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Beats Pill (2012) · Beats Electronics official launch photograph of the black original Pill speaker; complete supplied canvas and light grey background preserved.
Pill (2012)
A compact Bluetooth speaker with NFC pairing, a speakerphone and separate 3.5 mm audio input and output.
- Type
- Portable speaker
- Atmos
- No
- Connects by
- Bluetooth
- Battery
- 7 h
- Weight
- 0.325 kg
What reviewers say
Both reviews find the speaker compact, easy to pair and loud for its size, with useful calling features, but limited deep bass. Sound & Vision praises vocal clarity and separation, although its measurements suggest a thin balance. T3 likes the build and portability but finds the appearance unexciting and battery life short beside the Jambox.
From soundandvision.com and t3.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specSound
- Type
- Portable speaker
- Dolby Atmos
- No
- Drivers
- Four-speaker system with Beats Audio processing
Connections
- Wi-Fi
- No
- Bluetooth
- Yes
- AirPlay
- No
- Voice assistants
- None
- Bluetooth
- NFC tap-to-pair and connection takeover; remembers eight paired devices and reconnects to the most recent; aptX support
- Ports
- Separate 3.5 mm input and line output; Micro-USB charging connector (T3)
Design
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 7 hours
- Weight
- 0.325 kg
- Battery life detail
- Rechargeable lithium-ion battery; maker claims seven hours at an average 80 dB, with a warning at 20% remaining; switches off after 30 minutes without a signal
- Controls
- Power, volume and Beats button for pairing, playback and calls; volume buttons disabled when line output is in use
- Microphones
- Built-in speakerphone microphone with echo cancellation; calls pause music
- Colours
- Black, White and Red at launch
- In the box
- Speaker, USB cable and power supply; carrying case, carabiner and 3.5 mm cable identified by both reviews
Pros and cons
Pros
- NFC tap-to-pair and aptX Bluetooth audio
- Speakerphone with echo cancellation
- Analogue input and output for other audio equipment
Cons
- Up to seven hours of battery life
- No Wi-Fi or AirPlay
- Maker warns against use near water
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Atmos | Connects by | Battery | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 7 h | 0.31 kg | 2013 | |
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 12 h | 0.75 kg | Oct 2015 | |
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 20 h | 0.8 kg | 2016 |
Newer model: Pill 2.0.
Sources
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/beats-electronics-sets-new-standard-in-wireless-sp…
- beatsbydre.com/content/dam/beats-support/apac/pill-quick-start-guide-apac.pdf
- soundandvision.com/node/110106
- t3.com/reviews/beats-by-dre-pill-review
- Red original Beats Pill speaker beside silver Executive headphones in the supplied launch photograph: Beats supplied launch photograph, explicitly credited to Beats by ABC News; red original Pill speaker and silver Executive headphones. Complete supplied composition and white background preserved.
