Apple's Beats debuts $299 Solo Pro noise cancellation headset with H1 chip

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2020
Beats has debuted the new Solo Pro, its first on-ear, noise-cancelling headphones featuring Apple Audio sharing and Lightning for charging.

Beats Solo Pro headphones


Solo Pro is Beats by Dre's first-ever on-ear headphone featuring Pure Adaptive Noise Cancelling (Pure ANC), the brand's proprietary technology. The company says that it uses advanced algorithms to continuously monitor and adjust to your listening environment.

According to Beats, the Pure ANC detects and blocks ambient noise in multiple environments of varying loudness. The technology also evaluates fit and adjusts for leakage caused by hair, earrings, different ear shapes and movement of a user's. Additionally, it simultaneously checks what you're hearing while noise cancelling is applied against the original music content.

When the "Transparency" feature is enabled, Solo Pro activates its external microphones for a natural filter of environmental noise. No need to pause your music as Transparency effectively blends the outside world into your listening experience. Hear announcements, talk with your friends and stay aware of your surroundings -- all with a tap of a button.

All Beats headphones powered by the Apple W1 and H1 chips, including Solo Pro, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Studio3 Wireless, Solo3 Wireless, BeatsX and Powerbeats3 Wireless, are compatible with Apple Audio Sharing. Solo Pro users can also still toggle Pure ANC and Transparency while sharing.

Multi-function controls on the right earcup allow you to answer and end calls, play or pause music, skip songs, control volume and activate voice commands like "Hey Siri" when connected to a compatible device.

Pharrell Williams, renowned artist and longterm ambassador of the brand, has partnered with Beats to create the "More Matte" collection, comprised of vibrant colors Dark Blue, Light Blue and Red. The collection will be available alongside core colors Black, Ivory and Gray.

"The Solo form factor is incredibly popular, with over 30 million sold to date," said Luke Wood, president of Beats by Dre. "Beats created Solo Pro to bring much needed innovation to the on-ear headphone market. With phenomenal acoustics, multiple listening modes and a progressive design, Solo Pro joins recently launched Powerbeats Pro as part of the next generation of Beats products."

Beats claims that with Pure ANC and Transparency off, the battery will last for 40 hours. With either feature on, the battery is said to last 22 hours. Charging is performed through a Lightning port on the headset.

Availability in the US for $299.95 Solo Pro will begin on October 30th in Black, Ivory, Gray, Dark Blue, Light Blue and Red. Best Buy is currently accepting pre-orders for the new headphones in all six shades.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    rwesrwes Posts: 200member
    :neutral: Would have thought they would have gone with USB-C for charging. Otherwise, good stuff...
    edited October 2019
  • Reply 2 of 23
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    WTF lightning? 
  • Reply 3 of 23
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Lightning makes perfect sense. iPhones are all Lightning and Beats users are very likely iPhone users. I assume a Lighting cable comes in the box, like with my Powerbeats Pros, so they can now use that same cable for charging their headphones and iPhones without having to carry two cables with them.
    ronnracerhomie3hmurchisonStrangeDayslolliverdamn_its_hot
  • Reply 4 of 23
    NY1822NY1822 Posts: 621member
    So is this the "Apple Branded" on ear, noise canceling headphones that have been long rumored but instead kept the Beats name?

    https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/25/apple-to-launch-branded-over-ear-headphones-upgraded-airpods-this-year/amp/ 


    edited October 2019
  • Reply 5 of 23
    Are they wireless as well? That would be a Bose killer. Concerned that on ear as opposed to over ear may not be as effective on airplanes which is the only place I use my Bose. They are getting long in the tooth and would buy Apple instead if there was a good comparo to back it up. 
    zhiro
  • Reply 6 of 23
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    NY1822 said:
    So is this the "Apple Branded" on ear, noise canceling headphones that have been long rumored but instead kept the Beats name?

    https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/02/25/apple-to-launch-branded-over-ear-headphones-upgraded-airpods-this-year/amp/ 

     No. These are Beats on-ear headphones. They press on the ear.

    The rumor is Apple will have an Apple branded “around the ear” headphones. Big tin can form factors, that completely envelope the ears. We would be lucky if Apple sold them for $500. $800 may be too low of a prediction.

    There are solid rumors that Apple will have in-ear headphones with noise cancellation very soon. So, there will be at least two new headphone form factors to come from Apple still. Maybe $300 price?
  • Reply 7 of 23
    sergiozsergioz Posts: 338member
    I am wearing a pair of Beats Studio 3’s right now and that Pure ANC is not that great, I hear a constant hiss. If new Beats with H1 have the same noise canceling tech, it’s not worth of upgrading! My guess is we’ll see. 
  • Reply 8 of 23
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    Awesome! Beats is definitely worthy of a keynote mention and has it's die-hard fans. Shame Apple distances themselves completely during events.

    flydog said:
    WTF lightning? 

    Do you say this every time Apple launches an iPhone?

    Are they wireless as well? That would be a Bose killer. Concerned that on ear as opposed to over ear may not be as effective on airplanes which is the only place I use my Bose. They are getting long in the tooth and would buy Apple instead if there was a good comparo to back it up. 

    They've been wireless so I do not see a reason why Apple would add an outdated cable to the latest design.

    Bose also sucks. They only became popular with the "everything-but-Apple" crowd" when Apple bought Beats.
    zhirololliver
  • Reply 9 of 23
    Seriously. No way to connect to entertainment on an airplane? You need a cable to connect. Huge omission, Apple.
    zhiro
  • Reply 10 of 23
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Seriously. No way to connect to entertainment on an airplane? You need a cable to connect. Huge omission, Apple.
    1) If your focus is on airplane seat WITH included jacks then why are you looking at wireless headphones?

