Beats Solo 4

The Solo 4 can feel like a real reach compared to options like Soundcore’s Life Q30, which provide noise canceling, transparency mode, and loads of other features at a fraction of the cost. The Solo 4 have better sound and build quality, though, and I expect their price to drop significantly—last summer's Studio Pro regularly sell for $100 off.

With a great battery life and impressive passive isolation from outside noise, the Beats Solo 4 wireless on-ear headphones perform well in certain areas. The wired USB-C connectivity for lossless audio is a welcome addition, as is Apple's head-tracked Spatial Audio support. However, the middling sound quality for the price, lack of true multi-point pairing and imperfect comfort levels are all clear issues. These add up to make the Solo 4 less impressive than rivals at the same price.

The omission of noise cancellation on the Solo 4 could be a real obstacle for some, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to dampen their appeal to the masses who’ve been cycling through Beats products for so many years now. Even if you’re buying largely for the cool factor, at least these on-ear headphones are now platform-agnostic, more comfortable, and more versatile since you can just plug in if you manage to run through that 50-hour battery life.

There’s no denying the updates Beats made on the Solo 4 in terms of sound quality and battery life. The company also made tweaks to modernize it, including the switch to USB-C. Small changes to the ear pads make the Solo 4 more comfortable for those of us with big heads, but the fit is still far from ideal. And overall, the familiar design could use a refresh, especially now that we’re nearly eight years on from the Solo 3. Still, the Solo 4 is a clear upgrade from the Solo 3, but it’s likely not significant enough to entice more than the Beats faithful.

In a nutshell, the Beats Solo 4 on-ear headphones have pretty much the same look on the outside as the 3s but some notable improvements on the inside that bump their performance by about 25% to 30% when it comes to sound quality, battery life and voice-calling.

The Beats Solo 4 headphones produce satisfying sound and support hands-free Siri, though they leave out expected features at this price like active noise cancellation and adjustable EQ.

Beats certainly deserves credit for its best-of-both-worlds approach to iPhone and Android support, and the Solo 4 are stylish and very listenable. I suspect road warriors will still want to look elsewhere, until ANC graduates down through Beats' line-up. The biggest takeaway, though, is that you should audition headphones rather than go by reputation before you open your wallet, to ensure Beats' sound profile of choice matches your ears' preference.

Beats Solo 4 delivers native ecosystem benefits for both Apple and Android customers, including one-touch pairing and Find My or Find My Device.