The cable-free design of Apple’s AirPods may have ergonomically symbolized the wireless revolution, but the real power is Apple’s new wireless communications processor, the W1 chip, which will revolutionize Bluetooth pairing and battery life. The W1 chip, which will revolutionize Bluetooth pairing and battery life, will undoubtedly make wireless headphones more practical. And the W1 chip plays a major role in making Beats Solo 3 an outstanding headphone. The Beats Solo 3’s battery life is, frankly, fantastic: the Solo 2 can be used for 12 hours before recharging, while a more expensive headset like the Bowers & Wilkins P7 can be used for 17 hours. thanks to the W1 chip, the Beats Solo 3 has a very impressive battery life of blows these out of the water with a very impressive 40 hours. Visually there is almost nothing to distinguish the Beats Solo3 from previous models. This makes perfect sense to us. The headphones are well designed, ready and sleek. Design is best kept simple, and Beats/Apple has done just that. As with the previous model, there is a wide range of color variations. With so many color variations, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find one that suits your style. We tested them in black, but rose gold and silver are nice as well. One subtle but telling difference in the latest Beats headphones is the color change, in most models, to the logo. On older models, the Beats logo was red and placed more prominently. Now the logo is color coordinated and more discreet. The headband is a simple plastic cover over a metal base. The inside of the headband is rubber coated to enhance the fit and prevent slipping. While this may not normally be a concern, it is a useful feature when running in the park. Beats headphones continue to be one of the most recognizable headphones in the world, and these days it’s the Beats Solo that we see most often on the go; in 2014 Beats smoothed out the line of sets in the Solo 2 for a less aggressive look, and our pair’s glossy finish is have a flashy, adolescent edge to it, but reports that you need to be under 25 to pull these off are exaggerated. All Beats headphones used to feature a bold bright red “B” logo on them, but they now come color-matched to whatever shade you choose. Sennheiser’s Momentum On-Ear and Bose pairs look more mature, but the last few generations have attempted to make the Beats Solo style more acceptable to a wider audience.
