They fit well, but fall short where it counts

For listening on the go, it’s hard to beat the convenient size of in-ear headphones. True-wireless earbuds, such as the Beats Solo Buds, have largely replaced their wire-bound ancestors, and there’s now a wide and competitive range to choose from. The Solo Buds occupy the lower, more affordable end of the spectrum of true-wireless earbuds, making for an enticing entry level for those in the market for headphones from this popular brand.

Price, availability, and specs

The Beats Solo Buds are available for $79 directly from Beats or from Amazon and other retailers.

Design and fit

Diminutive in your ear and in your pocket

A highlight of the Beats Solo Buds is an extremely thoughtful design philosophy, which has led to a product that offers a great user experience. First off, the charging case is a svelte little pill that stands easily upright on its flattened base. The lid’s hinge mechanism is quite strong, so it stays sealed shut. This is a little bit of a double-edged sword, as the case is also slightly tough to open.

The earbuds snap into the charging case with reassuringly strong magnets, and overall, the case is just really nicely made. Best of all, perhaps, is how slim and pocketable the case is. It’s notably smaller than most other wireless earbud cases I’ve used, and it pretty much disappears in my pocket.

The earbuds themselves are also clever in their construction. With fat lobes and a protruding stubby tower, they minimize contact with your ear while also providing a convenient handhold that’s rubberized and presents a very grippable surface. Wearing them for many hours daily, I found them quite comfortable, even for extended multi-hour listening sessions. The earbuds are controlled by a physical button on each bud, which I appreciate for their tactility and the fact that they can’t easily be activated accidentally, which is a real issue with touch-sensitive headphones.

The lack of an IP rating or any mention of water or dust resistance is concerning, and it implies that you should probably be cautious using these earbuds in inclement weather or conditions with a lot of particulate matter (dust or sand, for example).

The Beats Solo Buds are available in Matte Black, Arctic Purple, Transparent Red, and Storm Grey. I particularly like Storm Grey as it blends in and is unobtrusive. Four ear tip sizes are included (XS, S, M, and L), but unfortunately, there’s no USB-C cable in the box. While most people buying these will probably already have a USB-C cable, they do wear out, so it’s always good to pick up an extra cable with a new purchase. The charging brick is also sold separately.

Sound and call quality

Some good and some bad, overall OK

The pop-punk tones of “Bad Start” by Straightjacket were clearly rendered by the Solo Buds, while the retro-rock vibes of Ghost’s “The Future is a Foreign Land” was also a pleasant listening experience. However, “Thunderstruck”, performed by 2Cellos, lacked crisp definition in the instrumentals. The earbuds lack the punchy bass I look for when listening to this song, which I use to compare all audio devices I review.

That lackluster bass emphasis affects more raucous music, such as “People are Vomit” by The Used, though the slightly less chaotic “Renegade Music” by Papa Roach sounded quite decent. I also enjoyed “Loch Ness Wrecking Machine” by Fu Manchu on the Solo Buds. Both songs are less complex/chaotic than 2Cellos “Thunderstruck” or The Used’s “People are Vomit”. This was further confirmed when I listened to “Feedback” by A Day to Remember, which sounded fine when rendering less complex instrumentals and clean vocals, but became muddy whenever the distorted guitar/vocals cut in.

Surprisingly, the Solo Buds rendered Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte, K.620 – Ach ich Fuhl’s” with surprising clarity and warmth, and the orchestral “Carmen Suite No.1” by Georges Bizet- (performed by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra) was also quite lovely. Switching gears abruptly over to rap, the Solo Buds showed their strengths when rendering Eminem’s “My Name Is”, and it’s clear these earbuds are tuned with hip-hop and rap in mind. It’s interesting that they also played well with opera and classical orchestra.

Hopping back over to metal, I didn’t like how the Solo Buds dealt with “Cometh the Storm” by High on Fire or “Nightmare” by Polaris – both songs showed the muddiness of the Solo Buds when confronted by chaotic music. The gentle pop of Neil Diamond’s “Mr. Bojangles” was a much better listen, and ultimately, my impression of the Solo Buds music playback performance is that they’re certainly better at some things than others, and should probably be avoided by lovers of metal and the heavier forms of rock music.

Overall, I’d classify them as OK, but nothing particularly special in terms of audio performance. Though, after listening to dozens of hours of audiobooks and YouTube videos on them, I’d say they’re perfect for spoken word, given also their high level of comfort. Noise cancellation is purely passive; no active noise cancellation here. Regarding call quality, despite having only one microphone per bud, the Solo Buds are acceptable for phone calls.

Software

Just the basics

When using the Solo Buds on IOS, settings are available directly through a menu on the phone rather than a separate app, which is required on Android. Controls can be customized, and automatic ear detection and device locator (Apple Find My or Google Find My Device) are available in the Solo Buds. Unfortunately, there’s no EQ available on either Apple or Android, so I couldn’t tweak the earbuds’ sound profile as I usually do to customize them to my taste.

Battery life

Good, but not great

The Beats Solo Buds’ 18-hour battery life allowed me to go for two or three days without topping up my battery, but I’m used to earbuds which I only need to recharge once a week. But they can charge up fast, acquiring 1 hour of listening for just 5 minutes of charging. However, as previously mentioned, you’ll need to provide your own USB-C cable. The Solo Buds also don’t support wireless charging, and the case doesn’t have an internal battery, which explains why it’s so slim and lightweight.

Competition

A tough crowd

The Speck Gemtones Pro sit at the same price point as the Beats Solo Buds and are a competitive alternative. Their design and construction are a step down from the Solo Buds, but I’d give the Gemtones Pro an edge when it comes to audio quality. They’re also IPX5-rated and support wireless charging, where the Solo Buds do not.

Furthermore, the Gemtones Pro have a longer battery life, offering 22.5 hours in the case. If you want to go even cheaper, the Speck Gemtones Play are only $49 and have an even longer battery life than the Pro version. I would, however, give the Solo Buds an advantage over the Gemtones when it comes to controls, as the Gemtones feature a touch-sensitive control scheme that is prone to accidental activation, whereas the physical buttons on the Solo Buds are tactile and reliable.

If you pay just $20 more, the Nothing Ear (a) are a distinctly better option in almost every way than the Beats Solo Buds. Sound quality is a lot better, and they’re more comfortable with an even better design and control scheme. They also have active noise cancellation, are IP54 rated, and have a whopping 42.5-hour battery life. Twenty dollars buys an awful lot of upgrades when you move up from the Solo Buds to the Ear (a).

Should you buy them?

The Beats Solo Buds are a far better product than the Beats Solo 4 on-ear headphones, which I recently reviewed. Anyone purchasing the Solo Buds should be happy with them. These are high-quality earbuds that are kind of basic with slightly mediocre sound quality. You could do far worse, and they are at least competitive within their price bracket.

Thanks to the charging case’s slim profile, I’d recommend them if you’re looking for earbuds that will fit easily into small pockets. But the fact remains that the Nothing Ear (a) are only $20 more and loom rather significantly over the Solo Buds, which makes the Solo Buds a less enticing prospect.

Don’t get me wrong; the Beats Solo Buds have a lot to like, but good as they are, they are still far from great.