Pill+
A portable Bluetooth speaker with Lightning charging, USB phone charging and a 3.5 mm audio input.
Model history · 3 models, 2012–2015
- 2012Pill (2012)Compare
- 2013Pill 2.0Compare
- 2015Pill+
- Type
- Portable speaker
- Atmos
- No
- Connects by
- Bluetooth
- Battery
- 12 h
- Weight
- 0.75 kg
What reviewers say
Both reviews praise the improved construction, phone charging and speaker-pairing features, but find distortion at high volume and better-value rivals. Sound judgements differ; What Hi-Fi? finds the presentation fuller and reasonably balanced, while TechRadar hears muddy bass, piercing highs and recessed mids. Both consider the improvement over earlier Pills insufficient at the launch price.
From whathifi.com and techradar.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specSound
- Type
- Portable speaker
- Dolby Atmos
- No
- Drivers
- Two tweeters and two woofers (What Hi-Fi? and TechRadar)
Connections
- Wi-Fi
- No
- Bluetooth
- Yes
- AirPlay
- No
- Voice assistants
- None
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth audio and speakerphone; no NFC pairing (TechRadar)
- Ports
- Lightning charging, 3.5 mm auxiliary input and USB charge-out; auxiliary cable not included
- Multi-room
- Two units support Stereo and Amplify modes; original app also offered DJ control from two mobile devices (TechRadar and What Hi-Fi?)
- App
- At launch, the original Pill+ app was available for selected iOS and Android devices
Design
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 12 hours
- Weight
- 0.75 kg
- Battery life detail
- Maker's 12-hour listening claim and three-hour full charge reported by The Next Web; five-light battery gauge (TechRadar)
- Controls
- Power, volume, playback, track and call buttons
- Microphones
- Built-in speakerphone microphone (TechRadar)
- Size
- 210 × 63.6 × 69.2 mm (length × height × depth), with 0.75 kg weight, reported by TechRadar
- Colours
- Black and White at launch
- In the box
- Speaker, carrying bag, Lightning cable and power adaptor (TechRadar)
Pros and cons
Pros
- USB output can charge a connected phone
- Two speakers support stereo or amplified playback
- Speakerphone and physical playback controls
Cons
- No NFC pairing
- No water-resistance rating published
- No Wi-Fi or AirPlay
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Atmos | Connects by | Battery | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 20 h | 0.8 kg | 2016 | |
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 12 h | 0.51 kg | 2017 | |
| Portable speaker | No | Bluetooth | 15 h | 0.608 kg | 2018 |
Previous model: Pill 2.0. Newer model: Pill (2024).
Sources
- beatsbydre.com/content/dam/beats-support/global/quick-start-guides/pillplus-qui…
- thenextweb.com/news/beats-launches-new-pill-bluetooth-speaker-arriving-next-mon…
- macrumors.com/2015/10/26/beats-pill-speaker-launches
- whathifi.com/beats-dr-dre/pill-plus/review
- techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/hi-fi-and-av-speakers/beats-…