When the original Beats Pill shipped in 2012, the portable Bluetooth speaker was well received despite its glaring flaws. The Pill+ was a fine follow-up that kept the series going for several more years, but wasn’t constantly refreshed like many of the best Beats headphones and true wireless earbuds, leaving many to wonder if Beats completely abandoned the product.
Well, all that speculation has finally been laid to rest. The Beats Pill (2024) is now official and joins the Solo 4 and Solo Buds as part of the brand’s big summer product rollout.
Available in three colors – Champagne Gold, Matte Black and Statement Red – this version is completely redesigned and reengineered with proprietary technologies that enhance functionality, playtime, and sound quality. Scroll down to see how the Beats Pill (2024) is better than ever and why it’s a top contender.
The revamped Beats Pill blends stronger audio, battery life and connectivity into a stylish, everything-proof design.
What we liked about it
Monstrous sound quality in a robust package
Audio on the first-gen Pill and Pill+ was entertaining, though Beats’ sound profile was excessively boomy and too loud. An eight-year break allowed the brand to fine-tune the latest entry, expanding frequency range and keeping bass at the forefront. The results are greatly satisfying — for the most part.
Common and Pete Rock’s “Dreamin’” had the funky and laidback bop I desired from a summer soul track, feeding my ears reverb-infused horns and striking snares that were reproduced well. Mids and highs are given far more attention on this model and are balanced nicely over bass-heavy productions. This was most evident on neo-disco jams like Mark Ronson’s “Too Much,” where featured guest Lucky Daye’s silky vocals radiated through the metal grilles, courtesy of new acoustic architecture.
Beats developed a new tweeter design for stabilizing mids and treble. The company also reinvented the Pill’s woofer system to enrich bass response, giving contemporary recordings a warm, punchy resonance. However, blasting the speaker at max volume produces significant distortion.
Listen to Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” for reference. The song sounds terrific at 70% volume. Synths are vibrant and the bass riff is electrifying with strong reverberation that fades slowly. Raising the volume higher will severely bloat up the low end, though the midrange remains prominent and highlights the track’s airy, ethereal vocals.
Beats’ Amplify and Stereo modes return for those who want a dual-speaker setup. Amplify lets you pair two Pill units together and both play the same stereo music. In Stereo mode, one Pill unit plays the left audio channel and the other Pill unit plays the right audio channel. Stereo is more useful and does a convincing job of creating wide, room-filling sound. I placed one speaker in my bedroom and another speaker in my son’s room, while flanked in the living room, and was impressed by the loudness and sonic projection.
Lossless audio makes its series debut, but it can only be enjoyed with a wired connection to a compatible device such as a laptop or phone. This was my preferred listening method when stationary. Clarity and depth receive a nice boost, and bass is impactful. Mostly everything on Apple Music, Tidal and some of the other best music streaming services sounds engaging.
All that sonic goodness is housed underneath an extremely durable shell that upholds the series’ iconic capsule design. Notable details are kept intact, including the metal grille with the “b” logo and rubber-coated buttons, which are now indented. The previous Pill releases did not have an ingress protection (IP) rating for durability. This one does — IP67 — making the speaker dust, rust, shock and water-proof.
It works equally well with iOS and Android
Older Pill models were compatible with most Bluetooth devices. They were also heavily optimized for use on Apple devices like iPhones and Macs. Beats fixed this by building a chipset that supports native software features on both Apple and Google operating systems.
Apple users retain staples like automatic switching, Find My mode and one-tap pairing. Android users receive the Google version of select features — Fast Pair and Find My Device — as well as Bluetooth multipoint to pair to two Android devices simultaneously. There’s even the Beats app to activate audio sharing modes, assign call functions and enable the Tone Volume feature for adjusting the volume of sound effects. These same features are accessible on the Pill’s dedicated settings page via iOS. Everything runs smoothly.
All-day battery life with USB-C charge out
Beats doubled the playtime of its flagship speaker, bumping it up from 12 hours to 24 hours for a full day of Bluetooth playback. This is mostly accurate based on my testing. Dual-pairing and high volume decreased battery life by about five hours. I still had more than enough juice for an entire weekend. Fast-Fuel charging generated two hours of use on a 10-minute charge. Furthermore, the new Pill can double as a power bank to charge USB-C devices like the latest iPhone 15 and iPad models, plus it can be recharged when connected to larger machines like a MacBook.
Our new favorite speakerphone
The Pill 2024 delivers outstanding hands-free voice calling. Several people said I was loud and clear when speaking, both indoors and outdoors. The microphones did pick up ambient noise that caused some muffling, but callers on the opposite end were able to make out words and sentences.
The feature also works hand in hand with digital assistance. Beats’ mic array demonstrates excellent speech recognition to acknowledge and execute Siri/Google Assistant voice commands with precision. Voice activation isn’t available, meaning you can’t fire up either AI bot directly through the speaker when saying “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google”. Apple might want to consider adding this as part of a future software update.
What we didn’t like about it
Where’s the spatial audio?
It’s no longer uncommon for portable speakers to boast immersive 3D audio. Anker offers it on the $199 Soundcore Motion X600, which is a little more expensive and spec heavy than the current Beats speaker. Not having spatial audio support on the Pill is disappointing, especially since Apple has a penchant for engineering high-powered technologies into small designs.
It feels much heavier than it weighs
According to Beats, the Pill (2024) shares the same weight as the Pill+: 1.5 pounds. I wasn’t convinced until I hopped on a scale and compared my standalone body weight to what was registered when holding the speaker in hand. It really is 1.5 pounds. However, it still feels hefty and cumbersome to lug around. Rivals like the Sonos Roam 2 (1 pound) and Sony ULT Field (1.4 pounds) are lighter carries.
It’s missing several popular extra features
Many people forget about the cool perks featured on past Pill models. Gone are the aux-in and aux-out ports to connect the speaker with wired playback sources (like your old iPod or a game console). Tap-to-pair NFC is another one that’s MIA. Other notable omissions include an AC adapter and hard-shell carrying case.
Bottom line
The Beats Pill (2024) is a triumphant return that improves on nearly every series hallmark. An updated look combined with expanded functionality, longer battery life, refined sound and stronger protection earns it a spot among the best portable Bluetooth speakers.
I’m not fond of the missing accessories and features, but that’s trivial in the grander scheme of things. Vastly upgraded performance on top of a launch price that’s $50 lower than its predecessor gives the new Beats Pill universal swagger that not many rivals can match.
