Well, there’s not much left for Beats to “announce” after that. On Tuesday night, Amazon prematurely posted the retail listing for the rumored Beats Studio Buds Plus. The page contains all the latest details about the buds: among other upgrades, they have stronger active noise cancellation than original studio headphones, better air venting, and an improved transparency mode.
The Studio Buds Plus will retail for $169.95 when they’re released on May 18th, according to Amazon. That’s an extra $20 compared to the standard Studio Buds released in 2021. The buds and case share a very similar design to the original pair. This will be a good thing for many; I didn’t like their sound quality or find the ANC to be very effective, but the Studio Buds were at least very comfortable.
Of course, the Studio Buds Plus will now have to go up against another, even more amazing Apple product: the second generation AirPods Pro. These earphones have been praised for their sound fidelity, noise cancellation, and adaptive transparency mode.
I wouldn’t expect the Beats to outperform the AirPods Pro, but it’s clearly trying to get closer to the original Studio Buds.
The Amazon listing mentions 36 hours of total battery life, larger microphones (which could theoretically improve voice call quality), and four sizes of bundled ear tips including an extra small set.
And of course, the Studio Buds Plus will support spatial audio. But as with the first pair, they’re marketed equally to iPhone and Android customers. It doesn’t actually have an Apple-branded chip like the more premium AirPods or Beats Fit Pro do.
I’m looking forward to checking out that transparent set as soon as I can; I was hoping Beats would nail this style since the company briefly released an apparent pair of Studio Buds in a behind-the-scenes video for the original product. The Studio Buds Plus will also come in white or black, depending on which the listing will likely be gone any moment now.