Wireless earbuds have become an essential daily item ever since smartphone makers thought it would be a good idea to remove headphone jacks from our phones. AirPods may still rule the roost and hang out of millions of ears up and down the UK, but Apple also makes the Beats line of impressive earbuds, and right now some of my favourites are on sale for less than £50.
The Beats Solo Buds, the latest earbud model to be released, are currently £49 from Amazon, a 39 percent discount on the £79.99 RRP. That’s a superb price for a pair of buds that punch well above their weight, as I’ve discovered after testing them since their launch in June 2024.
I test and review a lot of wireless earbuds, so I am lucky enough to have several pairs in rotation at any given moment, but I don’t always settle on the priciest ones for an extended period of time. I’m always on the lookout for a great affordable pair to recommend to people, and the Beats Studio Buds fall into this category.
Available in purple, black, grey or red (I love the red pair’s transparent case), the buds boast a stupendous 18 hours of battery life and great sound quality for the price. Of course, the Solo Buds don’t sound as good as AirPods Pro or the Beats Studio Buds+, but those alternatives cost £229 and £179 respectively. Remember, £49!
You get four silicone tip sizes in the box so you should be able to find a good fit (I did even with pesky small ear canals) that ensures a seal that blocks out sound and keeps the tunes coming.
Although these are Apple-made buds, Beats has done well to cater for Android users too, so these pair easily with either iPhone or Android, with easy pairing. Mics on each bud mean I’ve used these for calls and video calls easily, and the case is absolutely tiny so disappears nicely in my pocket.
The case, unusually, does not have a battery in it, hence it can be so small. But it means when you put the buds in the case, they aren’t recharging – you have to plug in a USB-C charger while they’re in there to get some charge, but the 18 hour battery life makes up for this, as it trounces much of the competition
The one thing they lack is any kind of active noise cancellation (ANC), so you’re relying solely on the fit to get the best sound rather than ANC to cancel out outside noise. I think £49 is a fair price considering the strengths of the Solo Buds and this trade-off.
What the buds do have though is a noise-learning algorithm that Beats says listens to the noise around you and effectively blocks it out so you can still be heard when you’re on calls.
You can also charge the buds in their case directly from your phone with a USB-C cable, a very handy way to quickly grab an hour’s power from a five minute charge.
