Beats pops two new Pills and wireless Studio headphones for the holidays

By Caleb Denison Published February 19, 2014

Check out our full reviews of the Beats Pill XL speaker and the Beats Studio Wireless headphones.

Parents, get ready for your kids to start acting uncharacteristically well-behaved. Beats Electronics has announced three new products just in time for the holidays, and you can bet at least one of them will be on your child’s wish list. New to the Beats roster is a new super-sized Beats Pill XL wireless speaker, a revamped version of the original Beats Pill wireless speaker and a wireless version of the recently-refreshed Beats Studio headphones.

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The new wireless Studio headphones are said to be exactly the same as the recently revamped wired version, but with Bluetooth built in for cord-free listening. The new cans employ the same adaptive noise cancellation, Beats Acoustic Engine (DSP), and built-in rechargeable battery, but expect wireless operation to cut back on battery life – 12 hours for wireless listening, 20 hours for wired. The new wireless Studio headphones are expected to retail for $380 and will be available in early December.

As you might expect, the Beats Pill XL is a larger version of the original wireless speaker, stretching to over 13-inches long and 4-inches in diameter, and outfitted with a handle for portability; but it brings more to the party than just extra length and girth. New for both Pill speakers is NFC for quick pairing to NFC-enabled devices and to other Pill speakers. Tap two Pills together and they’ll both play the same song. Tap them twice and you’ll get Left and Right stereo channels. Each Pill comes with a rechargeable battery said to be capable of delivering 15 hours of listening time, with a 5-LED gauge to indicate how much juice is left. Also new for the Pills this year is a USB port for device charging. The new Pill is expected to go for $200 while the XL version will cost you $300.

Beats is also vying for a spot in your kids’ stockings this year with some clever accessories such as Pill bicycle mounts and carrying sleeves. Apparently, there are also “life-sized Pill characters” available, so … knock yourself out.

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