Key Takeaways
- Apple unveiled a resurrected Beats Pill in 2024.
- Despite a commitment as far back as 2017, Beats has yet to release a speaker supporting AirPlay 2.
- Sonos and Libratone both offer more versatile portable speakers that support AirPlay 2.
2024 marks a big year for Beats: the resurrection of its previously discontinued Beats Pill. Introduced in 2013, refreshed in 2015, and discontinued in 2022, the Beats Pill has always been an interesting product to me. Being an Apple enthusiast, the Beats Pill felt like the portable speaker I should want to use. My challenge with the Beats Pill at the time was that it was an overpriced Bluetooth speaker with less-than-stellar sound. So, I wasn’t surprised when Apple discontinued it — I certainly wasn’t placing any bets that it’d be brought back.
After all, the Bluetooth speaker market is pretty saturated with more competitors than I can count. Apple is never the most feature-rich or price-competitive with its products, but it does enjoy operating in markets where it has something unique to offer. So, once rumors started appearing of Apple’s worst-kept secret, a new Beats Pill, my curiosity peaked. Would this finally be the portable Apple speaker of my dreams? Would Apple have something interesting, fresh, or competitive to offer?
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The Beats Pill makes its 2024 comeback loud and clear.
Beats’ “commitment” to AirPlay
It never showed up
Pocket-lint
There’s really only one thing I wanted to see from a new Beats Pill — AirPlay 2. Apple announced AirPlay 2 in 2018 alongside the HomePod as an improved way to stream media from Apple devices to compatible partner accessories. A massive benefit of AirPlay 2 is multi-device output, which allows the selection of multiple audio targets from one device. During WWDC 2017, 14 company logos were shown on stage as committed partners for AirPlay 2; one was Beats. Still, in 2024, a Beats speaker with AirPlay 2 has never materialized. Similar to next-generation CarPlay, sometimes partnerships fizzle out, and products don’t come to market. Yet, Beats isn’t a traditional partner; it’s an Apple subsidiary.
One company shown on stage that did ship an AirPlay 2 speaker was Libratone. The Libratone ZIPP is a pretty nice speaker. I often used it as a portable, battery-powered AirPlay 2 speaker–and it was great. Compared to AirPlay, Bluetooth sucks, and the Libratone ZIPP reinforced that belief. AirPlay 2 allows for HomeKit automations, easier connection via Control Center, and better audio quality.
As a person who quite likes his HomePods, I would’ve jumped at a portable Beats speaker with AirPlay 2, so I thought a new Beats Pill might be the long-overdue committed speaker. Sadly, that’s not the case.
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AirPlay 2 improves upon Apple’s original AirPlay, including multi-room audio, listening to different songs on different speakers, and more.
Sonos is better at supporting Apple’s features than Apple
The Sonos Move and Roam kick the Pill’s butt
Sonos / Pocket-lint
Funny enough, Sonos wasn’t even one of the partner companies announced on stage with Beats and Libratone. Still, the audio-focused company supports AirPlay 2 across its lineup. Two Sonos speakers that particularly caught my interest are the Sonos Move and Sonos Roam. While the Beats Pill is $149, supports line-in via USB-C, has IP67 water resistance, and 24-hours of battery, the Sonos Roam is $179 with no line-in, the same IP67 water resistance, 10-hours of battery, and, of course, AirPlay.
For $449, the Sonos Move is an even more powerful speaker with USB-C line-in support, IP56 water resistance, 24-hours of battery, and, again, AirPlay.
These Sonos wireless speakers offer just about everything the Beats Pill does or more, along with AirPlay 2. Sonos is making everything that the Beats Pill should be, granted at a higher price point. That’s funny, considering Apple is typically the company charging exorbitant prices for niche, ecosystem-specific features. While the new Beats Pill is a great speaker, if you’re invested in the Apple ecosystem and can afford it, consider an option from Sonos or Libratone that offers a more versatile feature set.
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