AirPods Max costs $549. The Beats Pill, which is also an Apple product since Apple owns Beats, costs $149 at full price and Amazon currently has it at $99, down from its regular $149, a 33% cut that puts one of the best-sounding portable speakers on the market at a fifth of what Apple charges for its flagship headphones. The margin Apple applies to its own audio hardware clearly does not extend to the Beats side of the house, and that is very much the buyer’s gain.
Room-filling sound from a speaker that fits in a bag pocket
The Beats Pill was redesigned around a bigger racetrack woofer that displaces 90% more air volume than the previous generation, which translates directly into deeper bass and fuller low-end without the distortion that compact speakers usually introduce at high volumes. The redesigned tweeter handles the high frequencies with extra stability, keeping the sound balanced across the range rather than letting the bass overwhelm the mids and highs. At 69 watts of maximum output, the Pill fills a room or outdoor space at a volume level that most Bluetooth speakers at this price cannot approach. Two Pill speakers paired together in Amplify or Stereo mode double that output further, which is a setup worth knowing about if you regularly host outdoor gatherings or garden parties.
Battery life runs 24 hours on a single charge, which covers a full day of outdoor use and then some, and the USB-C port doubles as a power output for charging a phone when the battery runs low. IP67 dust and water resistance handles full submersion up to one meter for 30 minutes, which goes beyond the IPX7 rating most competing speakers carry and means the Pill survives drops in a pool, a cooler, or a rainstorm without any issue. The removable lanyard and soft-grip silicone backing make it easy to carry or attach to a bag without needing a separate case.
High-resolution lossless audio is available when connected via USB-C cable to a compatible device, which is a feature rarely found at this price and gives the Pill a second life as a desktop speaker for anyone who wants better audio from a laptop without buying a full speaker system. Apple and Android compatibility covers instant one-touch pairing, automatic pairing across devices, and Find My or Find My Device integration for locating the speaker if it gets left behind.
The JBL Flip 6, the most direct competitor at a similar price, typically runs $100 to $130 and delivers less output wattage with a shorter battery life. The Beats Pill at $99 matches or beats it on every relevant spec while adding lossless USB-C audio and the Apple ecosystem integration that makes pairing with an iPhone seamless. With 4.7 stars across over 3,200 reviews and more than 500 units sold last month at a price that is already below the JBL’s regular price, the Pill at this discount is the easiest recommendation in portable speakers right now.