With the Beats Studio Pro, Apple wants to compete with Bose, Sony… and Apple
Apple has unveiled a new high-end Bluetooth headset. It’s not yet a new AirPods Max, but Beats’ new premium noise canceling headphones, the Beats Studio Pro.
Apple does not only offer its AirPods products in the field of nomadic audio. Nine years ago, the American manufacturer bought the Beats brand, founded by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Since then, far from letting it wither away, Apple continues to regularly offer Beats products, whether wireless headphones – like the Fit Pro or the Studio Buds + – or headphones.
We expected it with the rumors of the past few weeks, but Beats has just renewed its range of high-end headphones with the announcement, this Wednesday, of the new Beats Studio Pro. As a reminder, the Beats Studio was the first headset from the American manufacturer, launched in 2008. It was also one of the first headsets on the market to offer active noise reduction. However, the latest model in the Studio range, the Beats Studio 3, already dated back to 2017 and so it was time for Beats to renew it with this Beats Studio Pro.
Active noise reduction and transparent mode
Unlike the Beats Solo Pro, launched in 2019, the Beats Studio Pro is not only Bluetooth and noise reduction headphones, but also benefits from a circum-aural format. The pads are therefore positioned around the pavilion of the ear to encompass it, and not rest on it. Enough to ensure, on paper, better passive insulation, and therefore better active noise reduction.
For its Studio Pro headphones, Beats also announces that it has integrated four microphones into its headphones, i.e., for each ear, an external microphone and an external microphone. The noise reduction is also automatically adapted according to the fit of the headphones to the ears. It can also analyze ambient noise up to 48,000 times per second. Another area for improvement in this area is the arrival of a transparent mode, previously unseen on the Beats Studio range.
On the audio reproduction side, Beats has developed new 40 mm diameter transducers with 25% more powerful magnets and a double-layer polymer diaphragm. Enough to offer, according to the firm, a reduction in distortion of the order of 80% even at high volume compared to the headphones of 2017. The Beats Studio Pro is also compatible with spatial audio via Dolby Atmos and even allows a tracking head movements with a built-in gyroscope and accelerometer. However, head tracking is only for paired use with Apple products.
Compatible jack, USB, Bluetooth, iOS and Android
Regarding connectivity, Beats makes a strike here and ticks all the boxes. The Studio Pro headphones are thus equipped with a 3.5mm jack for classic wired listening, but their USB-C socket also allows sound to pass through – like the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4 or the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2. Three sound profiles are also managed by the USB: Beats Signature (balanced), Entertainment (which increases the bass) and Conversation (which increases the midrange and reduces the bass).
For Bluetooth, the headset is compatible with AAC and SBC codecs only. Nevertheless, it offers fast pairing with both Apple products and Android devices thanks to Google Fast Pair compatibility. However, multipoint Bluetooth is not offered outside of the Apple and Google ecosystems with automatic failover. It is therefore impossible to connect to an Android phone and a Windows laptop at the same time.
Regarding autonomy, Beats announces up to 40 hours of use without noise reduction and up to 24 hours with active noise reduction. In addition, 10 minutes of charge allows up to four hours of listening.
The Beats Studio Pro will be available in four colors – matte black, navy blue, brown or sand – and will be available from July 20, 2023 at a price of 399.95 euros. A higher price than the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the Bose Headphones 700, but significantly lower than that of the AirPods Max.
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