The new W1 chip has created a miracle, but the Beats Solo3 Wireless is not a good buy. That is, these will be sold anyway. So at least they provide some practical benefits, such as battery life and range.
Be it good or bad, Beats is probably the best-known audio brand. They have not released anything new yet, and now the iPhone 7 is out, we know why. The new Beats product is equipped with Apple’s new W1 chip. If you have an iOS device, the chip should improve the Bluetooth experience. That’s right? What about the classic sound signature Beats, yet? There are many questions to answer. Let’s take a deeper look at them with the new Solo3 Wireless.
What’s inside
Open the box and you will get the classic “Change the way you listen to the sound”. Take it out and you’ll get a small soft shell case where you’ll find the headphones. You’ll also get a 3.5mm audio cable with a built-in microphone and remote control, a micro USB charging cable, a small carabiner clip and, of course, a small case with instructions, a Beats label and warranty information.
Build and design
The Solo 3 Wireless is almost identical to the Solo 2 headset. If you’ve seen that before, you will not be surprised at all. Let’s take a look at the bright black here. Just a fair warning, it looks like they have something for fingerprint. But they also have many other colors to choose from. This is something that Beats has always been good at. These ears are still made of hard plastic and have very good leather earmuffs. I thought the pad was great because the headband fits my taste, but the plush ear cups definitely make up for it.
Now, these are not yet the most comfortable headphones I use. One thing I still do not like is the plastic lining on top of the headband. I discovered that I had a grip so strong that sometimes I pull my hair when I take off my headphones. In other words, every time you shake your head, they will not fly. So this is good and bad. Although these hearing aids maintain an average turn, I think they still feel very fragile. The included soft case is ideal for transport, but not for protection. If you want to think about it, I will definitely consider making a hard shell for these.
The headphones can be folded into very compact sizes, which is good news if you are a traveler. On the side of the left earmuff, you will find a unique function button with the Beats “b” logo. The bottom of the headset has a 3.5mm input so you can use the included audio cable for wiring. One thing that needs some habit is that there is also an identical “b” in the right earmuff. But it is not a button, I discovered that I accidentally pressed it several times without obvious results. What you will find in the right handset are the power and Bluetooth buttons and the micro USB input for charging.
Connection
This is where things change, and Beats Solo 3 begins to show its new features. Due to the new W1 chip that we mentioned, this part can be a bit longer than usual because there is a lot to discuss. If this is the future of Bluetooth, I am very excited. Syncing my iPhone 6s is impeccable. When I turn on the headset, the pairing card appears on my phone immediately. All I have to do is click on “Connect” and the headset instantly syncs with every device in my iCloud account, including my iPad and Macbook Pro.
I also found that paired headphones require the phone to be a few inches away. There are two iPhones in the pairing mode, and the “Connect” card appears on the phone closest to the Beats Solo 3. Think of it as being paired through NFC, but with a longer range, and you only need to pair one time to get extra benefits. The idea of all work is perfect.
Technically, my iPhone 6s does not even have a new W1 chip, so how does it work with Solo 3? Then the W1 chip is only half of the equation. The other half is in the software, Apple is pushing iOS10 updates. This means that we hope to see the software available for other devices in the future so you can connect to the headset in a very simple way. The most impossible thing is that I can dream. This has led me to have a negative impact on this process, if you are out of the iOS device, you have no luck.
Connecting to my Nexus 6 is an identical old process, which is not a big problem, but you missed the best features of the W1 chip. As for playback controls, if you use them wirelessly, you will get the same experience on Android or iOS. You can play / pause music or respo
