I tried the new $150 Beats Studio Buds that are like cheaper AirPods for both iPhone and Android. They sound great, but still work best with iPhones.

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• The Beats Studio Buds offer noise cancellation, good sound, and a comfortable fit for $150.
• They can also instantly pair with Android phones, but still work best with an iPhone.
• They make it tough to justify buying the $159 AirPods, which lack water resistance and noise cancellation.

Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky

For years, AirPods have had a key advantage for iPhone owners over rival earbuds: their ability to initiate the pairing process as soon as you open the lid.

Now, Apple is hoping to bring that same appeal to a broader audience with the new $150 Beats Studio Buds, launching on June 24. These new earbuds are capable of starting the pairing process as soon as you flick open their lid and press the pairing button, regardless of whether you’re on iPhone or Android. They’re also the first Beats headphones to work with the Android Find My Device service for locating lost gadgets.

But these aren’t the main reasons you should consider buying these headphones. The Beats Studio Buds still work better with the iPhone overall despite these new benefits for Android owners. It’s really their excellent sound quality and comfortable fit for the price that makes the Studio Buds stand out. For iPhone users, they’re also a compelling alternative to the standard $159 AirPods.

Beats Studio Buds specifications

Beats Studio Buds	Specifications
Audio modes:	Active noise cancellation (ANC) and Transparency Mode
Audio technology:	Beats designed dual-element dynamic diaphragm transducer
Microphones:	Six
Estimated battery life:	Eight hours of use and 24 hours with case (ANC off), five hours of use and 15 hours with case (ANC on)
Touch controls:	Yes
Compatibility:	iOS and Android
In the box:	USB-C to USB-C charging cable, three ear tips
Colors:	Black, white, and red

Design

The Beats Studio Buds are among the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. They easily glide right into my ears and stay firmly in place even while running or exercising. Comfort can be subjective, most wireless earbuds – even the AirPods Pro – tend to feel a little loose while running.

The Studio Buds have a distinguished design that almost resembles a fatter AirPod Pro with no stems. I also love that the Beats logo doubles as a button for playback controls, which feels a lot more responsive than the buttonless touch sensors on most wireless earbuds.

The medium-sized ear tips that come in the box fit alright, but once I switched to the small tips I noticed a tremendous difference in comfort and sound quality. It’s well worth taking the time to try on all three of the included ear tips to see which one fits best.

But Beats doesn’t include as much choice as other headphones, even when compared to the less expensive $120 Amazon Echo Buds. You only get three tips in the box, whereas Amazon includes four ear tips and two wing tips for extra security. There’s also no ear fit tip test with the Beats Studio Buds as there is with Amazon’s Echo Buds and the AirPods Pro, so you’ll have to evaluate the fit based on how they feel.

Set up

Getting started with the Beats Studio Buds on the iPhone is essentially identical to the AirPods setup process. Just open the case, hold down the pairing button, and a prompt showing the Beats Studio Buds appears on screen within a few seconds.

The process is similar on Android and doesn’t require any app installation. That’s a big deal because most wireless earbuds other than AirPods either require that you install an app or navigate to the device’s Bluetooth menu when pairing them for the first time.

But setting up the Beats Studio Buds with an Android device only requires that you open the lid, hold down the pairing button, and tap the on-screen prompt. There’s also a link to download the Beats app for Android directly in the prompt so you don’t have to search for it in the Google Play Store.

But the initial pairing process still feels faster on the iPhone compared to Android, as I noticed my iPhone 12 detected the Beats Studio Buds almost instantly whereas there was a delay on devices like the Samsung Galaxy A52 and Pixel 5. This improved a bit after installing a software update on the Galaxy A52, but the iPhone experience still felt more responsive overall.

The app itself is very basic, but it highlights one of the ways in which the iOS experience is still superior to Android, despite the fact that the Beats Studio Buds are designed to work with both operating systems.

The Beats app for Android is where you’re able to perform tasks like customizing the earbuds’ touch controls or toggling between active noise cancellation and Transparency mode from your phone. You don’t need an app to switch between noise cancellation and Transparency on iOS via your phone since these options are built right into the Control Center, just as they are with AirPods.

