Beats Studio3 vs. Solo3: Differences Between these Wireless Headphones

Apple's Beats headphones are a popular, increasingly solid choice for folks looking for good sound and good looks in their music-listening hardware. While less fashion-forward headphones may provide better overall sound, Beats continues to close the gap on that consideration. If you've been eyeballing a pair of wireless Beats headphones but aren't sure which to choose, you've come to the right place. Here's how the Beats Studio3 and Beats Solo3 headphones compare!

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Colors

Yes, I'm starting with the fashion. Both the Beats Studio3 and Solo3 headphones come in a wide range of colors. Here's how they break down:

• Beats Studio3
  • Shadow Gray
  • Matte Black
  • Blue
  • Porcelain Rose
  • White
  • Red
• Beats Solo3
  • Matte Black
  • Matte Silver
  • Gloss White
  • Gold
  • Red
  • Matte Gold
  • Gloss Black
  • Rose Gold
  • Silver

W1 Chip

Both the Studio3 and Solo3 headphones include Apple's W1 chip. This wireless chip is the same one that's found in Apple's AirPods — it improves upon the battery life, connection, and pairing process.

Because of the W1 chip, you can expect quite a bit of battery life out of both these headphones. Both can provide up to 40 hours of playback* thanks to the low-power W1 chip. And, just like AirPods, pairing is a simple process wherein you bring your headphones close to your Apple device, tap to pair, and, well, there's no step three. Once you've paired, you'll also be able to switch audio listening between all your iCloud-registered devices.

Both headphones also offer a feature called Fast Fuel that gives you a sizable amount of playback after a short charge:

• Beats Studio3: 10 minutes of charging gives you three hours of playback.
• Beats Solo3: Five minutes of charging gives you three hours of playback.

*With active noise cancelation enabled, you can expect up to 22 hours of battery life while using the Beats Studio3 headphones.

You can read more about Apple's W1 chip here:

Why your next pair of headphones should include Apple's W1 chip

Active Noise Cancelation

Here's where the headphones differ. The Studio3 headphones tout active noise cancelation technology, while the Solo3 headphones do not. Apple's "Pure ANC" technology takes into account a number of conditions to provide active noise cancelation:

This means you're going to get a more true-to-sound listening experience regardless of your environment. It also means you're going to have less battery life than you will with the Solo3 headphones. With Pure ANC enabled, you'll get up to 22 hours of battery life.

Price

As you might imagine, active noise cancelation is going to make the Beats Studio3 wireless headphones a bit more pricey than their non-noise canceling counterpart. Here's the pricing breakdown:

• Beats Studio3 Wireless: $350
• Beats Solo3 Wireless: $300

Questions?

Thinking about buying a pair of Beats headphones? Do you have any questions that weren't answered in the piece? Leave a comment or send me a Tweet!