Beats just released their new portable speaker, The Pill. The last time we saw a speaker from Beats was the Pill+, which was released in 2015. The Pill retails for $149, which is $50 cheaper than its predecessor. It has double the battery life, an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, and is much better in every single way.
Review
The name makes sense, the speaker is shaped like a pill. It has a nice and compact design and weighs only 680g, 10% less than the Pill+. The front grille is metal, and the back is covered with a silicone-like material. The build quality is good and the design is simple. The Beats Pill comes in 3 different colors: Matte Black, Statement Red, and Champagne Gold.
The speaker is IP67 rated for dust and water resistance, however, the USB-C port on the back doesn’t have any cover or protection, water won’t damage this port, but dust will get into it. You can also charge other devices from the USB-C port, this is nice because the battery of the Beats Pill is pretty big and the playback time is 24 hours. Also, 10 minutes of charging will give you 2 hours of playback time. The speaker also has a microphone for voice assistants and calls. The AI can recognize your voice and tune out other voices when you’re using the microphone.
The Beats Pill doesn’t have any spatial audio. However, if you pair it with another Pill, you can switch between Stereo mode and Amplify mode. Stereo mode splits audio between the left and right Pill and gives you surround sound which makes a huge difference. Amplify mode syncs the two Pill speakers and doubles the audio experience. It is difficult to guess which speaker is the left and which is the right, you should use an audio tester app to find out which is which if you are having problems setting the speakers up in the right orientation.
The sound quality of the Beats Pill is top-notch. It has a new subwoofer that will give you deeper bass and the speaker is capable of 90% more displacement than the old Pill+. The speaker is capable of USB-C audio playback, which will be lossless audio.
It is important to remember that this was designed to be a party speaker, something you would use outdoors, maybe at the beach. It won’t have the capabilities of being a good home theatre speaker. The soundstage is decent when the speaker is paired with another in stereo mode, but you won’t get a good experience just using the Pill as it is.
The Beats Pill does have support for both Android and iOS. It pairs pretty quickly with both systems, and you can also use Find My or Find My Speaker depending on which ecosystem you are on. It does have regular updates with iOS, but we haven’t heard anything about updates with Android for now. If you get the Beats Pill, you will also get 6 free months of Apple Music.
What’s in the box
- Beats Pill wireless Bluetooth® speaker
- Removable carry lanyard
- USB‑C to USB‑C cable for charging and audio
- Quick Start Guide
- Warranty card
Verdict
The Beats Pill is a simple Bluetooth speaker. It is very loud for its size and is designed beautifully. Its battery life is good, and the quick charge feature is appreciated. Its IP67 rating makes it a good speaker for outdoors. It has a microphone, and the price is very good and competitive. It doesn’t have a 3.5mm audio port, and water and dust will most likely get into your USB-C port. The Beats Pill is a very good portable speaker, and we are sure it will get very popular.