Want Apple’s new Beats Studio Buds+? You could. Amazon leaked the new earbuds and you could already buy them. Quite ‘whoops’ from Amazon, because actually the new buds are only on sale from May 18 and not yet announced by Apple at all. And there is a surprise: they do look a lot like Nothing Ears (2).
Keeping secrets isn’t going well for Apple lately. For example, we already know the ins and outs about the VR/AR headset (Reality Pro) and the iPhone 15 Ultra. The whole One More Thing principle has kind of disappeared. So too with the new Beats that have now surfaced on Amazon, with quite a few details.
Beats Studio Buds+ from Apple are just Nothing
Amazon probably has an employee who pressed “publish. That can happen to the best of us (like me), but in this case it’s extra painful. After all, these Beats Studio Buds+ have not yet been announced. And yet a number of people have been able to buy these secret earbuds.
We immediately know a few important things because of this small mistake. For example, the Buds are going to cost $169. And a salient detail: they look twistedly similar to the Nothing Ear (2). In fact, the new Beats are transparent. In case you don’t like the look: black and ivory are also available.
Amazon reveals earbuds that have come a long way
Beats has always been a B-brand of Apple. But these Buds are greatly improved and target the athletic user, compared to the AirPods Pro. B-brand or not: the specs are worth it.
For example, the new Beats Studio Buds+ have microphones three times larger than its predecessor. They also indicate changes in terms of sound related to air ventilation. Also, according to the specs, the Studio Buds+ will have up to 1.6 times more active noise cancellation, and offer up to two times improved transparency mode compared to the first Studio Buds.
They also have a longer battery life, giving the Studio Buds+ up to 36 hours of listening time with the included USB-C charging case. A big step up from 24 hours for the original Studio Buds, according to information from Amazon.
Swimming with your Beats Buds from Apple thanks to Amazon?
The Beats Studio Buds+ have now received waterproofing certification. The Buds have IPX4. That means they can withstand water and dust. We just wouldn’t go swimming with them, as that would require IPX7.
What exactly is Beats?
In 2014, Apple bought Beats Electronics for three billion dollars. Beats, founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, was originally a headphone manufacturer known for its hefty bass. Apple used the brand name and technology to expand its own product line and later introduced the Apple Music streaming service in 2015.
By the way, these new Beats Studio Buds+ come with rubber caps in sizes XS, S, M and L. And should you have an Android phone; they work with that OS as well.
The Beats Studio Buds+ are (transparency aside) not much of a surprise, by the way. Code was already discovered in iOS 16.4 last month that revealed the new earbuds.
So for a price tag of “only” $169, you get pretty good value for your money.