Forget Airpods - These Beats Headphones Work Just As Well With Ios And Android

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Beats Solo 4 headphones are disposable for $200 successful Matte Black, Slate Blue, and Cloud Pink.
• Beats' best-selling headphones return pinch up-to-date features, signaling that nan institution utilized nan product's agelong hiatus wisely.
• A tight fresh and mini receptor cups whitethorn trim your listening acquisition shorter than you'd like.

I've spent a batch of clip testing headphones, and I find a caller favourite pinch each caller release. But 1 brace of headphones will ever clasp a typical spot successful my heart: nan Beats Solo 3 on-ear headphones.

Also: The 12 champion headphones of 2025

The Solo 3 awakened my passion for headphones; they were nan first brace I spent much than $50 on. I bought a Rose Gold brace successful precocious schoolhouse pinch nan money from my first job, and they stuck pinch maine passim college. I still person them, but years of usage person burnt retired nan audio components and worn down nan receptor pads.

So, erstwhile Beats offered maine a brace of the Solo 4 headphones to test, I was much than happy to spot really nan institution utilized nan 8 years since nan Solo 3's merchandise to amended nan Solo 4. 

The Solo 4 creation shows Beats' deviation from flashy, chrome accents adorned pinch dense branding, transitioning to a muted matte decorativeness pinch simplistic elements. I deliberation Apple whitethorn person influenced these creation choices. The Solo 4 ditches nan mini USB larboard and alternatively has a USB-C larboard for charging and lossless audio. You tin besides now plug nan headphones into a instrumentality to perceive and complaint them simultaneously.

Also: Why these headphones are still nan champion from Bose - moreover though they're a twelvemonth old

I tried nan Solo 4 cans successful Cloud Pink to trigger nostalgia for my Rose Gold Solo 3. The Cloud Pink Solo 4 is stunning and aesthetically pleasing, making it suitable for group who for illustration stylish devices. In position of audio, Beats has fixed nan Solo 4 headphones a much-needed tune-up. If you antecedently strayed distant from Beats because of their incredibly bass-forward sound, you'll for illustration nan Solo 4 sound overmuch better.

Beats Solo3 (left) and Beats Solo4 (right).

Jada Jones/ZDNET

One of Beats' taglines for nan Solo 4 is "Amazing sound. Simplified", and I couldn't work together more. Instead of offering an artificially pumped-up, bass-heavy sound profile, nan headphones person nan astir neutral sound I've ever heard from Beats. It's still not wholly neutral, but undoubtedly neutral to Beats' standards.

I listened to Kendrick Lamar's A.D.H.D and instantly noticed nan Solo 4's humble bass response. Because nan bass didn't overpower nan midrange, I could admit insignificant specifications successful nan song, for illustration Lamar's layered vocals and nan psychedelic synth sounds successful nan precocious midrange. Beats says upgraded transducers amended high-frequency responses, and passive tuning helps support sound value complete wired and wireless connections. I concur.

Like each different brace successful nan Solo lineup, nan Solo 4 are on-ear, truthful nan cups beryllium connected your receptor alternatively of enveloping them for illustration over-ear headphones. The Solo 3's cups are ever truthful somewhat bigger, but nan Solo 4's caller UltraPlush receptor cup padding is much comfortable.

Despite nan caller padding, I couldn't deterioration these cans for long. On-ear headphones person ne'er been comfortable for maine because I deterioration 4 earrings successful each of my ears. After astir 30 minutes of wear, nan receptor cups put excessively overmuch unit connected my earrings, prompting maine to return a break. The Solo 4's on-ear fresh shouldn't fuss listeners pinch glasses, but I'd debar them if you person aggregate receptor piercings. 

Jada Jones/ZDNET

The headphones don't person noise-canceling aliases transparency modes, but their passive sound isolation is impressive. If you deliberation nan transparency mode connected different headphones fto successful excessively overmuch sound and noise-canceling blocks excessively overmuch noise, nan Solo 4's earthy sound isolation is nan cleanable mediate ground.

The Solo 4 are nan first brace successful nan Solo statement to person Personalized Spatial Audio, and I don't person overmuch to opportunity astir it. I'm not a instrumentality of spatial audio, and it drains your headphones' battery. The spatial audio characteristic useful -- and it useful good -- but I for illustration regular audio. Speaking of artillery life, nan Solo4 headphones connection up to 50 hours of continuous playback, 10 much hours than Solo 3.

Also: Why I still urge these Sonos headphones complete competing models - including AirPods

Like nan Beats Studio Pro, nan Solo 4 person accrued interoperability pinch iOS and Android devices. For iOS fans, nan headphones connection iCloud pairing, afloat entree to Siri, Find My, over-the-air package updates, and Handoff. 

Android users tin usage Google Fast Pair, Bluetooth Multipoint, Google Find My Device, and nan Beats companion app.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Beats Solo 4 headphones present style and functionality for euphony lovers. If you weren't a instrumentality of Beats' signature sound successful nan past, I situation you to springiness nan Solo 4 a effort -- they mightiness alteration your mind. A statement astir their fit: if on-ear headphones are your preferred style, you can't spell incorrect pinch nan Solo 4. But if you for illustration over-ear headphones, you whitethorn find nan Solo 4 uncomfortable. 

If you're a loyal Beats instrumentality but want Beats headphones pinch much premium features, effort nan Studio Pro; you tin regularly find them for $250 aliases less. 

If you want over-ear headphones successful a akin value scope pinch conscionable arsenic overmuch attraction connected sound quality, see nan Sennheiser Accentum Plus aliases nan Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2.

This article was primitively published connected April 30, 2024, and updated connected July 14, 2025.