My Pick For Best Tech of 2016? Beats Solo 3

When Apple announced the iPhone 7 at it’s keynote last year, they also announced several knew headphones as well. The AirPods that are much loved by the iAccessibility staff that have them, the Powerbeats 3, the BeatsX wireless earphones (not yet available as of this writing,) and the Beats Solo 3 headphones, which I will be focusing on. For more on paring a bluetooth device with W1 chip, we have a great article that does a wonderful job explaining the set up process, and how to connect them to multiple devices.

Battery Life

The Beats Solo 3s will last you up to forty hours on a single charge. I haven’t heard of that kind of battery life from any other bluetooth headphone. Beyond that, these headphones have what Apple calls “Fast Fuel.” This means that with just a five minute charge, the headphones can deliver up to three hours of use.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Okay, so this isn’t a cellphone commercial, but discovering just how far they would reach compared to a pare of headphones without the W1 chip almost felt like one. On my iPhone 6s Plus, I was able, with my phone charging up stairs, talk to a friend of mine outside, and even past the point my other headphones would disconnect. While I haven’t measured that distance, I probably could have walked all the way to the street, but didn’t fancy getting hit by a car.

Sound

Others have said that these headphones aren’t “audiophile grade headphones,” while others say they sound great. To me, they do sound really good for the most part. Music can sound a bit thin through them, depending on what you’re listening to. Wideband audio calls such as HD voice, FaceTime and Skype calls can sound a bit… I can only describe it as metallic, but it’s not something that is a big problem for me. Remember that sound is subjective, so something that might sound thin or metallic to me, might sound fine to you.

Conclusion

While I’ve not been one-hundred percent positive about these headphones, the things I’ve mentioned aren’t showstoppers to me. I think that the battery life and range improvements made possible by the W1 chip definitely give them a place in our best tech of 2016 series.

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