TechAudioHeadphonesEarbudsBeats Studio Buds Plus review: packs a punchThe tiny Beats Studio Buds Plus have superb sound quality, fit amazingly and offer longer battery life than their predecessorWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)T3 VerdictThe Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairingReasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisableWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechAudioHeadphonesEarbudsBeats Studio Buds Plus review: packs a punchThe tiny Beats Studio Buds Plus have superb sound quality, fit amazingly and offer longer battery life than their predecessorWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)T3 VerdictThe Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairingReasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisableWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The tiny Beats Studio Buds Plus have superb sound quality, fit amazingly and offer longer battery life than their predecessor
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)T3 VerdictThe Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairingReasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisable
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
T3 VerdictThe Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairingReasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisable
T3 VerdictThe Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.
T3 Verdict
The Beats Studio Buds Plus are amazingly versatile wireless earbuds with beautifully rounded sound, elevated ANC performance, added Transparency mode, a new chip/acoustic platform, longer battery life and a premium build. Beats improved all areas that needed tweaking and left the rest unchanged. A brilliant piece of engineering overall.
Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairingReasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisable
Reasons to buy+Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds+Strong yet overpowering ANC+Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear+Longer battery life+Multi-point pairing
Impressive sound performance from such small earbuds
Strong yet overpowering ANC
Improved fit allows for better ventilation in the ear
Longer battery life
Multi-point pairing
Reasons to avoid-ANC isn’t customisable
ANC isn’t customisable
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Beats Studio Buds + deals
$169.95View$331.96$169.95View$169.99View
$169.95View
$169.95View
$169.95View
$169.95
$169.95
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95
$169.95
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99
$169.99
Show More Deals
Show More Deals
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: compact premium wireless earbuds with improved sound, longer battery life, enhanced ANC and Transparency modes and more. They are also pretty good value for money.
Being a massive fan of theBeats Fit Pro(and a regular fan of theBeats Powerbeats Pro), I looked forward to testing the Beats Studio Buds Plus, especially after we were briefed about the headphones. On paper, it looked like the Beats Studio Buds Plus could take on thebest wireless earbudsthese days, theSony WF-1000XM4. Always the sceptical, I didn’t jump to conclusions too soon and tried to manage my expectations as best as possible.
Now that I used the Beats Studio Plus for a while, I can confirm the earbuds exceeded my expectations. They deliver amazing sound throughout the spectrum, offer longer battery life, better fit, improved active noise cancelling performance and more. You also get multi-pairing and upgraded microphones, all in the same compact housing we all know and love. Should you upgrade? Read my full Beats Studio Bud Plus review below to find out.
[First reviewed May 2023]
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: price and availability
The Beats Studio Buds Plus were launched on 17 May 2023 and are available to pre-order now fromBeats US,Beats UKandBeats AUfor a recommended retail price of $169.99/ £179.99/ AU$ 269.95, with shipping starting from 13 June 2023. There is a $20/ £20/ AU$ 40 price increase compared to the Beats Studio Buds, although those were released two years ago, and prices have increased in general, so it’s not surprising.
There are three colourways: Black / Gold, Ivory and Transparent, the latter of which aligns with the latest trend in consumer electronics (see also:Nothing Ear (2) review). To be fair, covers on electronics that show the internal electronics of products were a thing a couple of decades ago; I guess it was time for this trend to return.
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: specs
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: what’s new
The Beats Studio Buds Plus are built on the Beats Proprietary Platform (gen 2) chips, an updated version of the one producing sound on the Beats Studio Buds. Although the acoustic profile has been refined, the main acoustic benefits come from the proprietary transducer with brand-new acoustic venting and boost ANC and Transparency modes.
The microphone system has been redesigned, too, to tweak noise suppression and voice targeting for more intelligible speech and to better ANC and Transparency modes. The Beats Studio Buds Plus are said to have 1.6x more effective Active Noise Cancellation and 2x better Transparency through the updated, more powerful microphones.
Finally, the Beats Studio Buds Plus significantly enhanced battery life without impacting product design (same weight), size (same size), or ergonomics. The battery capacity in both the earbuds and the case is now 50% better. As always, the Beats Studio Buds Plus deliver native ecosystem benefits for bothAppleandAndroidcustomers (i.e. system agnostic).
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: performance
The acoustic performance of the Beats Studio Buds Plus blew me away. They are the most affordable Beats products (barBeats Flex), yet they provide crystal clear sound reproduction across the spectrum.
Active noise cancellation has been significantly improved thanks to the new mics and the tweaked algorithm. ANC doesn’t just surround you; it envelopes you. I had the pleasure (…) of putting the ANC to the test on a jam-packed train from Bath Spa to Southampton Central, which takes around an hour.
