Apple's crazy popular Beats Studio Buds get funky new colors and handy Android features
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Widely known (but not entirely respected) for its generally overpriced high-end over-ear headphones back in the day, the Beats brand was at one point rumored to go extinct before getting an unexpected rebirth of sorts in the incredibly competitive and wildly overcrowded true wireless earbuds market.
Owned by Apple since 2014, the company founded by none other than Dr. Dre back in 2006 pretty much went for the AirPods and AirPods Pro's jugular last year with two feature-packed and almost surprisingly affordable products.
Fast forward to today, and the noise-cancelling Studio Buds are labeled "the fastest-selling Beats product to date, globally." Although we have no idea what that means in terms of actual sales numbers, the early popularity of these bad boys was clearly high enough to warrant an expansion of their color options.
Originally available in just three hues (which are still two more than the AirPods and AirPods Pro's chromatic "variety"), the Beats Studio Buds are now officially doubling that number with the addition of Sunset Pink, Ocean Blue, and Moon Gray flavors.
Interestingly, while Apple is unsurprisingly selling all six versions itself at $149.99 a pair, Amazon, Best Buy, and Target will each have exclusivity as far as third-party retailers are concerned over one of the new colors. Specifically, Best Buy is gearing up to release the blue-coated buds, with Amazon and Target carrying the gray and pink models respectively and pre-orders underway across the board ahead of an April 13 (hey, that's tomorrow) shipment start.
Perhaps even more excitingly for Android users looking to pair (or already pairing) the Beats Studio Buds with their handsets, Apple is also adding "Locate My Beats" (aka Find My Beats) functionality and Product Widgets to the platform's official Beats app.
Naturally, these features were already available for iPhone users, but that doesn't make it any less interesting (and unusual) to see Apple actually care enough to treat folks on Android (somewhat) similarly. Of course, the new capabilities are not exclusive to the Studio Buds, which means owners of the costlier Beats Fit Pro can also enjoy them starting today.
Speaking of, you might want to note that both Amazon and Best Buy are currently selling the Beats Studio Buds at a $30 discount compared to their aforementioned $149.99 list price in all three "original" colors. We don't want to tell you to wait before purchasing the blue, gray, or pink models, but... yeah, that's probably a good idea.
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