Beats products are a trick. The combination of slick marketing and deceptive design is effective! But it’s still a trick.
The latest addition to the Beats lineup, the Pill+ Bluetooth speaker looks no different. As tech blogs breathlessly report on the brand’s first speaker since it was acquired by Apple, it seems immediately apparent that Beats has built yet another overpriced object that lacks the best features of its competitors.
The Beats Pill+ looks a lot like the original Beats Pill, a loud but bass-less creation, except it’s a little bit bigger, “allowing for a bigger and fuller sound” according to the press release. The company also says says the new design is “durable enough to throw in your bag.” Which seems like a weird thing to brag about. Bags are pretty soft objects, after all.
It’s impossible to criticise the sound quality of the new Beats Pill+ until we’ve spent some time with the device. However, the speaker’s disappointing feature set suggests that the Pill+ is just another rip off by Dre. The Bluetooth speaker does have some new stunts, like the ability to pair two for stereo sound through a mobile app and a USB port for charging your devices. However, unlike the UE BOOM 2, the Pill+ lacks waterproofing, gesture controls, and the ability to create a whole network of linked speakers. Plus, the UE BOOM is time-tested and virtually bombproof.
Is the Beats Pill+ a bad Bluetooth speaker? We’ll let you know when we’ve tried it. Does it look like another terribly predictable waste of money? So far, yes.
[Beats]
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