New Beats Solo Buds offers budget-friendly audio in a tiny case

Beats Solo Buds worn by Naomi Osaka

Launched on Tuesday, the Beats Solo Buds follow after the Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Buds , and Powerbeats Pro in being totally wireless earphones.

Effectively replacing the Beats Studio Buds as the budget option, the Beats Solo Buds offer a lot functionality for its price tag. That includes a custom acoustic architecture with nozzles and laser-cut vents made with ergonomics in mind, relieving pressure inside the ear canal.

Inside each earbud are dual-layer transducers to minimize micro-distortions across the frequency curve. This helps to ensure sound quality and clarity in use.

Ear tips are provided in four sizes to match the user. The microphones in each earbud also has a custom-designed microphone, which takes advantage of a noise-learning algorithm to improve speech quality for calls.

Like other earphones in the range, the Beats Solo Buds offer one-touch pairing with iOS as well as Android. Find My support also makes it harder to lose the earbuds while on the move.

On-ear functions are handled by the B button, which can handle music playback, calls, and voice assistant triggering. It's also possible to configure the press-and-old action via iOS settings to control volume.

The biggest feature is the charging case, which is the smallest in the Beats range. The case is tiny relative to others, in part due to it not having a built-in battery for on-the-go recharging, but it does have the capability to recharge using a USB connection on an iPhone or iPad.

Despite no case battery, Beats has managed to squeeze out a lot of battery life from the Solo Buds. It's claimed that they can last for up to 18 hours from a single charge.

Recharging is also rapid, with Fast Fuel allowing the earbuds to regain up to an hour of playback from a five-minute charge.

The Beats Solo Buds will go on sale from the beginning of June for $79.99, and will be available in Matte Black, Storm Gray, Arctic Purple, and Transparent Red.