The Beats Solo 4 released 2 year ago and after spending about a week with them, they come surprisingly close to being the perfect everyday headphones. Almost. Here is a full breakdown of what makes them great, where they fall short, and whether they are worth your $120.
Table of Contents
Battery Life
When the Beats Solo 4 were unboxed, they sat at about 70% battery. After a week of pretty extensive use, including listening to music, watching videos, watching movies, and even going on a run, the battery had only dropped from 70% down to 50%.
At that pace, these headphones would last roughly five weeks on a single charge, which is pretty insane considering that most AirPods only last about a week.
The official battery rating on the Beats Solo 4 is 50 hours, and real-world testing backs that up. Depending on how heavily you use them, you can easily expect them to last well over a week, if not two, without ever needing to plug them in.
Built for the On-the-Go Lifestyle
The Beats Solo lineup has always been targeted toward people with an on-the-go lifestyle. The marketing material shows people jogging, jump roping, and rollerblading, and that vision translates into how the headphones are designed.
Whether you commute every day, use them at the office, or head straight to the gym afterwards, the last thing you want to worry about is your headphones dying mid-session. Beyond battery life, portability is another major strength. The Beats Solo 4 fold down compactly and neatly into a carrying pouch that comes included in the box.
Compared to the AirPods Max and the Sony XM5, neither of which fold at all, the difference in how much space they take up is obvious. You can easily toss these into an everyday backpack without any hassle.
Weight is another area where the Beats Solo 4 stand out. Coming in at just 218 grams, they are noticeably lighter than the AirPods Max, which sit in the high 300s, and even lighter than the XM5s, which land in the mid-200s. That lightweight build combined with their foldable design makes them one of the more practical portable headphones available right now.
Design and Physical Controls
Beats does not change their design all that much, and the Solo 4 look pretty much identical to models that came out a decade ago. Rather than being a weakness, that speaks to how timeless the design actually is. Some would even call it iconic.
The matte finish does a solid job of hiding fingerprints, and the overall look is bold and fashion-forward, which is exactly what most people expect from a Beats product.
One thing that stands out on the hardware side is the physical controls located on the left ear cup. When you are on the go, touch controls simply do not cut it. Having physical volume buttons with a satisfying click makes a real difference, especially when you are out on a jog and just want to quickly adjust your volume without fumbling around.
Also Read: Beats Solo3 Headphones Review
Ecosystem Integration and Software Features
On the software side, the Beats Solo 4 integrates nicely with both Apple and Android ecosystems. Both platforms support one-touch pairing and Find My support.
On the Apple side, as soon as you pair these headphones to one of your iCloud devices, they automatically show up across all your other Apple devices. After pairing them to an iPhone, they appeared on a MacBook, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, ready to use instantly.
The one notable caveat is that they do not support auto-switching. If you are used to AirPods seamlessly switching between your iPhone and MacBook, you will need to manually dig through Bluetooth settings to do the same thing on the Beats Solo 4.
How Does the Sound Quality Hold Up?
The sound quality on the Beats Solo 4 is average for a wireless headphone, and that assessment comes with some important context. These are on-ear headphones, not over-ear, which means they naturally lack soundstage, immersion, and overall depth and clarity compared to larger over-ear designs.
The bass is not particularly tight or pronounced. It is present in the mix but does not hit with the kind of punch you might expect from a Beats product. The overall sound signature is relatively neutral, which has its benefits.
A neutral tuning means your ears will not get fatigued as quickly during long listening sessions, though it might feel less exciting compared to more bass-heavy headphones.
In terms of technical features, the Beats Solo 4 supports spatial audio and high-resolution listening through a wired connection. However, the sound fidelity may not fully deliver on those features in practice. The honest recommendation here is to leave spatial audio off and simply enjoy these over Bluetooth, where they perform best for everyday use.
The “Almost” Part: Three Things That Fall Short
So far, the Beats Solo 4 check a lot of important boxes for an everyday headphone, great battery life, solid portability, and decent sound quality. But the “almost” in the title exists for a reason. After a week of real-world testing, three things stood out as genuine shortcomings.
Comfort Gets Uncomfortable Over Time
The clamping force on these headphones is strong, which is actually a positive when you are running since there is virtually no risk of them falling off. But that same clamping force, combined with the on-ear design rather than over-ear, starts to make your ears hurt after about an hour of listening.
Comfort lands at roughly a three out of five, which is not terrible but is worth considering if you plan on wearing these for long stretches at a time.
No Transparency Mode Is a Real Problem
Here is something interesting that came up during testing. The clamping force is so strong that it almost creates a passive noise isolation effect similar to active noise cancelling. With these on, it becomes genuinely difficult to hear what is happening around you.
For an everyday headphone, that creates real-world problems. If someone walks up to talk to you, you can take them off and hang them around your neck, which is actually comfortable enough. But for running or commuting in busy environments, the lack of a transparency mode becomes a safety concern.
During one outdoor jog, a car came up from behind and there was no awareness of it at all until it was already close. A transparency mode would solve this completely, but adding active noise cancellation or transparency features would likely impact that impressive battery life, so it is a trade-off either way.
No On-Ear Detection
The third frustration is the absence of on-ear detection. When you take the Beats Solo 4 off, the music keeps playing. There is no automatic pause. Throughout the week of testing, there were multiple times when the headphones were taken off and forgotten, only to realize later that audio was still playing through them in another room.
In 2026, on-ear detection feels like a basic feature that should come standard with every wireless headphone, and its absence on the Beats Solo 4 is a small but noticeable disappointment.
Specifications Table
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Model | Beats Solo 4 |
| Type | On-Ear Wireless Headphones |
| Battery Life | Up to 50 Hours |
| Weight | 218 Grams |
| Active Noise Cancelling | No |
| Transparency Mode | No |
| On-Ear Detection | No |
| Spatial Audio Support | Yes |
| Hi-Res Wired Listening | Yes |
| Bluetooth Pairing | One-Touch Pairing |
| Ecosystem Compatibility | Apple and Android |
| Auto-Switching | No |
| Find My Support | Yes |
| Foldable Design | Yes |
| Carrying Pouch Included | Yes |
| Retail Price | $200 |
Who Are the Beats Solo 4 Actually For?
These three shortcomings are not necessarily deal breakers. They are trade-offs, and every tech product has them. If you are looking for active noise cancellation and high-end sound quality, the Beats Solo 4 are not the right pick. But if you want an ultra-portable headphone with exceptionally long battery life and you are not too concerned about advanced features, these headphones make a genuinely strong case for themselves.
Read More: Sonos Ace Over-Ear Headphones Review