    2) I don't recall the last time I was on a commercial jet that didn't have you connect via your personal device to on-board WiFi for entertainment.
    lolliver
  • Reply 11 of 23
    I'm seriously thinking about preordering these, but can't find them in the Apple store app or the Apple site. 

    I was going back and forth between powerbeats and second gen air pods when my beats X died, but these seem to tick more of my boxes. Not sure what color to get though. 
  • Reply 12 of 23
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    A pity that Beats didn’t also release Updated Studio 3 wireless models at the same time.

    my question: is the ANC actually updated? Marketing blurb seems a bit ambiguous. It just says it has added Pure ANC to an on ear headphone (what for For on ears would be a q too. Weird priority).  anyway the Pure ANC needs updating to compete with Sony or Bose in this area, and a software update provided to existing studio 3 wireless.  That would be good press.

    sergiozrollerskater
  • Reply 13 of 23
    sergiozsergioz Posts: 338member
    entropys said:
    A pity that Beats didn’t also release Updated Studio 3 wireless models at the same time.

    my question: is the ANC actually updated? Marketing blurb seems a bit ambiguous. It just says it has added Pure ANC to an on ear headphone (what for For on ears would be a q too. Weird priority).  anyway the Pure ANC needs updating to compete with Sony or Bose in this area, and a software update provided to existing studio 3 wireless.  That would be good press.

    I completely agree with your comment "Pure ANC needs updating to compete with Sony or Bose" Studio 3 wireless models have crappy NC
  • Reply 14 of 23
    Will they make a STUDIO pro?
  • Reply 15 of 23
    I love the colour options on these, especially the White one and the one between the Black and White ones.
    rollerskater
  • Reply 16 of 23
    Soli said:
    Seriously. No way to connect to entertainment on an airplane? You need a cable to connect. Huge omission, Apple.
    1) If your focus is on airplane seat WITH included jacks then why are you looking at wireless headphones?

    2) I don't recall the last time I was on a commercial jet that didn't have you connect via your personal device to on-board WiFi for entertainment.
    When planes have entertainment built into the seat back, the only way to connect is with a wire. Some airlines have that, some expect you do you use your own device with bluetooth and wi-fi. Many ANC headphones are both wireless and still have a 3.5mm port. Sometimes a 2.5mm with a 3.5mm on the other end.
    PetrolDave
  • Reply 17 of 23
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Soli said:
    Seriously. No way to connect to entertainment on an airplane? You need a cable to connect. Huge omission, Apple.
    1) If your focus is on airplane seat WITH included jacks then why are you looking at wireless headphones?

    2) I don't recall the last time I was on a commercial jet that didn't have you connect via your personal device to on-board WiFi for entertainment.
    When planes have entertainment built into the seat back, the only way to connect is with a wire. Some airlines have that, some expect you do you use your own device with bluetooth and wi-fi. Many ANC headphones are both wireless and still have a 3.5mm port. Sometimes a 2.5mm with a 3.5mm on the other end.
    1) No it's not. This isn't a binary system. I've been on countless planes from many airlines who had seat-back entertainment systems -and- on-board WiFi that connects to their on-board entertainment system.

    2) Then bring a pair of wired headphones or rent a pair from the flight attendant, but to make a comment that demands that all headphones be wired because of the off chance you're on a plane that doesn't have on-board entertainment accessible from your personal device is ridiculous.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    Alaska Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand expect wired headphones. JetBlue has free wi fi and no entertainment system. You can watch Netflix and more on your device on JetBlue.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    sergioz said:
    I am wearing a pair of Beats Studio 3’s right now and that Pure ANC is not that great, I hear a constant hiss. If new Beats with H1 have the same noise canceling tech, it’s not worth of upgrading! My guess is we’ll see. 
    Yeah, the hiss from noise cancellation is the reason I never got a pair with it. I only use noise isolation, with foam tips. Still waiting on the set where there isn’t a hiss, but I don’t think we will get there. Maybe there will be a predictive noise algorithm that can get right of the hiss, but that’ll just mean there will tick noises when the algorithm mispredicts.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    Soli said:
    Soli said:
    Seriously. No way to connect to entertainment on an airplane? You need a cable to connect. Huge omission, Apple.
    1) If your focus is on airplane seat WITH included jacks then why are you looking at wireless headphones?

    2) I don't recall the last time I was on a commercial jet that didn't have you connect via your personal device to on-board WiFi for entertainment.
    When planes have entertainment built into the seat back, the only way to connect is with a wire. Some airlines have that, some expect you do you use your own device with bluetooth and wi-fi. Many ANC headphones are both wireless and still have a 3.5mm port. Sometimes a 2.5mm with a 3.5mm on the other end.
    1) No it's not. This isn't a binary system. I've been on countless planes from many airlines who had seat-back entertainment systems -and- on-board WiFi that connects to their on-board entertainment system.

    2) Then bring a pair of wired headphones or rent a pair from the flight attendant, but to make a comment that demands that all headphones be wired because of the off chance you're on a plane that doesn't have on-board entertainment accessible from your personal device is ridiculous.
    Didn't your mother teach you any manners? Don't say my comments, or anyone else's are ridiculous. Also, you state that headphones can connect with wi-fi. Headphones connect with bluetooth, don't they?
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