The Beats Studio Buds marked a new direction of the Apple-owned Beats – the ostentatious branding and a focus on the low end were lost, in favor of discreet styling and more refined sound. And now an improved version is on the way – the Beat Studio Buds Plus.
They were noticed by 9to5Mac (opens in new tab) who searched the code for the latest iOS update (iOS 16.4, launching in beta soon). The image shows a new black and gold colorway for the earbuds, with a design almost identical to the four-star Beats Studio Buds.
While they may look similar, they are said to have some powerful upgrades, such as more powerful noise reduction and an improved transparency mode. That’s according to The edge (opens in new tab)‘s sources, who dispute 9to5Mac‘s claim that the earbuds would include automatic device switching between Apple devices.
9to5Mac also originally claimed that the Studio Buds Plus would use an Apple chip (as used in the company’s AirPods line), unlike the Studio Buds which used a proprietary Beats chip. But the site has since returned to that. The edge‘s sources also disputed this claim.
The Studio Buds Plus should still support the Hey Siri voice command (as did their predecessors). But it seems they don’t support the full list of Apple-only features – you’ll need a pair of AirPods for that. But Beats pairs are better suited for Android users, with more features compatible with devices running Google’s mobile operating system.
Expect a Studio Buds Plus announcement soon, as support is already included in the next version of iOS. They are expected to cost a little more than the Studio Buds, which launched at £130 / $150 / AU$200.
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