When the Beats Pill (2024) was announced earlier this year we got thrilled to experience the comeback of the iconic bluetooth speaker. The iconic pill shaped speaker this year is promised to be significantly improved with the following claims
- 24 Hours Battery Life
- IP67 Dust and Water Resistance Rating
- Powerful, Room Filling Sound
- iOS and Android Easy Pairing compatible
Last Thursday we saw the new Beats Pill available at Digital Walker Manila Bay but the iconic red color was sold out, trying other stores it seems that Digits Trading (Owners of Digital Walker, Beyond The Box, and Open_Source) are first to market this device into physical stores nationwide.
We opted to check other branches in another time since the iconic red color was our target, though the gold and black color is available but we just prefer the red to match my personality. Fortunately our visit at the One Ayala Branch led to this purchase.
Immediately we availed the speaker with a price tag of Php8,990 with an installment option for 6 months vis Metrobank Credit Card. But checking online you can get this with bigger discounts of around Php7,800 via one time payment through the online store of Beyond The Box or Digital Walker especially this coming 9.9 sale.
Pairing the Beats Pill 2024
Pairing was very easy through the iOS and Android easy pair system which a pop-up window will show up to the nearest device to pair. In this case once you open the pill, the iconic startup sound was heard and you will be able to see the pop-up notification to pair the device easily.
Though checking the apps for this device there isn’t unlike the first Beats Pill for iOS, so tuning the equalizer for your audio preference isn’t possible. In Android OS however you can download the beats pill but equalizer settings is also not present.
Build and Materials
The Beats Pill is more round this time with a 2/3 Body covered in silicone wrap and the remaining front 1/3 is a mesh metal grill that covers the speakers itself. On the top are the power, pause/play, volume up, and volume down button recessed along with the silicone wrap. Lastly a rope lanyard is securing the device to easily hold in the matching color you purchased the device.
The device comes with its own recycled plastic packaging, instructions and type-c to type-c cable. Overall the package is straightforward and doesn’t have any accessories like a stand or anything.
If there is one worry we have is the silicone body as in our experience this tends to molecularly separate and produce a sticky body as the rubber tries to go back to its original material prior to the chemical bonding. Hopefully this is one of the better ones which can last longer compared to the old rubbery body of laptops.
Update – Faceplate is not durable
The mesh metal grill is unfortunately weak in construction, during the chaos in doing contingency plans for the #EntengPH resulted to some oops moment which the beats pill dinged the door knob while walking which resulted the paint to be chipped easily.
We expected the wire mesh to be more durable and tolerable in beating due to its encouraged IP67 dust and water rating to be more free and worry less marketing words. But the worst even came after…
Admittedly I placed the Beats Pill 2024 into a slippery surface with full volume, this resulted the speaker to bounce and vibrate until it fell off a table around 4ft high. A big dent is prominent immediately in the metal mesh in front that is an eye sore, especially for something worth 9k. Now don’t get us wrong, even our SONOS Roam 2 got a drop already but that was designed that the corners were to hit first unlike being shaped like a pill that its either the metal mesh plate or the silicone body will hit.
In this case, this is by far my worst damage I saw within the collection of speakers I have. Definitely that the beats pill may be IP67 rated but be aware of the repercussions of getting it dinged in outdoor scenarios unlike other speakers like the JBL Flip or Charge that is covered in rubber housing.
Audio First Impressions
The Beats Pill is very straightforward, just pair and play with no fancy setting to handle. One thing you need to remember that this is a portable speaker that can be easily carried with your hand but not a 360 degree firing speaker, thus you need to place this on a stable platform to avoid misfiring of audio in your area.
The beats pill is definitely a portable bluetooth speaker that can compete with today’s portable speaker lineup to the likes of JBL Flip, Sonos Roam and Huawei SoundJoy which favors more on soundstage through clear trebles and adequate airy bass. Since this unit doesn’t have a dedicated bass chamber and relies on the air volume of its drivers you will be more relying on volume to get that satisfaction of audio, but if you are a bass lover like me then this might be a miss for you.
The bass production of this unit is heavily reliant of the air chambers pounding air into the drivers, so when songs like Raining In Manila by Lola Amour gets to its electric bass and drums solo part, you will find the mentioned instruments drowned by the melody of the overall song. In addition the flanger moments of Lighter by Galantis is not that enjoyable in our preference since songs at that caliber requires a strong range of bass especially for the drops.
Don’t get us wrong, the soundstage of the Beats Pill 2024 is still strong that it beats cheap speakers around 5k and below cause of its strong drivers that doesn’t distort most of OPM related materials. Playing songs like Tingin by Cup of Joe, Cherry on Top by Bini, and Houdini by Dua Lipa produces strong volume that tends you to favor more on vocals.
Here are 3 questions I think you will ask when you consider the Beats Pill
- Do you want a long battery life? – We got 6 hours of non-stop full volume playback since we are very sure the advertised 24 hours is just a weaker volume test. Since us Filipinos love our speakers in all blast then we think 6 hours is adequate.
- How many people will enjoy the Beats Pill – On a small room of around 12sqm, the room can be filled with adequate audio already as long as you guys play less “bass” intense songs. At the most around a small condo party of 4 will be able to enjoy properly, just don’t let one person lift the device and juggle it around since the audio firing can make someone disoriented.
- Did we like it? – Owning several speakers in different sizes, form and brand this is definitely an eye catcher and won’t dissapoint your precious 8,990. Compare this versus the Sonos Roam 2 this have a stronger soundstage, louder volume and can be overall be a fit for vocal rich pop songs (Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Cup of Joe) versus EDM bass intense music like (Honey Boy – Nile Rodgers & Shenseea, Lighter by Galantis)
Pros
- Portable, grips easily and very iconic in design
- Strong volume and soundstage, ideal for vocals
- Easy pairing for both iOS and Android
Cons
- Pricing of 8,990 is a bit steep for accessibility but understandable
- Bass range is a bit short for intense genre of music
- Weak metal body construction, if your intent is for outdoor use or you might be a bit clumsy like me then this is not the right speaker for you.
For the price of Php8,990 the Beats Pill is a bit steep versus other competitors in stores like Power Mac Center, Digital Walker and etc. But if you consider the brand, stronger soundstage, defined volume for a small group plus 3 months of free Apple Music then we think its worth the price premium, plus the iconic beats pill red is undeniably unique if you consider design as well into the equation of value.
As long as you can take care of the whole body appearance without getting it dinged like us, then this is a good speaker. We just wished that Beats cared more for using better metal materials.
Disclaimer – We personally bought this unit at Digital Walker One Ayala last August 31, 2024 and the store nor the brand (Beats) has any editorial rights to this review.
