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Beats Pill Review: A Compact Speaker That’s Big on Sound

DA Gadgets
October 11, 2024

Beats
by
Dr.
Dre
has
always
been
about
going
big
on
sound
quality
with
plenty
of
styles.
While
its
focus
has
always
primarily
been
on
its
headphones
and
(more
recently,
TWS
earphones),
Beats
has
also
launched
some
interesting
portable
speakers
in
the
past
(albeit
very
few
in
number).
However,
this
past
did
not
include
India,
which
only
recently
got
access
to
Beats’
audio
products.
With
an

official
India
launch
now
done,
I
got
to
try
out
the
brand’s
recently
launched
Pill
portable
speaker
and
it
surely
makes
a
lasting
impression.

Beats
Pill
Review
Design:
Looks
great,
works
great

The
Pill-shaped
speaker
has
a
refined
capsule-shaped
design
compared
to
previous
models
from
the
line-up.
The

Beats
Pill
has
its
tweeter
and
woofer
laid
out
side
by
side
and
is
angled
with
a
20-degree
upward
tilt
so
that
the
music
is
always
facing
the
listener
and
not
bouncing
off
objects
in
front
of
it,
especially
when
placed
on
something
as
low
as
a
coffee
table.


The
Beats
Pill
speaker
has
a
premium
feeling
rubberised
texture
with
a
contoured
metal
grill
protecting
its
tweeter
and
woofer
underneath

The
soft
rubber
coating
is
quite
grippy
and
gives
it
a
sense
of
durability.
The
speaker
grille
with
the
Beats
logo
in
the
middle
is
well-rounded.
I’m
glad
that
the
bottom
is
flattened
out
a
bit.
Thanks
to
this,
the
speaker
remains
in
place,
given
the
deep
bass
it
can
deliver.
I
also
like
the
dimples
for
control
buttons,
which
I
did
initially
find
a
bit
difficult
to
locate
at
first
but
I
got
used
to
them
after
a
week.
I
really
wished
that
these
buttons
had
a
backlight,
as
they
can
be
hard
to
find
in
dimly
lit
setups,
especially
when
you
have
the
Matt
Black
finish.


The
base
of
this
pill-shaped
speaker
is
flat.
Also
visible
here
is
the
USB-C
port
used
for
charging
and
lossless
audio

Its
pill-shaped
design
is
as
broad
as
an
Apple
iPhone
16
Pro,
which
isn’t
too
broad.
This,
along
with
its
rounded
design,
makes
it
very
easy
to
slide
into
a
backpack.
Apart
from
the
loop
for
the
lanyard,
there’s
only
one
cavity,
and
that’s
for
its
USB-C
port,
which
remains
well
hidden
and
out
of
sight
at
the
back.


Its
removable
lanyard
is
easy
to
attach
or
detach

There’s
a
removable
lanyard
that’s
easy
to
attach
and
detach
and
kind
of
makes
up
for
the
speaker’s
permanently
horizontal
orientation.
In
case
you
don’t
happen
to
have
a
place
to
lay
it
down
somewhere,
you
can
always
hang
it
off
a
hook
or
even
a
tree
branch.
The
IP67-rated
design
means
it
can
easily
withstand
heavy
rain
and
even
submersion
in
water
(for
about
15
minutes)
or
sand,
so
don’t
be
afraid
to
take
it
poolside
or
to
the
beach.

Weighing
over
half
a
kilo,
this
portable
speaker
sure
is
heavy.
It’s
not
a
problem,
though,
unless
you
plan
to
hang
one
from
your
backpack
while
hiking.

Beats
Pill
Review
Specifications
and
Software:
Feature-packed

The
Beats
Pill
has
four
buttons.
The
power
button
is
also
used
to
put
the
device
in
pairing
mode
(short
press
for
checking
battery
life),
while
the
universal
control
button,
apart
from
being
used
to
answer,
end
or
even
mute
and
unmute
calls,
also
doubles
up
as
playback
controls.
But
since
there’s
just
one
button,
it
can
get
quite
complex
and
fidgety
as
it
involves
remembering
multiple
press
patterns.
A
built-in
mic
can
also
be
used
as
a
solid
conference
speaker
in
case
you
need
to
attend
a
work
call
on
vacation
or
in
an
office.


Its
four
buttons
have
a
lot
of
overlapping
functions,
which
can
get
annoying
at
times

Beats
has
also
included
a
proprietary
chip
(no,
it’s
not
an
H-series
chip
from
Apple)
that
lets
it
seamlessly
communicate
with
both
iOS
and
Android-powered
devices.
It’s
nice
to
have
this
over
the
previous
(Apple-first
approach)
as
it
can
now
support
both
Find
My
(Google)
or
Find
My
Device
(Apple)
and
even
throws
up
the
Fast
Pair
pop-up
window
on
both
Android
and
iOS
devices.


