Beats Pill+ was the first product launched by Apple the year after it acquired Beats for $3 billion in 2014. In 2022, Apple discontinued the Beats Pill+ from its brand website, marking the official end of the product's 8-year lifecycle.

Beats Pill+ was also the last wireless Bluetooth speaker in the Beats lineup. Its well-received design and battery-powered capability made its departure a source of regret for many enthusiasts. Although there have been rumors circulating that Beats was developing a new portable speaker, no concrete news emerged for a long time. Fortunately, this year Beats finally released an all-new Beats Pill, providing a satisfactory update for its users and fans.

From the name, it's clear that the new Beats Pill represents a comprehensive innovation of the series. Undoubtedly, ten years after Apple's acquisition of Beats, we can see a variety of desired features in this new product: iCloud pairing, Siri voice assistant, FindMy location services, and more.

After experiencing the new Beats Pill for a while, I'd like to share my thoughts on the experience.

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Starting with the design, compared to the previous Beats Pill+, I believe few would argue that the new Beats Pill has become more aesthetically pleasing. With a more rounded shape and more integrated line transitions, Beats continues to be a brand with strong aesthetic and design capabilities. Of course, the appearance of this generation of Beats Pill also makes it more true to its name, resembling an oval-shaped pill.

Apart from the metal grille on the front speaker section, the entire body of the Beats Pill is encased in silicone, which not only provides a skin-friendly touch but also enhances the device's portability with its lightweight material. The official weight specification for the Beats Pill is 680 grams. I tested it with a few coffee scales at home, and the actual weight of the Beats Pill with the strap attached is around 690 grams, and without the strap, it's close to 687 grams, which is not far from the official parameters.

Compared to similar products on the market, I think the weight performance of the Beats Pill is quite good. With its "water bottle-like" overall shape, we can easily fit it into the outer cup pocket of a backpack. However, carrying an additional piece of equipment weighing over 700 grams is still a considerable burden, in my opinion, unless there is a very clear need for outdoor use, such as camping, working outdoors, or going on vacation; of course, during this period of using the Beats Pill at home, I unexpectedly found it quite convenient to have a speaker that can be carried around at any time, allowing me to easily take it to the kitchen, balcony, or other spaces to enjoy music whenever I want.The Beats Pill is also well-prepared for outdoor use scenarios. The silicone shell offers better durability, and the acoustic base of the speaker has additional gaskets and sealed hardware, making the entire device dust and water-resistant up to an IP67 rating. This means you can confidently take the Beats Pill to the beach and enjoy the sunshine and music during your vacation.

By the way, there's some good news: the battery life of this generation of Beats Pill has reached an impressive 24 hours; similarly, the fast-charging capability, a signature feature of Beats, is also supported in this product. Charging for just 10 minutes can provide up to 2 hours of playback time, which is undoubtedly a significant advancement for outdoor use.

In terms of functionality, the button layout of the Beats Pill is consistent with the previous Beats Pill+, featuring a power button, central button, and volume buttons. The interface on the back of the device has been upgraded from a Lightning port to a USB-C port, which also supports power supply to connected devices. What's different is that the USB-C port on the Beats Pill can also output lossless audio through a wired connection, supporting a maximum sample rate of 48 kHz / 24 bits.

Now, let's talk about my subjective listening experience. The moment the music came out of the Beats Pill, I was slightly surprised. Facing a mono Bluetooth speaker, I didn't have high expectations for its sound quality, but the overall sound effect of the Beats Pill left me with a good impression. Especially in the mid and low frequencies, the vocals of the Beats Pill are clear and bright, and the layers between the instruments are also relatively distinct, with the vocals slightly more forward; in terms of low frequencies, it's still the familiar Beats, with good depth and quantity, and various drum beats and string instrument sounds are clearly distinguishable, with a rich and powerful bass effect.

Although as a mono speaker, the Beats Pill cannot provide a sense of space or direction, resulting in a relatively 'flat' overall listening experience. However, for a product in the thousand-yuan price range, I believe it has achieved a good level. It's important to note that there are not many portable Bluetooth speakers on the market that can support stereo effects in a single body, and the prices are relatively higher. Of course, like most other brands, Beats also offers a similar solution: providing stereo effects by combining two Beats Pills.

