Beats Studio Buds + vs AirPods 3: Which wireless earbuds should you buy?

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  Table of Contents

  Beats Studio Buds +

  Beats Studio Buds+ are the latest generation wireless earbuds from the Apple-owned brand. The new earbuds feature 1.6x better ANC compared to first gen, up to 36 hours of battery life, IPX4 water resistance, bigger microphones for clear calling, a new custom chip that enables support for “Hey Siri,” and more. The earbuds come in three colors: Black-Gold, Ivory, and an all-new Transparent finish.

  Pros

  • Silicon eartips for comfortable fit
  • Active Noise Cancelation
  • Supports both Android and iPhone

  Cons

  • No wireless charging
  • No automatic pause and play

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  Apple AirPods 3

  AirPods 3 are the latest generation wireless earbuds from Apple. It supports Spatial Audio, Adaptive EQ, and it has force sensors that let you easily control the earbuds while listening to music, watching movies, or taking a call. The earbuds are sweat and water-resistant, and can last up to 6-hours on a single charge, or 30-hours provided by the MagSafe charging case.

  Pros

  • Adaptive EQ for better personalized sound
  • Automatic pause and play
  • MagSafe and Wireless charging support

  Cons

  • No silicon eartips
  • Lightning port, no USB-C connector

In 2021, Beats announced the first-gen Studio Budsoffering AirPods-like capabilities at a low price. The company has now launched an updated version of the original earbuds, known as Beats Studio Buds +, and they come with several new features such as “Hey Siri” support, iCloud sync, Spatial Audio, better ANC and voice calls, longer battery life, and much more. Moreover, priced at $169, the Beats Studio Buds + directly competes with Apple’s own AirPods 3. In this article, we will compare these two earbuds to help you decide which one you should buy.

• 	Beats Studio Buds +	Apple AirPods 3
  Brand	Beats	Apple
  Battery Life	Up to 36 hours	Up to 30 hours
  Noise Cancellation	Yes, ANC supported	Not supported
  Mono Listening	Yes	Yes
  Microphones	Dual-beam forming microphones	Dual beamforming microphone, inward facing microphone
  Connectivity	Supports both Android and Apple devices, Fast pairing	Compatible with Apple devices, Fast pairing support
  IP rating	Earbuds: IPX4	Earbuds: IPX4, Charging Case: IPX4
  Weight (earbuds)	5g	4.28g
  Material	Silicon eartips	Non-silicon half in-ear ear tip
  Charging	USB-C wired charging, no wireless charging support	Wired charging, MagSafe and Qi wireless charging support
  Color	Black-Gold, Ivory, Transparent	White
  Chip	Beats custom chip	Apple H1 chip
  Spatial Audio	Yes	Yes
  Special features	“Hey Siri” support, single multi-function button per side, Find My support for both Android and iPhone	“Hey Siri” support, Force sensors, Skin detect sensor, Find My support for iPhone
  Port	USB-C	Lightning Port

Price and availability

Both the Beats Studio Buds + and Apple AirPods 3 cost $169. However, considering that the AirPods 3 have been available for some time now, you can find them at a lower price online. We expect attractive discounts to be available for the Beats Studio Buds + in the near future as well, but currently, they are being sold at the MSRP of $169. You can purchase both earbuds from reliable retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, Adoramaand other similar stores.

Design

Starting off the Apple AirPods 3 vs. Beats Studio Buds + comparison guide with the design, you will notice that both earbuds actually offer very different designs. The Beats Studio Buds + follows the same design language as the first-gen earbuds, featuring a stem-less design where the earbuds sit almost flush within your ears (and also silicon ear tips).

On the other hand, the AirPods 3 offer a design that’s a mixture of AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro, with a long stem while still following the open-ear design. While some people prefer the design of the AirPods 3, many have complained about it constantly slipping out of the ears due to the open-ear design.

Conversely, the Beats Studio Buds + provide a secure fit, thanks to the silicon ear tips. The stem of the AirPods 3 features a force touch sensor that lets you control music playback and volume. On the other hand, the Beats Studio Buds + feature a physical button on the outer side, just like the first-gen product, that lets you control music playback as well as ANC modes.

