Over the last few months, I’ve been listening to my music with the latest pair of headphones by Beats. Who of course, is now owned by Apple. To be specific, Beats’s new Studio3 Wireless Headphones which, are their high-end range.
They include some decent features. They’re wireless, have Pure Adaptive Noise cancellation (ANC), long battery life, soft earcups, and so on. In a design which can fold up to make travelling with these easy.
End of the day, these are the things you should expect in these type of headphones. But inside is the Apple W1 chip, a chip you only find in one other product – AirPods. Why I enjoy these headphones is as a result of what this chip enables. And I want to share why.
Ease Of Use
I opened up the box as I sat on a train in Sydney. As soon as I powered them on I remember (and to my complete surprise), my iPhone displayed a message. It was asking me if I wanted to connect the headphones as it knew they were near by.
This may not seem like a big deal, but what its done is paired them up with every Apple device I own (that’s connected to my iCloud account). Already, my MacBook Pro, iPad, and even Apple Watch learnt about my Studio3 headphones. I didn’t need to pair them individually, worry about Bluetooth setups or anything.
Active Noise Cancellation
Still on the train, I placed the headphones on, played a song, and was immediately surprised. Not at what I could hear, rather, couldn’t hear. The sound of people and the train around me was simply no longer there. This is because of the noise cancellation feature of the headphones.
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) which, you can choose to turn off, works extremely well. For me, maybe a little too well – at least initially. Pausing a song had me sitting in complete total silence. It threw me off a little, but I have got used to it.
Blocking external noise achieves the obvious – listening to music with no other distractions. I don’t consider myself to be an “audiophile”, however, I find the sound quality to be clear, and enjoyable. I also find the bass to pack in quite a bunch. Having said that, despite the “studio” name, these are for sure aimed at consumers.
No Interruptions
When I’m home, I tend to walk around. Many other headphones and other wireless products would start to struggle with the wireless connection. Particularly when I go into other rooms and a wall is suddenly separating myself, and my device playing the music.
This isn’t something I experience so much with the Studio3’s. I have found I can walk much further than normal, even into a room or two, and the music will still be playing.
Battery Life
“Insane” is how I’m going to describe battery life. After months of wearing them, I realised I generally don’t even worry about the battery.
Again, the W1 chip means these last well over 20 hours with ANC, a technology that usually quickly drains the battery. Turn it off and you can expect 40+ hours.
Charging time is just as insane. Plugging these in for just 10 minutes equals 3 hours of playback. I just wished they charged via the Lightning cable I use for my iPhone/iPad. The decision to use Micro-USB was likely chosen because these are not just limited to Apple’s devices. They will work with any Bluetooth enabled product.
Summary
The easy setup, active noise cancellation, and battery life are all driven by one thing – Apple’s W1 chip. A chip that is custom designed by Apple and you won’t find anywhere else but AirPods. You can learn more about Beats Studio3 Headphones or purchase one from Apple’s online store. They are priced at A$449.95 in Australia.
