The Beats Studio Buds + are listed at $149.95 on Amazon, which is $20.04 under the $169.99 that Apple and Beats both charge on their own stores. What that buys is the one noise-cancelling earbud in the current Beats range that Beats never credits with an Apple chip.
Beats prints the same Compatibility block on every earbud page it runs. Powerbeats Fit is "Powered by the Apple H1 chip" and Powerbeats Pro 2 is "Powered by the Apple H2 chip".
The Studio Buds + block names no chip at all. It lists one-touch pairing, hands-free Siri and Find My on the Apple side, and Google Fast Pair, Audio Switch and Find My Device on the Android side.
The listing anchors the cut to $169.95, four cents below the $169.99 Apple actually charges. The anchor is real rather than inflated.
Amazon.com holds the buy box, the listing reads In Stock, and no Prime membership is needed. The model number is MQLH3LL/A, Black/Gold, first available on May 17, 2023.
What the plus added to the original Studio Buds
Beats footnotes both headline claims to one baseline, worded exactly as "As compared to Beats Studio Buds (1st generation)".
Against that older model, Beats claims "up to 1.6x more Active Noise Cancelling power" and "up to 2x improved Transparency". It credits three times larger microphones, new acoustic venting and a more capable processor.
No decibel figure is published for the cancellation. The claim is a ratio against Beats' own older earbud.
Neither company lists a Bluetooth version or a supported audio codec for this model. Both describe the radio only as Class 1 Wireless Bluetooth.
The first-generation Studio Buds no longer appears on the Beats US store. Nor does Beats Fit Pro, which Beats now replaces with Powerbeats Fit, described on its own page as "the next generation of Beats Fit Pro".
Beats Studio Buds + specifications
| Specification | Beats Studio Buds + |
|---|---|
| Model | MQLH3LL/A, Black/Gold |
| Chip | Not published by Apple or Beats |
| Listening modes | Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency |
| ANC claim | Up to 1.6x more than Studio Buds (1st generation) |
| Battery, ANC off | Up to 9 hours from the earbuds, up to 36 hours with the case |
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 6 hours from the earbuds, up to 24 hours with the case |
| Fast charge | 5 minutes for up to 1 hour of playback |
| Case charging | USB-C only, no wireless charging |
| Water resistance | IPX4 on the earbuds, none on the case |
| Bluetooth | Class 1 Wireless Bluetooth, version not published |
| Codecs | Not published |
| Eartips | Four sizes, XS to L |
| Amazon price | $149.95, against a $169.95 list price |
The battery number Apple and Beats do not agree on
The Amazon listing and the Beats page both lead with up to 36 hours. The test footnote behind it, identical on Apple's store page and Beats', says volume was set to 50% "and Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency were turned off".
So the headline figure is a cancellation-off number. Switch the feature on and Beats quotes up to 24 hours in total, from up to 6 hours in the earbuds.
Apple publishes a different figure. Its Beats support guide says they "provide up to 30 hours of playback with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on".
That is a six-hour gap between two Apple-owned sources. The same two pages also disagree on fast charging, where Beats says 5 minutes gives up to 1 hour and Apple's guide says up to 1.5 hours.
Apple's own store page sidesteps it. It prints the 36-hour and 9-hour figures and gives no cancellation-on number.
How the price sits against other noise-cancelling earbuds
| Earbuds | Amazon price | Noted |
|---|---|---|
| Beats Studio Buds + | $149.95 | No chip published, IPX4 |
| Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 | $179.99 | Tensor chip, Silent Seal 2.0 |
| Apple AirPods Pro 3 | $199.00 | $50.00 under Apple's own $249.00 |
| Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro | $244.99 | IP57, ANC 2.0 |
| Sony WF-1000XM6 | $328.00 | Up to 24 hours total |
The nearest Apple-ecosystem rival got more expensive this month. Digital Citizen recorded the AirPods Pro 3 at $179.00 on October 5, and the same listing is $199.00 today.
Sony's WF-1000XM6 moved the same way, from $258.00 on that date to $328.00 now. The Pixel Buds Pro 2 at $179.99 and the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro at $244.99 round out the set.
Inside the Beats range, the next model up is Powerbeats Fit at $199.99 on Beats' own store. That $50.04 step adds the H1 chip, Adaptive EQ, head-tracked Spatial Audio and automatic play-pause.
Above that, Powerbeats Pro 2 is $249.99 with the H2 chip and a Qi-compatible case. Beats also sells the over-ear Beats 360 at $349.99.
What the listing leaves out
The case charges over USB-C and nothing else. Beats states it plainly, writing that the case "does not support wireless charging" and pointing buyers at Powerbeats Pro 2 instead.
The IPX4 rating covers the earbuds only. Beats says the charging case "is not sweat or water resistant", and that resistance on the buds "might decrease as a result of normal wear".
Spatial Audio here is the fixed kind, with no head tracking in the spec sheet. Buyers weighing it against Apple earbuds can see how the AirPods line compares on price, ANC and features.
Amazon publishes no end date for the $149.95 price and no stock count. Prices are as listed at the time of writing, and the $20.04 gap to Apple closes the moment either side moves.
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