At some point, I removed the Studio Buds Plus from my ear because I thought the music was coming from my phone. No, it felt like it was coming from behind me – like when you sit around a pair of premium speakers in a quiet living room. My brain couldn’t process that such small earbuds could provide such full-bodied sound.
The ANC on the Beats Studio Buds Plus is adaptive to fit, unlike the Beats Fit Pro’s fully adaptive approach (although that’s built on the Apple Silicone platform, not Beats' proprietary Gen 2 chip). Yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find anything I could criticise about ANC performance on the Studio Buds Plus.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
The acoustic profile of the Beats Studio Buds Plus is pleasing to the ears. No matter what type of music or audio I threw at them, the buds coped with it well. Better than well, actually. I detected no fall-off in quality anywhere in the spectrum; lows are just the right amount of punchy, with a lively midrange and ample treble.
But it’s not the individual components of the sound that impresses me; it’s the overall acoustic of the Beats Studio Buds Plus. All tones come in at the right height and volume, giving you the impression the band is in the same room as you. I often lifted my head to see if anyone else heard the trumpets flaring while listening to Stan Getz’s Corcovado. Surely, they must have!
Another aspect of the Studio Buds Plus I was thoroughly impressed with is volume. They monitor sound in the ears, letting you know if you’re listening to music too loud; however, even at lower settings, the sound is clear and audible, especially with ANC on. Even during that dreaded train journey mentioned above, I didn’t have to raise the volume above 20 per cent (25 per cent, tops) of the total volume of the phone.
The fit is also brilliant. The Beats Studio Buds Plus might lack the wings of the Beats Fit Pro, but they slot in your ears perfectly. I often struggle with my left ear, as it refuses to take any sized ear gels, but I didn’t even have to change them on the Beats Studio Buds Plus – they fit perfectly straight out of the box.
I conducted a few calls using Beats Studio Buds Plus. The earbuds let in some ambient sound when used for calls – probably for safety reasons – but this doesn’t mean others on the call can hear these noises. In fact, the person I talked to said I sounded like I sat in a quiet meeting room, despite being in the middle of the afternoon traffic in Bournemouth, with buses zooming past me every two seconds.
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: verdict
There is very little – if anything – not to like about the Beats Studio Buds Plus. The earbuds might look almost identical to their predecessor, but the sound performance is elevated, thanks to the improvements in active noise cancellation, microphone and algorithm tweaks, and the updated chip.
The Beats Studio Buds Plus represent excellent value for money. Sure, they aren’t cheap, but considering how amazing they sound, the premium built, the additional features and the operating system agnostic nature of the buds, they are worth every penny.
If I can offer any criticism – and brace yourself, I’ll be splitting hairs here – I’d say it’s not the easiest to lift the Studio Buds Plus out of the case, as the smooth surface is hard to grab and that some people might like to adjust the level ANC. However, I appreciate that Apple/Beats prefers to make decisions for their users (seemingly, most people are okay with this approach).
I loved using the Beats Studio Buds Plus and will keep using them in the future. For everyday music listening, there isn’t another pair of wireless earbuds I’d recommend more in this price range. Highly recommended!
Beats Studio Buds Plus review: also consider
It’s hard not to mention theAirPodsPro 2 in this Beats Studio Buds Plus review – after all, they are thebest noise-cancelling headphonesfor iPhone users. Apple learned from the mistakes of the past and improved their top-performing true wireless earbuds to not only match the competition but, on occasion, surpass it. The AirPods Pro 2 has excellent noise cancellation capabilities, sounds brilliant and fits well, all without a price increase. Read my fullApple AirPods Pro 2 review.
If you’re an Android user, consider theSamsung GalaxyBuds 2. For anyone who has already bought into theSamsungGalaxy ecosystem, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 are a fantastic choice and a significant improvement on the first generation. You get good sound, and the noise-cancelling does a tremendous job of cutting out distracting noise. The battery is less impressive, but it’ll still be enough for most people day-to-day. Read Yasmine’s fullSamsung Galaxy Buds 2 review.
Finally, it’d be a shame not to mention the original Studio Buds here. They come with most of the functionality of the AirPods Pro but also offer easy pairing and Find My support on Android. Their flaws are minor overall, and they are cheaper than their successor. Read James' fullBeats Studio Buds review.
Beats Studio Buds +: Price Comparison
$169.95View$331.96$169.95View$169.99View$169.99View
$169.95View
$169.95View
$169.95View
$169.95
$169.95
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95View
$331.96$169.95
$169.95
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99
$169.99
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99View
$169.99
$169.99
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
This case turns your iPhone or Android phone into an e-reader, but there’s a catchActually, there are a couple…
Actually, there are a couple…
Traeger’s new Woodridge pellet barbecues have got me excited for grilling seasonTraeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
Traeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
How to watch the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and what to expectWe should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
We should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
