Apple's W1 Chip Greatly Improves Battery Life in the Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones
While Apple’s wireless AirPods won’t be available until sometime late next month, the specialized W1 chip is already powering one set of wireless headphones you can buy right now – the Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones. And Japanese site Macotakara (via AppleInsider) recently examined how the chip improves the headphones compared to the Solo2.
A big battery boost
The new model of on-ear headphones are externally identical to the previous version, but the chip adds two big bonuses.
First up is vastly improved battery life. The Solo3 can go for up to 40 hours of music playback on a single charge. That’s compared to just 12 hours of playback in the Solo2 Wireless. Apple’s special technology seems to be behind the large majority of that increase as the battery is more than likely the same in both models.
The chip also makes pairing much simpler, at least when using the iPhone 7. You’ll just need to press down the power button on the headphones and then confirm the pairing on a pop-up window appearing on iOS 10.
Available now from Apple
The completely wireless AirPods are contain the W1 chip and will arrive late next month.
You can purchase the Beats Solo3 headphones from a variety of online retailers, including Apple.com. There are six different color choices to select from – black, gloss black, gloss white, silver, gold, and rose gold.
Two other Beats products – the BeatsX and PowerBeats 3 Wireless – also contain the W1 chip. Both of those will hit stores during the holiday season and retail for $150 and $200, respectively.
AirPods will retail for $159 when they hit the market.