In fact, the related functionality has been supported on the previous Beats Pill+, and the operation method of the Beats Pill is similar. When two Beats Pills are powered on and one of them is connected, press and hold the central button of both devices. The devices will flash a blue breathing light to indicate the start of the search, and after the devices are paired, they will enter the amplification mode.

The amplification mode essentially allows two Beats Pills to output audio in the same mono channel. From the actual experience, I believe that the vocal listening experience in this mode will be more forward, and the overall sound will have much more three-dimensionality, provided that the placement of the two devices is closer, such as on both sides of the work desk; if the two devices are placed further apart, the overall sound will return to a relatively flat feeling.Stereo mode is activated by holding down the middle button + volume up button on one of the speakers while in the amplified mode. At this point, both speakers will play in left and right channel mode, with the pressed device acting as the left channel speaker. Needless to say, in stereo mode, the sound gains a sense of direction, providing a more immersive experience. It is ideal for placing on either side of your desk when working individually. If you have two Beats Pill speakers, this is perfect.

Let's go back to the amplified mode, which is also great for achieving a multi-room audio effect similar to AirPlay when you have two Beats Pill speakers. For instance, it allows you to keep the music playing as you move between the kitchen and dining room, or lets family members or friends in different rooms listen to the same song simultaneously.

Lastly, let's talk about the unique features of the Beats Pill. As a brand under Apple, it's no surprise that it supports one-touch pairing with Apple devices, iCloud syncing, and the FindMy feature. iCloud syncing means that Apple users can switch the audio source to the Beats Pill on all their Apple devices in the most familiar way, although the lack of an Apple chip means it doesn't support automatic switching. The Beats Pill also supports waking up Siri to give various commands, but since it's a standard speaker that only supports Bluetooth 5.3 protocol, we can't directly say "Siri" to wake up the voice assistant and give commands as we would with HomePod. The implementation of this feature might be a bit different from what you expect.

When the Beats Pill is connected to an Apple device, such as an iPhone, you need to press the power button twice to wake up Siri. After testing, it was found that when Siri is awakened through the Beats Pill, the receiving device for the command is the speaker itself. So even if the iPhone is not at hand, the command can be successfully triggered and executed. When you say the voice command "Siri," the iPhone at hand can also receive the command and execute it normally, even if the speaker is not nearby. What I found a bit strange is the third scenario: when you long-press the power button on the iPhone to bring up Siri, the receiving device is not the iPhone but the Beats Pill. If the speaker is not at hand, Siri will not be able to correctly receive and execute the command.

Just like previous Beats products, the Beats Pill also offers a very complete experience optimization for Android users. One-touch pairing, device syncing, audio switching, and location finding features can be easily achieved under the same Google account through the Beats app, including waking up Google Assistant.

Lastly, there is a regret about this new Beats Pill. It's surprising that ten years after Apple acquired Beats, they would release a speaker model that only supports Bluetooth protocol and does not support AirPlay. You should know that as early as the WWDC17 global developers conference, when Apple announced the launch of the new AirPlay 2, Beats was listed as one of the dozen brands that would support the protocol, prominently featured in the Keynote presentation.

Craig announced at the WWDC17 conference the brands that would support AirPlay 2.Not supporting AirPlay means that family members cannot directly operate this speaker, nor can they enjoy convenient and practical features such as multi-room audio. For instance, you cannot play the same song simultaneously on your HomePod and Beats Pill, even though Apple users have been able to operate it quite conveniently due to the brand relationship. However, in today's market where most mainstream brands have released multiple speaker devices supporting AirPlay 2 and Wi-Fi protocols, and there are no shortage of products at the same price point, it is indeed a bit unfortunate that Beats has not fulfilled the promise made seven years ago.

In summary, these are my experiences with the new Beats Pill. This speaker is priced at 1299 yuan, offering more features and being slightly cheaper than its predecessor. The Beats Pill also has decent sound quality that matches its price, with excellent design and everyday functionality, and boasts all-day battery life. In the portable audio device market, it is indeed a strong competitor. However, it is also important to note that, as a speaker product within the Apple ecosystem, the lack of AirPlay and Wi-Fi protocols is a significant drawback, which somewhat reduces its potential market advantages.

Of course, after nearly a decade of absence, the return of Beats Pill to the speaker device market is undoubtedly good news for audio enthusiasts and Apple users alike. The readjustment of this product series also raises expectations, and perhaps in the future, we might see a more feature-rich Beats Pill+ or even a Beats Pro.