Apple is preparing to launch its second Beats Pill product since acquiring the audio brand nearly a decade ago. After being bought by Apple in 2014, Beats introduced the Beats Pill+ that sold from 2015 to 2020. While it was discontinued without a replacement in sight, the forthcoming Beats Pill has been showing up everywhere from celebrity sightings to regulatory listings.
Seeing the unreleased Beats Pill is an effective tease, but it doesn’t tell us what’s different this time around aside from an apparent integrated lanyard for toting it. However, 9to5Mac has learned through sources what features and specifications will accompany the new Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker when it officially launches.
This is the new Beats Pill
First and foremost, the new Beats Pill is a portable Bluetooth speaker. While we haven’t heard what the unannounced and unreleased product sounds like yet, the 2024 Beats Pill is an upgrade sonically over the 2015 Beats Pill+, at least on paper.
- 2024 Beats Pill will feature louder sound, bigger bass, and better tonality.
- It uses a reengineered racetrack woofer to drive 28% more motor force, displacing 90% more air volume, while reducing low-end distortion.
- Its redesigned tweeter has its own secured housing for added stability, crisp highs, and rich mid-range tones.
- It also introduces a 20-degree upward tilt angle for sending sound up to your ears and away from objects in the way.
We’ll have to hear this for ourselves before we can reach a verdict, but our sources share what sounds like a promising sonic upgrade.
New features
While good sound is key to great Bluetooth speakers, features and compatibility are equally important for creating standout products. 9to5Mac can report that the 2024 Beats Pill will bring a number of tricks and benefits over the discontinued Beats Pill+.
- The new Beats Pill doubles battery life from up to 12 hours to up to 24 hours.
- An IP67 rating adds dust and water resistance that previous hardware lacked.
- The Bluetooth speaker will be compatible with both iOS and Android for one-touch pairing and auto pairing to compatible devices.
- The 2024 Beats Pill adds Apple Find My and Google’s Find My Device compatibility for tracking down lost hardware.
2024 Beats Pill specs
As expected, the new Beats Pill includes a number of hardware charges that improve the overall specs compared to the Beats Pill+:
- USB-A charge out and Lightning charging is replaced with USB-C charging out and charging.
- Packaging includes a USB-C to USB-C cable for both charging and wired audio between USB-C devices.
- The new carry lanyard is included in the box and is removable.
- Bluetooth 4.0 has been upgraded to Bluetooth 5.3.
The new Beats Pill hardware is a little lighter at 680 grams (1.5 pounds) compared to 748.5 grams (1.65 pounds). The lighter package comes despite a slightly larger package, measuring 8.6″ x 2.8″ x 2.8″ now compared to 8″ x 2.5″ x 2.25″ before.
It will feature device controls including the center button for music and calls, volume up and down buttons, and a system button for pairing, activating a paired voice assistant, and powering on and off.
Like the Beats Pill+, the new Beats Pill will support stereo output when pairing two, or you can pair two to amplify the total sound.
While Beats Pill+ originally sold in black or white, later adding red, the new Beats Pill will debut in three colors: black, gold, and red.
Ready for launch
All that’s left to learn now is pricing and the launch date. The old Beats Pill+ was priced for around $230 retail. Beats already has new headphone hardware on the way. Based on that, the rate of celebrity endorsements, and FCC filings, we should see the new Beats Pill arrive in time for summer.
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