Summary
Despite its shape, theBeats Pillmight be one of the most ironically named products. Its big sound and long battery life in a small package make it an easy audio device to really like. The Pill is no pill.
Beats Pill
The new Beats Pill is completely redesigned and boasts better sound performance than ever before. It delivers native ecosystem benefits with an enhanced experience for both Apple and Android customers.
Price and Availability
The Beats Pill retails for $149.99 and is available to order now. It comes in black, red, and gold colors at launch.
What’s New With the Beats Pill?
The Beats Pill+ hasn’t been gone too long—only since 2022—but it was long in the tooth and needed to go. This new one doesn’t look too different, but it’s completely overhauled to be a much better speaker. Though its goal of being a portable, personal, Bluetooth speaker remains the same as ever.
The new Pill retails for $150, instead of $200. It gets double the battery life, has an IP67 water and dust resistance rating, reimagined internals, and more native compatibility with Android, among other things. It does all this while essentially remaining the same size as the old Pill+.
The Pill can fill a large living room or backyard with sound without breaking stride. It has audio-in capabilities through its USB-C port for use with a docked laptop, but ultimately, the speaker’s size and power bank feature position it best for use on the road.
The Sound Is Big For Its Size
The specs of the new Beats Pill look impressive, but most importantly, it sounds good for its size. There’s a new woofer and tweeter inside that are on a 20-degree tilt, all of which should improve audio quality over the past Pill+.
The deeper bass is no joke either. There were plenty of songs I played like The Marias' “Echo” and Billie Eilish’s “Chihiro” which produced low-frequency, punchy bass. The speaker can keep up with its full range of volume, even outside which I found impressive. I listened to the speaker in my backyard, and it was able to keep up all afternoon. The bass boomed and resonated while the mid-range vocals cut through with great clarity.
If you want to go all in with Beats Pill you may pair two of them together to amplify the sound or listen in stereo. I had a chance to try this and was thoroughly impressed by the results.
I had to study the instructions the first couple of times I used the feature to make sure I was pushing the right buttons, but it’s not complicated overall and the bump in volume and impact sounded greater than the sum of the parts, to my ears.
I particularly liked using the stereo mode. Most Bluetooth speakers that advertise stereo just don’t have much separation and so not a lot of people get to experience a wide field of sound. This is one way to achieve that.
Still, if you need more volume than a single speaker can cover, I don’t know if I would ever recommend buying two speakers to handle your needs. That could get fiddly and isn’t the most economical. But if multiple people in the same house each need their own portable speaker, then it’s nice that you can connect them on certain occasions.
I am bummed that the Pill doesn’t include AirPlay, but it does have another audio trick up its sleeve. You can use it with a desktop or laptop for lossless audio (48kHz / 24-bit) by connecting through its USB-C port.
Depending on your setup, connecting the speaker to your computer when you’re at home could keep it constantly used. I connected it to my MacBook Air and I didn’t have any problem linking the two right away.
Although modern Macs and iPhones have brilliant microphone configurations, you can use the Pill as a speakerphone too.
Beats Pill or Sonos Roam?
The choices for small, packable Bluetooth speakers are nearly endless. Based on size and price, however, I think the most vicious competition might be between the Beats Pill andSonos Roam 2.
Each speaker has a handheld design that produces enough sound to fill a large living room. The Sonos Roam 2 outdoes the Pill with its list of features like wireless charging, Wi-Fi, and AirPlay, but the Pill isn’t void of big sound or other niceties.
Beyond the USB-C audio-in feature, the thing the Roam 2 can’t match is the Pill’s battery life. It gets up to 24 hours of listening time while the Roam 2 tops out at 10 hours.
Because of the Pill’s extended power, it can power phones and other devices by connecting them to its USB-C port. Sound is king for a speaker, but second, for a portable device, is battery life. With 24 hours of power, I didn’t feel like I had to manage it in teh same way I sometimes do with the Roam.
Should You Buy the Beats Pill?
The newBeats Pillis fresh and full of features that are good for home and outdoor use. It sounds bigger than it probably has any right to. At its full $150 retail price there’s a lot of competition, so it won’t be perfect for everyone, but I like what it offers. There just aren’t too many downsides.
