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When the original Beats Pill shipped in 2012, the portable Bluetooth speaker was well received despite its obvious flaws. The Pill+ was a great follow-up that kept the series going for a few more years, but it wasn’t constantly updated like many of Beats’ best headphones and true wireless headphones, leaving many to wonder if Beats had completely abandoned the product.

Well, all that speculation has finally been put to rest. The Beats Pill (2024) is now official, joining the Solo 4 and Solo Buds as part of the brand’s big summer product launch.

Available in three colors – Champagne Gold, Matte Black and Statement Red – this version has been completely redesigned and redesigned with proprietary technologies that improve functionality, playtime and sound quality. Scroll down to see how Beats Pill (2024) is better than ever and why it’s a top contender.

The audio on the first generation Pill and Pill+ was fun, although the Beats sound profile was too boomy and too loud. An eight-year hiatus allowed the brand to fine-tune the latest version, expanding the frequency range and keeping the bass at the fore. The results are very satisfactory – for the most part.

Common and Pete Rock’s “Dreamin'” had the funky laid-back bop I wanted from a summer soul song, feeding my ears full of reverb, horns and striking snares that played well. The mids and highs get a lot more attention on this model and are well balanced compared to the heavy bass. This was most evident in neo-disco tracks like Mark Ronson’s “Too Much,” where the silky vocals of guest Lucky Daye emanated through the metal bars, thanks to the new acoustic architecture.

Beats has developed a new tweeter design to stabilize mid and high frequencies. The company also reinvented Pill’s woofer system to enrich the bass response, giving contemporary recordings a warm, powerful resonance. However, blasting the speaker at maximum volume results in significant distortion.

Listen to Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” for reference. The song sounds great at 70% volume. The synths are lively and the bass riff is electrifying with a strong reverb that fades slowly. Turning up the volume will blow out the low end a lot, though the midrange remains prominent and accentuates the song’s ethereal, ethereal vocals.

Beats’ Amplify and Stereo modes return for those who want a dual-speaker setup. Amplify allows you to pair two Pill devices together and both play the same stereo music. In stereo mode, one Pill device plays the left audio channel and the other Pill device plays the right audio channel. Stereo is more useful and does a convincing job of creating wide, room-filling sound. I put one speaker in my bedroom and another speaker in my son’s room while off to the side in the living room and was impressed with the volume and sound projection.

Lossless audio makes its debut in the series, but can only be enjoyed with a wired connection to a compatible device such as a laptop or phone. This was my preferred method of listening when stationary. Clarity and depth get a good boost, and bass is punchy. Almost everything on Apple Music, Tidal, and some of the other top music streaming services sounds appealing.

All this sonic goodness is housed under an extremely durable shell that maintains the series’ iconic capsule design. Notable details are kept intact, including the metal grille with the ‘b’ logo and the rubber-coated buttons, which are now recessed. Previous versions of the Pill did not have an ingress protection (IP) rating for durability. This one does — IP67 — which makes the speaker resistant to dust, rust, shock and water.

It works equally well with iOS and Android

Older Pill models were compatible with most Bluetooth devices. They were also highly optimized for use on Apple devices such as the iPhone and Mac. Beats fixed this by creating a chipset that supports native software features on both Apple and Google operating systems.

Apple users keep essentials like automatic switching, Find My mode, and one-touch pairing. Android users get Google’s version of select features — Fast Pair and Find My Device — as well as Bluetooth multipoint for pairing to two Android devices at once. There’s even the Beats app to enable audio sharing modes, set call functions and enable the volume function to adjust the volume of sound effects. These same features are available on the dedicated settings page of Pill via iOS. Everything is going smoothly.

Beats has doubled the playback time of its flagship speaker, increasing it from 12 hours to 24 hours for a full day of Bluetooth playback. This is mostly accurate based on my tests. Dual pairing and high volume reduced battery life by about five hours. I still had more than enough juice for an entire weekend. Rapid refueling generates two hours of use in a 10-minute charge. Additionally, the new Pill can double as a power bank to charge USB-C devices like the latest iPhone 15 and iPad models, plus it can be recharged when connected to larger machines like a MacBook.

Pill 2024 provides exceptional hands-free voice calling. Several people said I spoke loud and clear, both indoors and outdoors. The microphones did pick up ambient noise, which caused some muting, but callers on the opposite end were able to distinguish words and sentences.

The feature also works hand-in-hand with digital assistance. The Beats microphone array demonstrates excellent speech recognition to confirm and execute Siri/Google Assistant voice commands with precision. Voice activation isn’t available, meaning you can’t trigger an AI bot directly through the speaker when you say “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google.” Apple may consider adding this as part of a future software update.

It’s no longer uncommon for portable speakers to boast immersive 3D audio. Anker offers it in the $199 Soundcore Motion X600, which is slightly more expensive and heavier than the current Beats speaker. The Pill’s lack of spatial audio support is disappointing, especially since Apple has a penchant for engineering powerful technology into small designs.

According to Beats, the Pill (2024) shares the same weight as the Pill+: 1.5 pounds. I wasn’t convinced until I jumped on the scale and compared my own body weight to what it registered when I held the speaker in my hand. It’s really 1.5 pounds. However, it still feels heavy and clunky to lug around. Competitors like the Sonos Roam 2 (1 pound) and the Sony ULT Field (1.4 pounds) are lighter.

Many people forget about the great bonuses featured in previous Pill models. Gone are the aux-in and aux-out ports for connecting the speaker to wired playback sources (like your old iPod or games console). Tap-to-pair NFC is another one that’s MIA. Other notable omissions include an AC adapter and a hard carrying case.

The Beats Pill (2024) is a triumphant return that improves on almost every hallmark of the series. An updated look combined with expanded functionality, longer battery life, refined sound and stronger protection earns it a place among the best portable Bluetooth speakers.

I don’t like the missing accessories and features, but it’s trivial in the grand scheme of things. Significantly improved performance in addition to a starting price that’s $50 less than its predecessor gives the new Beats Pill an all-around edge that not many competitors can match.