The new Beats Solo4 headphones bring 50-hour battery, USB-C charging, better sound, Find My integration and more
Beats Solo4 feature a 50-hour battery, better sound with head-tracked spatial audio, USB-C charging, Find My support, tap-to-pair on Android and more.
Apple on April 30 introduced the fourth-generation Beats Solo headphones. The previous Solo3 model debuted in 2016, so it’s been quite a wait!
The new Solo4 headphones have the same folding design and the $200 price tag as their predecessor but use UltraPlush ear cushions for better comfort. They bring improved sound quality, USB-C charging, longer battery life, enhanced call quality via beam-forming microphones that automatically target your voice, and more.
They can also be tracked via the Find My app and paired on Android with Google’s tap-to-pair feature. Instead of active noise cancellation, the new Solo4 use passive noise cancellation like their predecessors.
Beats Solo4 have a 10-hour longer run time
Whereas Apple rated the previous Beats Solo3 headphones with a 40-hour battery, the new Solo4 will extend your run time by additional ten hours.
The 50-hour battery is likely the result of a proprietary chip platform that’s more power-efficient than Apple’s W1 silicon powering Solo3. You can also take up to36 hours of phone calls on a single charge.
Fast-charging is faster, too. If your Solo4 die on you, a quick 10-minute charge will give you 5 hours of wireless playback (Beats calls this feature Fast Fuel).
By contrast, Solo3’s Fast Fuel required a shorter 5-minute charge but you only got 3 full hours of playback out of it. The new chip brings other perks like faster device switching and more reliable wireless connections via Bluetooth 5.3 support.
Improved sound and custom-built 40mm transducers
The second significant improvement in Solo4 has to do with sound quality. The sound received a boost thanks to the upgraded drivers, custom-built 40mm transducers with better clarity and range, and rebalanced acoustics.
While Solo3 could play spatial audio for a faux surround sound experience, head tracking was unsupported. With the new Beats Solo4, however, you can now freely use spatial audio in conjunction with the Dynamic Head Tracking feature.
Sensors in each headphone determine the position of your head in 3D space. Apple’s algorithm uses that information to apply audio effects to make it seem the audio stays fixed to the source when you tilt and rotate your head.
USB-C instead of the ancient micro-USB
The ancient micro-USB port on Solo3 was for charging purposes only. It couldn’t be used as a wired connection, so Solo3 included a separate 3.5mm port for lossless audio (Bluetooth connections aren’t lossless).
The new Solo4 headphones swap micro-USB for USB-C charging while keeping the 3.5mm headphone jack for high-resolution losses audio at up to 24-bit/192 kHz.
You’ll need a Lightning to 3.5mm audio cable to enjoy music with the Hi-Res Lossless setting. As Apple’s support document clarifies, the playback still won’t be utterly lossless due to the analog-to-digital conversion happening in the cable.
Pricing and availability
Beats Solo4 cost $200 and are available in Matte Black, State Blue and Cloud Pink color finishes from the Beats by Dr. Dre website with a protective carrying nylon case similar to that for Beats Studio Pro. You can order yours via apple.com and the official Apple Store app in the United States and other markets.
Other retailers will have them in stock at a later date. Solo4 are set to ship beginning May 2.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/04/30/apple-launches-beats-solo4-better-battery-life-usb-c-charging-head-tracked-spatial-audio/
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