Beats Pill review

Beats is back with its first new Bluetooth speaker in nearly a decade. The new Beats Pill sports a refreshed design with a plethora of modern upgrades. Does that finally make the Beats Pill the remedy you need to take your party from lame to fame? That’s what we set to find out, in this SoundGuys review of the new Beats Pill.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What I like about the Beats Pill

Beats has matured a lot since we last reviewed a Beats Pill speaker. While the name may be the same, the company has ditched the packaging made to resemble an actual pill, as well as the soft-shell case. In its place, you get a much more durable speaker with IP67 dust and water resistance. I’ll take that over a plastic case any day. To ease any worries, the Beats Pill comes with a one-year limited warranty, and you can add two years of AppleCare+ unlimited accidental damage protection for $29.

The company says you can get 24 hours of music playback at 50% volume. This is impressive battery life for a speaker of this size and about double that of rivals such as the JBL Flip 6.

For its size, the Beats Pill gets very loud. Moreover, it has more bass than any other speaker I’ve heard of this size or smaller. When listening to “Scenic Drive” by Khalid, the sub-bass is very prominent even at only 25% volume. You’ll never feel the bass in your chest with a tiny speaker like this, but for what it is, I’m impressed.

The Beats Pill makes for an ideal home office companion. It has a 20-degree tilt to point sound up at your head when placed on a desk. At low volume levels, the speaker sounds pretty good with minimal distortion, so I enjoyed listening at around 15% volume while working. It has a built-in microphone which can be handy for taking conference calls, and you can use the onboard buttons to adjust volume without reaching for your phone.

Despite being owned by Apple, Beats plays nice with Android. You can download the Beats app on the Play Store to access the same features as Apple users such as Find My and stereo pairing with a second Pill speaker. The pairing process is quick and easy for the Beats Pill on both iOS and Android, and new Apple Music subscribers get 6 months of free listening with their Beats Pill.

The Beats Pill supports lossless listening over USB-C. This is a nice touch, but if you really care about high-fidelity listening, this small speaker should not be the center of your audio setup.

What I don’t like about the Beats Pill

While the Beats Pill sounds pretty good at low levels, the sound quality noticeably deteriorates as you increase the volume. Anything past 50% volume and things start to sound compressed. Above 80% you get very noticeable distortion in the highs, with cymbals sounding very noisy. So while the speaker can get loud, you probably won’t want to push it very often. This also means the Beats Pill isn’t ideal for parties and larger gatherings.

As I increased the volume, I also noticed the Beats Pill significantly under-emphasizes mids. When listening to “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, the bassline and cymbals sound noticeably louder than the guitars. If you are seeking the most accurate listening experience possible, this certainly isn’t it. You also won’t find native equalizer support baked into the Beats app on Android or the Settings panel on iOS, so it’s not easy to adjust the way the speaker sounds.

Should you buy the Beats Pill?

If you are seeking a portable Bluetooth speaker for either individual use or small gatherings, the Beats Pill does the job. You get great durability, excellent battery life, and support across iOS and Android devices. Additionally, this speaker has a ton of bass for its size.

On the other hand, if you want a speaker that can crank up the music for a larger party, you’re better off looking elsewhere. The Beats Pill doesn’t sound good at loud volumes, and you will get more bang for your buck with the JBL Charge 5 instead, $149 at Amazon.

For less money than the Beats Pill, you can check out the JBL Flip 6, $99 at Amazon. While the Flip 6 doesn’t have as much bass as the Beats Pill, it has noticeably more detail in the mids. It’s a little bit smaller than the Beats Pill and also has IP67 water and dust resistance. You really can’t go wrong with either option, though the cheaper price tag of the Flip 6 does make it an easier pill to swallow.

If you are only planning on listening indoors, you are better off checking out a smart speaker like the Apple HomePod Mini. Despite being owned by Apple, the Beats Pill doesn’t have hands-free “Hey Siri” support or AirPlay.

Beats Pill review: FAQs