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Beats Pill (2024) Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review: Is It Worth It?
Apple's reborn Beats Pill — a pocket-friendly Bluetooth speaker with a redesigned racetrack woofer, 24-hour battery, IP67 dust-and-waterproofing, and rare-for-Beats seamless pairing on both iOS and Android.
Quick answer: Yes — the reborn Beats Pill is worth it if you want a genuinely portable Bluetooth speaker with 24-hour battery and no iOS-versus-Android drama. The 2024 redesign fixes every weakness of the 2010s original and adds legitimate Android support Beats never quite delivered before. At $149.99 it beats the JBL Flip 7 on battery life and the Sonos Roam 2 on price. The rare relaunch that lives up to the nostalgia.
Illustrative image — see Amazon for the actual product.
Our verdict
Yes — the reborn Beats Pill is worth it if you want a genuinely portable Bluetooth speaker with 24-hour battery and no iOS-versus-Android drama. The 2024 redesign fixes every weakness of the 2010s original and adds legitimate Android support Beats never quite delivered before. At $149.99 it beats the JBL Flip 7 on battery life and the Sonos Roam 2 on price. The rare relaunch that lives up to the nostalgia.
The short version
The Pill was Beats' cult portable speaker in the 2010s, discontinued in 2022, and quietly relaunched in 2024 with the improvements the original always needed. It's still the same lozenge silhouette that fits in a bag pocket, but the internals are fully redesigned: a racetrack neodymium woofer with 90% more air displacement than the old version, an integrated tweeter, USB-C in/out (yes — it can reverse-charge your phone in an emergency), IP67 dust- and water-resistance, 24 hours of battery, and — new for a Beats — a genuinely seamless one-tap pairing flow on both iPhone and Android. At $149.99 it undercuts the JBL Flip 7 and Sonos Roam 2 while beating both on battery life and Android integration.
Pros & cons
Pros
- 24-hour battery — 2-3× typical Bluetooth speakers
- IP67 dust- and waterproof for pool, beach, shower
- Redesigned racetrack woofer with 90% more air displacement
- One-tap pairing on both iPhone and Android
- USB-C in and reverse-charge out for phone emergencies
- Color-matched lanyard for hands-free carry
Cons
- Sound clips at max volume — best at 80-90% loudness
- No Wi-Fi or multi-room support (Bluetooth only)
- Bass is punchier than the original, still not room-filling
Why people love it
One-tap pair with iPhone or Android
Bring an iPhone close and the Beats pairing card pops up; on Android, Google's Fast Pair does the same. No account, no app needed for basic use.
Set the orientation for the room
Stand it on the flat base for stereo firing forward, or lay it on its side for wider dispersion — the speaker uses accelerometer data to keep the audio channels correct either way.
Charge everything from one brick
USB-C fills the Pill in about 90 minutes for 24 hours of playback. In a pinch, plug your phone into the Pill and it reverse-charges the phone — Beats built it as an emergency power bank too.
Who it's for
- Backyard, patio and pool speakers
- Travelers with both iPhones and Android in a group
- Anyone replacing an aging original Beats Pill
- Renters who want good sound without a permanent install
Why Apple resurrected the Beats Pill in 2024 — and what actually changed
The original Beats Pill launched in 2012, became a cult status object with hip-hop artists in its own advertising, and was quietly discontinued in 2022 when its aging Bluetooth stack and no-water-resistance rating made it look old next to the JBL Flip and Sonos Roam. Apple, which owns Beats, could have let the line die. Instead, they used the two-year hiatus to redesign the speaker from scratch — same lozenge silhouette on the outside, essentially new hardware on the inside — and relaunched it in 2024 at the original's price point. The message is that portable speakers are now a real Apple-adjacent product category, not a legacy brand exercise.
The redesign hits every weakness of the original. The single racetrack neodymium woofer replaces the old dual-driver setup and delivers 90% more air displacement (that's the pounds-per-cubic-inch of bass you can actually feel). Battery life more than doubles from ~12 to 24 hours. IP67 rating replaces zero water resistance. USB-C replaces the old proprietary Beats charging port. And critically — this is the piece cross-platform households care about — Google Fast Pair on Android matches Apple's one-tap iPhone pairing, so the speaker isn't second-class on either OS anymore. The 2024 Pill is what the original always wanted to be.
Beats Pill vs JBL Flip 7 vs Sonos Roam 2: which portable speaker fits your life
Portable Bluetooth speakers have consolidated into three specific archetypes. The Beats Pill is the phone-friendly all-day speaker: 24-hour battery, seamless pairing on both iPhone and Android, IP67 waterproof, works with any device, no ecosystem lock-in. The JBL Flip 7 is the classic party pill in a cylinder shape — great directional sound, PartyBoost for chaining multiple Flips, 14-hour battery, universal-friendly. The Sonos Roam 2 is the ecosystem pick — Wi-Fi + Bluetooth means it AirPlays from any Apple device, syncs with other Sonos speakers around the house for multi-room, but costs $30-50 more and gets shorter battery life.