Sound quality and noise cancellation

The Beats Studio Buds offer solid, well-balanced sound for $150 earbuds. Music sounds loud, crisp, and full-bodied across genres, whether I’m listening to pop, rock, classical, or hip hop. The audio is also generally balanced so that you can hear all the elements of a song clearly without them blending together too much.

Don’t expect as much bass, volume, or richness as what you’d get with pricier earbuds like the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3. But the Studio Buds still sound louder and more vibrant than the $120 Amazon Echo Buds in most situations and are about on-par with Apple’s $159 standard AirPods.

The Beats Studio Buds also support spatial audio for songs in Apple Music that are mixed in Dolby Atmos, which gives music more depth and makes it sound like the audio is coming from multiple directions. They do not, however, support the AirPod Pro’s dynamic head tracking capabilities.

What really makes the Beats Studio Buds excel over the similarly priced regular AirPods is their support for noise cancellation and Transparency Mode.

Wireless earbuds generally aren’t capable of blocking out sound as well as over-ear headphones since they don’t cover your ears by design. But they do make it easier to focus on the music or podcast you’re listening to in loud environments without cranking up the volume, and that’s exactly what the Beats Studio Buds do well.

I tested this by setting the TV to a high volume while listening to music streaming from my phone through the Beats Studio Buds. The TV was certainly audible with noise cancellation turned on, but the voices on shows like “Bob’s Burgers” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” felt softer and more like background noise. Without noise cancellation, these voices were much more distracting and were just as loud as the music.

The Beats Studio Buds were slightly better than the Echo Buds at making music feel more prominent than the TV blaring in the background, but not quite as good as the AirPods Pro.

The standard $159 AirPods, which lack noise cancellation, are still surprisingly good at drowning out sound since they typically sound louder than the Beats Studio Buds. The key difference is that the Studio Buds make voices coming from the TV sound softer and less harsh, keeping the focus on the music.

Smart features and battery life

The Beats Studio Buds come with the standard selection of convenient features found on AirPods and many other wireless earbuds. These include auto pause and play, instant pairing, and Find My support.

However, they don’t support wireless charging or some of the newer features found on iPhone-compatible earbuds that run on Apple’s H1 chips. These include the ability to share audio with others and have Siri announce notifications and messages. But these Siri features could be on the table for a future software update, Beats said.

Those using the Beats Studio Buds with an iPhone can still access Siri hands-free. But all other voice assistants can only be triggered using touch controls – another example of how these headphones work better with iPhones.

That being said, Apple’s “Hey Siri” feature works well on the Studio Buds; the microphones easily pick up my voice even when I’m blaring music through the buds.

Don’t worry about having to plug in the Beats Studio Buds very often. It’s been a little more than a full day since I’ve unplugged the case, and it’s still at 80% percent.

Beats claims the earbuds should last for eight hours on a single charge and achieve 24 hours of total listening time through the case with active noise cancellation turned off. That drops down to five hours on a single charge and 15 hours total listening time with active noise cancellation turned on.

Should you buy them?

Yes, the Beats Studio Buds are relatively affordable wireless earbuds that have plenty to offer for $150. They have a comfortable and secure fit, decent sound quality that’s appropriate for the price, water resistance, and cross compatibility with iOS and Android.

What are your alternatives?

Apple’s $249 AirPods Pro offer better noise cancellation, superior audio quality, extra features like dynamic head tracking for spatial audio, and wireless charging. They’re a better choice for those who are devoted to Apple’s iPhone ecosystem and want the best possible audio without sacrificing convenience.

The Beats Studio Buds provide little incentive to opt for Apple’s $159 AirPods unless features like audio sharing and message announcements from Siri are a dealbreaker.

Those looking for earbuds that are around the same price and also work across iOS and Android should consider the $120 Echo Buds. They’re a bit cheaper and don’t sound quite as good, but they come with some extras that Echo device owners will appreciate, like the ability to call Echo devices and hands-free Alexa access.

The bottom line

With solid audio quality, noise cancellation, and a comfortable fit, the $150 Beats Studio Buds have a lot to offer for the price. The iPhone experience is still better in some respects, but Android owners will still be happy with the snug fit and great sound.

Pros: Comfortable fit, solid audio quality, affordable price

Cons: No hands-free voice assistant on Android, no wireless charging