Earbuds are a must for anybody who wants to listen to their favorite tunes on the go. Whether you wear them while commuting to work or at the gym, there are two high-quality earbuds worth your attention.
The AirPods Pro are Apple’s flagship earbuds known for their high-quality build and premium features. However, the Beats Studio Buds are also excellent, giving the Apple AirPods Pro a run for their money. It depends on what you want out of your earbuds, but there are some key differences to consider, primarily in price and design.
The Beats Studio Buds have only been around for a year but are already among the most popular earbuds, along with other Beats headphones, such as the PowerBeats Pro and Beats Fit Pro earbuds. They’re a great bargain pick, as they retail for $150 and deliver excellent audio quality and features comparable to the best earbuds by other industry-leading brands.
The Beats Studio Buds have a minimalist, lightweight design and come in a compact case that’s easy to carry around in your pocket. Each earbud has three built-in microphones for active noise-canceling and transparency modes that let wearers tune out external ambient noise or enhance it. They have an IPX4 protection rating, meaning they're sweat-resistant and suitable for working out, but they shouldn’t be submerged in water.
They sync well with iOS devices, supporting Bluetooth 5.0 for a stable connection and spatial audio for an immersive listening experience when using Apple Music. The top of each earbud has a physical button for managing phone calls, music playback, accessing Siri and adjusting noise-canceling levels.
As with other Beats headphones, the bass is pronounced, making them ideal for listening to music genres such as hip hop, reggae and jazz. However, the sound is more balanced than other bass-heavy earbuds.
They come in red, black or white and come with three ear tips for adjusting the comfort and fit based on preference and the shape of your ear. Also, they offer up to 24 hours of total battery life.
From the outside, Beats Studio Buds look flawless, and while their compact design is appealing for some people, others might find the lack of a stem awkward. They also don’t have an auto-detection feature, so music playback continues when you remove them.
They don’t support wireless charging, and unlike other Apple and Beats earbuds, they don’t have a W1 or H1 chip for seamlessly transferring connections across devices. That means it’s necessary to pair one device at a time. Also, they charge with a USB-C cable, which can be inconvenient for those with several Apple devices that use Lightning-based connections.
The AirPods Pro are essentially an upgraded version of the original AirPods. Although their cost is steep, retailing at $250, they have a design and several features many users find worth the money.
The AirPods Pro boast a clean, sophisticated aesthetic design that’s considered an upgrade over the original AirPods. They have a more compact shape and a sealed-off ear tip design, which allows for true noise-cancelation. Also, the charging case is smaller than the one included with the Beats Studio Buds.
They have many of the same features as the Beats Studio Buds, including Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, an IPx4 protection rating and 24 hours of battery life. However, there are a handful of features you won’t get with the Beats Studio Buds.
The AirPods Pro have a high-end H1 chip that lets you pair them with multiple devices simultaneously and seamlessly switch connections. It also allows users to access Siri simply by using the ‘Hey Siri’ activation phrase without pressing any buttons.
The audio quality is slightly clearer, and separation between highs and lows is more evident than on the Beats Studio Buds. However, unless you consider yourself an audiophile, you likely wouldn’t notice a significant difference.
Auto-detecting is built into the AirPods Pro, so music playback stops as soon as you take them off. The adaptive equalizer feature automatically optimizes sound based on what’s playing, and the force sensors on the button controls let you manage calls and music playback. Fast Fuel charging quickly juices the AirPods Pro battery, and unlike the Beats Studio Buds, the case supports wireless charging.
The AirPods Pro are expensive for earbuds and cost $100 more than the Beats Studio Buds. Unlike the original AirPods, there’s only one model of AirPods Pro, so you don’t have the option of choosing between current and previous generations if you’re looking to save a few bucks.
For example, although the 3rd Gen AirPods are the current model, the 2nd Gen AirPods are similar and cost less, making them ideal for those who want high-end earbuds, albeit with a few downgrades in features and functionality.
Although the AirPods Pro offer up to 24 hours of battery life, the Beats Studio Buds last longer with active noise-canceling enabled, making them suitable for long conference calls or video calling. Also, AirPods Pro are designed to integrate and function effortlessly with other iOS devices, so you wouldn’t use them to their full potential if you have an Android smartphone and other non-iOS devices.
The Beats Studio Buds are excellent if you’re working with a budget. They deliver fantastic sound, work great with Android and iOS devices and offer slightly better battery life than the AirPods Pro.
However, if you don’t mind spending the money and already own other iOS devices, the AirPods Pro are the way to go. The active noise-canceling is slightly better, and additional features such as auto-detection, an H1 chip, force sensors and wireless charging enhance their functionality and ease of use, making them superior to the Beats Studio Buds.
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Kevin Luna writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