The right choice depends on how the speaker will actually be used. If it's a beach-and-patio speaker that follows you around all day, the Beats Pill's battery advantage wins. If you're chaining multiple speakers for a house party, JBL's PartyBoost is unmatched. If you already own Sonos speakers or want to grow into a multi-room Wi-Fi system, the Sonos Roam 2 is worth the premium. For a first serious portable speaker in a mixed iPhone-and-Android household, the Beats Pill is the safest pick — better battery than either rival, first-class pairing on both platforms, and the durable IP67 rating you'd want for anywhere outside the house. A more compact alternative in the same category is the JBL Flip 6 if you can find last-gen pricing.
Getting the most out of a Beats Pill (placement, volume, and the reverse-charge trick)
Two placement rules dramatically improve real-world sound. First, stand the Pill on its flat base rather than laying it on its side unless you specifically want wider dispersion — the woofer fires forward, and standing puts the sweet spot at ear level for people sitting on a patio or by a pool. Second, keep it off soft surfaces like towels or cushions. Bass response is 20-30% weaker when the speaker sits directly on absorbent fabric; put it on a table, a hard cooler lid, or the pool deck. On a lanyard from a tree branch is honestly one of the best positions — free-air sound with no surface interference.
On volume, the Pill sounds noticeably better at 70-85% than pushed to max. Beats' own tuning limits distortion at high volumes but audible clipping can still creep in at 95-100%. If you need more loudness, pair two Pills over Bluetooth from the Beats app — the linked-pair mode roughly doubles perceived loudness cleanly, whereas cranking a single unit compromises sound quality. Finally, the reverse-charge feature: plug your phone into the Pill's USB-C port and the speaker turns into a slow but real power bank (about 3-5W). It won't save you at a long day of navigation, but it'll add 10-15% to a phone during a picnic when you'd otherwise be dead.
See Beats Pill on Amazon
Check the latest price, photos and buyer reviews on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon →Sold and shipped by AmazonFrequently asked questions
Is the Beats Pill (2024) worth $149?
Yes — the reborn Beats Pill is worth $149 if you want a genuinely portable Bluetooth speaker that pairs on both iPhone and Android with no fuss. The 2024 redesign fixes the specific weaknesses of the 2010s original (bass depth, battery life, dust and water resistance), then adds the rare-for-Beats trick of Google Fast Pair alongside Apple's own pairing chip. Against the direct rivals — JBL Flip 7, Sonos Roam 2 — it beats both on battery life (24 hours vs 12-14), matches or beats them on IP67 waterproofing, and undercuts the Roam 2 by nearly a hundred dollars. Where it loses: no Wi-Fi, no multi-room, and audio clips at max volume. If you want the speaker that follows you everywhere at 80% loud, this is it. If you want a permanent home audio system, look at the Sonos Roam 2.
Beats Pill vs JBL Flip 7 vs Sonos Roam 2 — which portable speaker should I buy?
Three different sweet spots. JBL Flip 7 ($149-159) is the classic cylinder — great directional sound, IP68, 14-hour battery, works with any phone but no premium pairing tricks. Sonos Roam 2 ($179-199) is the do-everything premium pick — Wi-Fi + Bluetooth, AirPlay 2, multi-room with other Sonos speakers, but shorter battery. Beats Pill (2024) is the middle ground — 24-hour battery (longest of the three), premium pairing on both iPhone and Android, reverse-charging, and Beats-tuned bass. Pick JBL for the classic all-rounder, Sonos for a Wi-Fi ecosystem, Beats for the longest battery + phone-friendly pairing.
How waterproof is the Beats Pill really?
IP67 — the '6' means fully dust-tight, the '7' means it survives full submersion in up to 1 meter of fresh water for 30 minutes. In practice that covers everything most people put a speaker through: rain at the beach, pool splash, a shower shelf, sand at a picnic, a spill on a patio table. It's not designed for saltwater immersion or high-pressure spray (that's IP68 or IPX9), so rinse it under fresh water after a beach day to keep the driver grilles clear. Compared to the original 2010s Pill (which had no water rating), this is a completely different product on ruggedness.
Does the Beats Pill really work well with Android, or is it iPhone-only like older Beats?
Genuinely well on both. That's actually the headline story of the 2024 relaunch. Beats built in Google Fast Pair (Android's equivalent of Apple's one-tap pairing chip), the Beats app now runs on Android too, and there's no missing-features gap between the two platforms. For couples or families with mixed iOS and Android phones, this is the first Beats speaker that doesn't feel like a second-class citizen on Android.
How long does the Beats Pill battery actually last?
Beats claims 24 hours at 'moderate volume,' and real-world testing lands close: 22-26 hours at background listening (50-60% volume), dropping to about 12-15 hours at party-loud (85-95%). That's roughly double the JBL Flip 7 and nearly double the Sonos Roam 2. Charging via USB-C takes about 90 minutes for a full fill. The reverse-charge feature — plugging your dying phone into the Pill — is genuinely useful once you've been caught out at a picnic with a dead phone.
Can I pair two Beats Pills for stereo?
Yes — the Beats app supports pairing two Pills either as a linked pair (both playing the same audio, louder) or as a true stereo pair with dedicated left and right channels. Two Pills roughly doubles the perceived loudness and dramatically improves the stereo image for music that was mixed for it. Not required for a great single-speaker experience, but a nice option if you buy a second one for a bigger patio or want to send one to a friend and sync them at gatherings.
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