Launched in 2012 earlier than Beats was acquired by Apple, the unique Beats Capsule shook up the transportable Bluetooth speaker class with enjoyable colours and well-regarded sound high quality. The speaker obtained an improve in 2015 with the launch of the Capsule+ beneath Apple’s possession, however over time it appeared to develop into an afterthought for Beats in comparison with headphones and earphones, and the Capsule+ was ultimately discontinued in early 2022.
After a number of months of teasing, Beats is formally saying the return of the Beats Capsule right this moment with a bunch of upgrades and a lower cost level of $149.99. The brand new Capsule contains a utterly redesigned speaker system consisting of a single tweeter and a single racetrack woofer, a detachable lanyard, USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity, 24 hours of battery life, and IP67 water and sweat resistance.
Accessible in Matte Black, Champagne Gold, and Assertion Crimson shade choices, the brand new Beats Capsule contains a soft-touch silicone housing with a steel speaker grille and a Beats “b” emblem, with a number of refined bodily buttons alongside the highest for on-device controls. The brand new detachable lanyard slips simply across the wrist to assist safe it whereas being carried and even to let the speaker dangle from, though it may’t be tightened up for extra safety.
In comparison with the earlier Capsule+, the reengineered single racetrack woofer within the Beats Capsule makes use of stronger neodymium magnets to drive 28% extra motor drive, permitting the woofer to displace 90% extra air quantity, whereas radial ribbing across the edges minimizes low-end distortion. The brand new Capsule additionally strikes from twin tweeters to a redesigned single tweeter in its personal housing for further stability and to equally cut back distortion. Each audio system are aligned to provide the Capsule a 20º inclined tilt, which gives higher sound projection with much less mirrored sound.
You probably have two Beats Capsule audio system, you’ll be able to pair them up in both Amplify Mode, which provides you greater total sound for bigger areas, or Stereo Mode, which separates the sound output into left and proper channels despatched to the completely different audio system.
The Beats Capsule can function a speakerphone to your linked units, with a noise-learning algorithm that suppresses ambient sound to focus on the person’s voice, and full duplex help helps guarantee your conversations are intelligible to each side. Voice assistant help for linked units can be embrace, so you’ll be able to activate Siri or Google Assistant with the press of a button.
USB-C involves the Beats Capsule for the primary time, permitting for lossless audio over a wired connection, straightforward recharging, and the flexibility to cost different units from the Capsule’s inside battery. The Capsule itself has as much as 24 hours of battery life, and a 10-minute Quick Gasoline delivers as much as two hours of playback. A black USB-C to USB-C cable is included within the field.
The brand new Capsule has 4 buttons alongside the highest edge, a Energy button, a Middle button, and Quantity Up/Down buttons. Every of the buttons serves a number of functions, so you’ll be able to management a good quantity of options while not having to dig into your iPhone. A press of the Energy button turns the speaker on or off, whereas a quick faucet lights up an adjoining LED for battery standing, a double faucet prompts ‌Siri‌, and a triple faucet reverses the charging path when linked by way of USB-C. Urgent and holding the Energy button whereas plugging the Capsule in by way of USB-C prompts wired audio enter.
The Middle button is to your common media controls, with a single press enjoying or pausing your audio, a double press skipping ahead, and a triple press skipping backward. The Middle button can be utilized in mixture with the Quantity Up/Down buttons to configure the paired speaker modes. Holding the Middle buttons on two audio system prompts Amplify Mode, and holding Middle and Quantity Up on one among them then prompts Stereo Mode with that speaker changing into the left channel. The identical mixture returns to Amplify Mode or holding Middle and Quantity Down can be utilized to interrupt the speaker group fully.
A proprietary chip platform from Beats gives seamless entry throughout each Apple and Android platforms, with one-touch pairing, computerized setup throughout all units linked to an iCloud or Google account, and help for Discover My and ‌Discover My‌ System monitoring primarily based on the speaker’s final linked location.
The brand new Capsule does have some heft, weighing in at 24 ounces (~680 grams), though that’s 10% lighter than the Capsule+. It measures a bit of over 8.5 inches (~22 cm) lengthy by 2.8 inches (~7 cm) deep and excessive, simply fractionally bigger than the Capsule+. It is actually transportable and you’ll simply toss it in a bag, however you are not going to wish to carry it in your hand wherever you go.
The revamped Beats Capsule is priced at $149.99 and is obtainable to order right this moment in all three colours, with transport starting this Thursday, June 27.