How to Pick The Best Beats Headphones

One thing we like about Beats is that the brand’s range caters to a wide range of needs and listening styles, whether you’re powering through a workout or heading back onto your daily commute. The models available are also all designed to work with Apple and Android devices, with varying levels of rich ecosystem compatibility, and they are packed full of features like noise cancellation, transparency, and access to Siri voice assistant. To pick between them, these are the main features we’d consider:

Noise-Cancelling

Several of the headphones Beats makes have active noise-cancelling (ANC), meaning they can interpret external sounds from the world around you and create an opposing sound wave to eliminate them, allowing you to listen without distractions. This is great for focusing during a workout and also useful if you commute on public transport, as the headphones enhance the audio and drown out distracting sounds from the outside world.

Headphones with noise-cancelling also tend to have a transparency mode to amplify the sounds of the world around you. We’d recommend switching this on when you need to be aware of your environment, like when you’re on a run, needing to hear an announcement at the train station or just while you’re ordering your morning coffee.

Apple is known for delivering the best transparency mode and Beats models are impressive at this too, allowing for a feeling like you’re not wearing headphones, rather than mere ambient awareness.

Battery Life

You need to look out for how long you can listen to any headphones on a single charge. It’s been some time since Beats made wired headphones, so all of the options in our roundup have rechargeable batteries. When it’s time to recharge the on-ear or over-ear models (which last for up to 40 hours), you’ll plug them in via an included cable.

For the true wireless earbuds, they’ll top themselves up each time you pop the earbuds back in their case, and then when both the charging housing and the buds themselves run out (which can take up to 36 hours of listening) you’ll want to connect them back up to a cable for a refuel.

Another key consideration is fast charging. All of the pairs in the current Beats lineup offer some kind of speedy recharge to help you out in the unfortunate scenario that your battery has run dry and you’re about to dash to your morning gym session.

For example, ten minutes on charge will restore an hour-and-a-half of battery to the Beats Flex, you get up to an hour of playing time when you charge the Beats Fit Pro (and Studio Buds or Studio Buds +) for five minutes. With the on-ear Solo3, that five-minute charge gives you three hours of listening, while the Studio Pro delivers four hours from a 10-minute recharge.

Type

There are three main types of headphones available from Beats, all aimed at a slightly different kind of listener: in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear.

In-ear headphones are for fitness fanatics or anyone travelling light, as they weigh mere grams and can stay in your ears for longer during tough workouts and long journeys. They also usually don’t have annoying cables to worry about – although the Beats Flex are in-ears with a cable connecting them. This may be ideal if you’re worried about losing your buds.

Over-ear are your typical chunky headphones like a headset where the cans sit around your ears, while the on-ear Beats will have the cups resting on the edge of your ears.

Apple-specific features

Apple owns Beats, so you get a few of its exclusive features in the brand’s models. One of the most useful is that once you pair your Beats to a single Apple device, they’ll also pair to all the Apple devices linked to your iCloud account. It’s super helpful, especially as Bluetooth pairing can be a bit of a pain.

There are more features to list like spatial audio that’ll make certain songs on Apple Music and select movies and TV shows sound more immersive and Find My support to keep track of your earwear. However, it’s worth thinking about how most Beats are designed to work just as well with Android phones, and unlike with AirPods, you’ll find there’s an app for customisations.

One of our favourite Apple-exclusive Beats features is the ‘audio-share’ capability. You can connect two pairs of headphones – either another pair of Beats or AirPods – to the same iOS device (such as your iPhone or iPad), channelling audio to both sets at the same time. This is great if you and your mate have the same workout playlist, or if you want to watch a movie on your tablet or phone with a travel buddy.

Is Beats Better Than Apple?

Well, let’s get one thing straight: these days Beats and Apple are so closely connected that you’re going to see loads of similarities when you compare the headphone features. A pair of Beats Studio Buds isn’t that different when compared to a pair of entry-level AirPods, and you’ll probably find they fit a bit better in your ears with the variety of silicone tips.

Depending on the functions you use, they’re almost the same. However, Apple does reserve some of its best and most advanced features for its own models, and the build quality of the AirPods Max outclasses that of the rival noise-cancelling Beats over-ear headphones.

Certain Beats earbuds are “better” than some of their Apple counterparts. But the main point is that it’s all about your priorities, whether that’s value for money, fit or compatibility with Android (Apple’s models refuse to even offer an Android app – Beats is more versatile). However, if you’re committed to the Apple ecosystem, its products should suit your needs the best.

At a glance, we’d say:

  • If you’re focused on fitness: Beats Fit Pro work better than AirPods because they’re more secure in your ears
  • If you’re focused on cost: Beats Studio Buds are better all-rounders than entry-level AirPods for the price
  • If you’re focused on features: AirPods Pro (2nd-gen) are better than all Beats earbuds for quality and features with Apple devices
  • If you’re focused on build quality: AirPods Max are far better than the Beats Studio Pro in this department, and when it comes to comfort and sound
  • If you’re focused on ANC and sound: Apple’s AirPods Max and AirPods Pro (2nd-gen) sound more detailed and rich while cancelling more noise and having better transparency

Are Beats Waterproof?

We know what you’re thinking, everyone in the gym is wearing big over-ear Beats, cancelling out all the background distractions during lifting sessions. So, surely Beats are a great option for the gym? Not quite. We’d say they are when it comes to sweatproof earbuds like the Beats Studio Buds, Beats Studio Buds + and Beats Fit Pro, but it’s important to note that over-ear models like the Beats Studio Pro are neither water nor sweat-resistant. You should try not to get them wet and we’d not recommend them for use in the weight room.

What Headphones Are Better than Beats?

The wireless headphone world is super competitive and – forgive us if you’ve heard this one before – what counts as the “best” for you depends on your priorities.

If you’re into noise-cancelling, we think there are Bose and Sony models that deliver better in that department than Beats does. Budget brands now offer loads of high-end specs at lower prices, so look at cheaper models from Soundcore, 1More, Soundpeats and Lypertek if you’re trying to save.

Focused on audio quality? Audiophiles will steer you away from Beats and towards brands like Sennheiser, Final Audio, Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic and Apple itself. Speaking of Apple, we think that the AirPods Max and the AirPods Pro are among the best wireless headphones anyone can buy right now – the prices may be steep but they’re worth it.