follow, there can be a touch of sibilance in higher frequencies, and you'll get noticeable distortion at louder volumes.
It's also worth noting the is Pill is purely a mono speaker. That's not uncommon for the form factor, and you wouldn't get much stereo separation on a speaker this size anyway, but it can make some songs sound odd. Steely Dan's "Do It Again" suffers from its mono mixdown, for example, with the layered instrumentation almost feeling claustrophobic without its normal breathing room.
You can pair two Beats Pills together for proper stereo playback if that's something important to you.
I'm also a fan of the Beats Pill design - especially in red. The form factor isn't exactly unusual for a portable Bluetooth speaker, but it looks nice! It also has an IP67 rating for water resistance (which means it can survive being dunked) and a little lanyard on the side. The lanyard is removable if you're not a fan.
The new Beats Pill weighs in at around 680g. It's not as light as something as the Sonos Roam 2, but roughly the same as something like a UE Boom 4. The overall build is small enough that you can easily fit it into the water bottle pocket of a backpack.
My only issue with the Beats Pill design is the buttons. While they've got a nice tactile feel to them, it can be a little too easy to put the speaker into pairing mode when you're trying to turn it off.
In terms of battery, you can get up to 24 hours per charge, which seems accurate from my testing. That's better than what'd you expect from speakers in this size category; many only offer around 10 or 15 hours of battery life. If the Pill goes dead, you'll get up to two hours of playback from a ten-minute charge.
On top of everything else, the Beats Pill has a few neat features worth calling out.
To start, there's fast pairing, which isn't something I've seen on a Bluetooth speaker before. Whether you're using iPhone or Android, you'll get a little pop-up asking if you'd like to pair the Beats Pill to your devices, in the same you would with earbuds. It's a nice little time saver that stops you from digging through setting menus.
If you're in the Apple ecosystem, the Beats Pill works like a pair of AirPods. After the initial pairing, it will come up as an audio option on any device connected to the same Apple ID. You'll get Find My support if you're in the Apple world, and Find My Device if you're in the Google.
The Beats Pill charges over USB-C, but the speaker can also be used to charge other devices like a phone. Alternatively, the Beats Pill can also take audio from another device via the USB-C cable, if you're after lossless playback.
One nice other feature is an internal microphone that lets you use the Beats Pill as a speakerphone. You can also talk to Siri or Google Assistant by double tapping the power button,
Beats Pill - Final Thoughts
If you're in the market for a new Bluetooth speaker at a reasonable price point, the Beats Pill is easy to recommend. You can get better audio quality from the slightly pricier Sonos Roam 2 or save a little with the UE Boom 4, but the Beats Pill strikes a solid balance between sound, design, features, and price.
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