The
Beats
companion
app
available
on
iOS
and
Android
(shown
above)
devices
does
not
offer
an
equaliser

There’s
also
a
companion
app
called
Beats,
which
is
available
on
Android
and
iOS
devices
and
basically
tells
you
the
battery
status.
It
also
lets
you
rename
the
speaker,
customise
the
functions
of
the
control
buttons
and,
more
importantly,
update
your
device’s
firmware
when
needed.

Beats
Pill
Review
Performance:
Two’s
company

The
volume
level
from
the
Beats
Pill
speaker
is
more
than
sufficient
to
deliver
rich
room-filling
sound
for
a
large
hall
room
or
even
when
outdoors
in
the
open
in
a
pool
area.
The
speaker
does
get
hot
when
the
volume
level
is
maxed
out,
but
I
faced
no
issues
even
when
using
it
this
way
for
a
few
hours.

If
you
still
feel
that
one
speaker
isn’t
sufficient
for
your
outdoor
needs,
Beats
lets
you
connect
two
of
them
together
to
deliver
more
power
in
Amplify
mode
or
better
separation
(and
a
much
wider
soundstage)
in
Stereo
mode.
I
experienced
this
stereo
mode
at
the
India
launch
and
I
must
say
it
is
very
impressive,
given
that
two
speakers
work
with
near-perfect
precision
wirelessly
thanks
to
the
custom
chip.
However,
stereo
mode
only
supports
two
Pill
speakers
at
the
moment,
and
they
need
to
be
in
the
same
room
(not
too
far
apart).


Its
tweeter
and
woofer
are
laid
out
side
by
side
and
are
angled
with
a
20-degree
upward
tilt

Coming
to
the
sound,
I
loved
separating
the
lows,
mids
and
highs,
even
at
max
volume.
I
listened
to
Flaer
Smin’s
Wish
You
Were
Here
(which
is
known
for
its
mids
and
highs)
at
max
volume
and
I
noticed
that
the
mids
do
get
suppressed
by
the
bass,
while
the
highs
sounded
a
bit
distorted.
Curawaka’s
Noku
Mana
also
sounded
great
despite
the
slightly
bass-heavy
approach
because
this
speaker
delivers
bass
that
is
clear
and
well-defined,
not
muddy
or
boomy.
Listening
to
the
same
track
at
50
percent
volume,
I
realised
how
the
bass
overpowers
mainly
at
high
volume.
At
50
percent
volume,
the
vocals,
along
with
the
mids
and
highs,
sounded
quite
pronounced,
keeping
things
balanced.

What
I
missed
is
some
kind
of
preset
EQ
mode,
which,
at
the
press
of
a
button
(we
need
more
of
those
here),
could
either
cut
down
the
bass
or
boost
it
whenever
needed
or
depending
on
the
occasion.
Regardless,
the
current
sound
signature
will
still
appeal
to
the
masses
quite
well.
The
speaker
can
also
deliver
lossless
sound
when
connected
in
wired
mode,
but
I
did
not
notice
any
noticeable
change
in
sound
quality
upon
doing
so.


Battery
life
is
quite
solid
for
a
portable
Bluetooth
speaker,
especially
given
its
compact
dimensions

Battery
life
with
the
Beats
Pill
speaker
is
quite
solid.
I
took
it
for
a
weekend
trip,
blasted
tunes
at
maximum
volume
for
about
4-6
hours
a
day,
and
still
had
a
35
percent
charge
left.
With
regular
use
at
50
percent
volume
(which
is
quite
sufficient
for
indoor
use),
Beats
claims
that
this
speaker
will
last
24
hours
of
continuous
playback
time.
The
company
also
claims
that
Beats’
Fast
Fuel
charging
tech
provides
2
hours
of
usage
with
a
10-minute
charge.

Beats
Pill
Review:
Verdict

If
you
are
looking
for
something
better
than
the
typical
muddy
bass-heavy
sound
that
is
easily
available
at
around
Rs
7,000,
then
there
are
a
wide
variety
of
quality
speakers
from
Bose,
Ultimate
Ears
and
JBL
to
choose
from
(at
around
Rs.
10,000-12,000)
before
you
can
even
consider
the
new
Beats
Pill
at
Rs.
16,900.

The
advantage
the
Beats
Pill
has
over
other
speakers
is
that
it
works
well
and
seamlessly
connects
with
both
Android
and
iOS
smartphones.
It
is
one
of
the
more
premium-looking
speakers
available
at
this
price
point,
and
its
capsule-shaped
design
makes
it
easy
to
slide
into
a
tote
or
backpack.
It
offers
excellent
battery
life,
and
pairing
two
of
them
in
stereo
mode
lets
you
enjoy
them
even
better.

The
Beats
Pill
has
clearly
not
been
designed
to
impress
audiophiles
but
to
deliver
rich,
enjoyable
bass
(for
a
compact
speaker),
keeping
things
exciting
for
the
regular
listener
who
enjoys
all
types
of
music
genres.
Music
on
it
is
best
enjoyed
at
around
50-70
percent
volume,
and
this
means
it’s
perfect
for
enjoying
music
next
to
you
at
a
pool
but
not
at
a
pool
party.

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