beats has relaunched its ‘Solo’ earphones, perhaps its most famous line.
The Beats Solo 4 is a new addition to a line-up that has gone without an update for over seven years, despite being the company’s best-selling headphone. While the Solo range is probably Beats’ most famous headphones, they have been largely neglected and gone without the technology that comes in the rest of the company’s products.
The update includes new drivers in the earphones, and USB-C for both charging and higher quality music, and a re-engineered hardware design that Beats said will improve the sound. They also get updates from others Apple and Beats headphones including personalized spatial audio.
The Beats Solo 4 is priced at £199 or $199. They are available now.
Along with the headphones, Beats has released the new Solo Buds, which put true wireless earphones in a cheaper and smaller package, which Beats said are the smallest earphones ever. They cost £79 or $79 and will be available in June.
They lose some key features of other earphones from Beats and parent company Apple, such as noise cancellation. But they do include some smart features including smart switching and Find My support across devices.
Beats claimed that the “custom-build acoustic architecture” means the earbuds will sound big, despite their small size and relatively affordable price.
“Our newly expanded Solo line delivers remarkable value, delivering exceptional sound quality, battery life and comfort in our most portable designs,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports and Beats.
“Beats Solo 4 takes our best-selling headphones to the next level with outstanding performance upgrades, and the all-new Beats Solo buds pack impressive power into our smallest product yet.”