This is the Pill+, Beats' first speaker since joining Apple
Its been a while since Beats revealed some new personal audio tech. To be fair, the company has been a bit busy getting settled in Cupertino and lending a hand with Apple Music. Now that the streaming service has launched, Beats is getting back to the speaker business. Its first completely new device since joining Tim Cook & Co. is the Pill+: a Bluetooth device for blasting your music. As the name suggests, the Beats Pill+ is a bit larger than the original Pill, yet much smaller than the Pill XL. The overall design is different as well, with a flat panel around the middle rather than a completely round pill-like shape. That change also makes the power and volume controls more accessible up top.
To handle the sound, the Pill+ has two-way crossover stereo tech, including custom-designed woofers and tweeters (two of each), that projects the audio and keeps things clear across genres. We haven't been able to test that for ourselves yet, but on paper, this speaker looks like an improvement over the OG model that we weren't too impressed with. If history is any indication of what to expect, there should be a solid dose of bass here. Beats says the Pill+ will keep the music going for up to 12 hours before needing a charge and the included Lightning cable and power supply can completely juice it back up in three hours. Similar to the Pill XL, there's a group of LEDs that'll keep you informed of the battery level and a USB jack will let you plug in your phone if it's running on empty.
In addition to the speaker itself, Beats has a new companion app to make the most out of the purchase. There's a DJ mode that'll allow multiple phones/tablets/etc. to pair with the speaker so more than one person can control the playlist. It also helps you add a second Pill+ to either make the overall sound louder or to use 'em as a stereo setup with left and right channels. If you've already opened your wallet to buy Dr. Dre's latest, you'll have to wait until next month to drop $230 at an Apple store and other places Beats' goods are sold.