Taking a look at the charging cases, the Beats Studio Buds + features an oval-shaped case that resembles the design of the first-generation product. In contrast, the AirPods 3 case adopts a similar style to the AirPods Pro to match its updated design. One notable difference here is that the Beats Studio Buds + case features a USB-C port, whereas the AirPods 3 charging case utilizes the proprietary Lightning port.

Colors

The Beats Studio Buds + come in three color options: Black-Gold, Ivory, and a transparent finish resembling the Nothing Ear (2). Even though Beats refers to this finish as “Transparent,” it is more accurately described as translucent and not as clear as the Ear (2)’s finish. Nevertheless, it allows you to take a look at the internal components of both the earbuds and the charging case. In contrast, the Apple AirPods 3 are solely available in a single white color option.

Compatibility

Like the original Beats Studio Buds, the newer model support both Android and iPhone. Moreover, the Beats Studio Buds + also features support for fast pairing on both the platforms. In contrast, AirPods 3 are only supported by iPhones and the whole of the Apple ecosystem.

Sound Quality and Features

When it comes to features, the Beats Studio Buds + and Apple AirPods 3rd Gen offer relatively similar capabilities. The AirPods 3 are equipped with Apple’s H1 chip, while the Beats Studio Buds + utilize their own custom chipset, enabling features akin to those of the AirPods.

Both earbuds offer iCloud sync feature with Apple devices, automatic device switching, fast pairing, “Hey Siri” functionality, Spatial Audio support, and integration with the Find My app. While the AirPods 3 come with the Precision Finding feature for newer iPhones, the Beats Studio Buds + offer Find My support on both Android and iPhone.

Coming to sound quality, while we haven’t tried the earbuds just yet, many reviews online suggest that Beats have fixed its audio issues with the Studio Buds +. The earbuds aren’t very bass heavy — a notion commonly associated with the Beats brand — and are reported to offer excellent sound quality. In fact, according to The Vergethe Studio Buds + “aren’t far off from the AirPods Pro in terms of sound signature,” which tells us that the earbuds have come a long way in terms of sound quality.

As for the sound quality of the Apple AirPods 3, we found them to be “pretty great.” In the AirPods 3rd Gen reviewour own Jaime Rivera said that Apple has greatly improved the sound, thanks to the combination of Adaptive EQ and a new low distortion driver. However, its open-ear design still gets in the way of being “truly excellent.”

Active Noise Cancelation

Due to its open-ear design, the AirPods 3rd Gen lacks support for Active Noise Cancelation. Beats Studio Buds +, on the other hand, offer even better noise cancelation capabilities compared to the previous generation. The company says the new earbuds offer 1.6x better noise cancelation compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, the transparency mode on the newer model is two times better than that of the first-gen product.

Beats says this has been possible thanks to larger microphones on the earbuds as well as an “intelligent voice-targeting” algorithm that effectively blocks surrounding noise much better compared to the first-gen. In turn, this also leads to much better call quality.

Battery

The AirPods 3rd gen offers a total of 30 hours of battery life, while the Beats Studio Buds + can last up to 36 hours on a single charge, considering the battery life of both the earbuds and the charging case. In terms of charging, the Beats Studio Buds + comes with a USB-C charging port with fast charge support. However, there is no support for wireless charging. In contrast, AirPods 3 offers wireless charging support, and they can be charged using both MagSafe chargers and other Qi-certified chargers.

Beats Studio Buds + or Apple AirPods 3: Which one should you buy?

On the whole, the Beats Studio Buds + offer a more complete package. It comes with several notable advantages like silicon ear tips for improved fit, Active Noise Cancelation, compatibility with both Android and iPhone platforms, USB-C charging, and on-par software features to the AirPods, making the Beats Studio Buds + clearly a better choice.

If, however, you’re invested in the Apple ecosystem and prefer earbuds with an open-ear design, the AirPods 3rd Gen are an excellent option. These earbuds deliver impressive sound quality and boast seamless software features that make the overall experience of using them with Apple devices a delight.