Beats Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Buds (Transparent Red) Review

The Beats Solo Buds are a niche product with below-average performance. Their best score is a middling 56th percentile for battery. Skip them unless you absolutely must have the tiniest Beats and don't mind plugging them into your phone.

The Beats Solo Buds are a strange little product. They're the smallest and lightest earbuds Beats has ever made, and they're wired directly to your phone for power. That's right, no charging case. You plug the case itself into your phone to juice up the buds.

Our data shows they're squarely aimed at budget buyers, scoring a 29 out of 100 for value. They're built for on-the-go listening with a focus on that signature Beats bass, but they land in the bottom half of the pack for almost every metric we track.

Performance is a mixed bag, which the percentile scores make clear. Sound quality sits at the 47th percentile, meaning it's just below average. You get the boosted bass Beats is known for, but the overall sound profile isn't particularly detailed. The microphone is also below average at the 43rd percentile, so calls are just okay. Battery life is their relative bright spot at the 56th percentile, but that's for a total of 18 hours from the internal battery since there's no case to recharge.

At $70, it's hard to call this a good value. Our scoring system gave it a 20 out of 100 overall. You're paying a premium for the Beats brand and a unique form factor, but you're getting performance that often ranks in the 30s and 40s percentiles. There are simply better-sounding and more feature-packed buds at this price.

Stacked up against the competition, the Solo Buds struggle. The Anker Soundcore P31i offers real-time adaptive noise cancellation for likely less money. The Nothing Ear (a) provides a more balanced sound and better features in a similar price bracket. Even the JBL Tune Flex gives you actual noise cancelling. The Solo Buds' main differentiator is their tiny size and direct charging, but that comes at a real cost to performance and features.

Skip these if you care about sound quality or features. If you want good ANC, clear calls, or a balanced sound profile, look elsewhere because the Solo Buds are built for portability and bass, not performance.

Buy these only if you are utterly obsessed with having the smallest possible Beats earbuds and you love the gimmick of charging them from your phone. For everyone else, there are better options that sound better, have more features, and offer better value for your $70.