 Beats headphones are everywhere. You see them on your commute, at the gym, on the heads of celebrities and star athletes. Beats has sold over 30 million units of its solo line of headphones, and now there's a brand new version. These are the $300 Solo Pros, and they add a long-awaited feature, noise cancellation. These are the second release in what Beats says is a new generation of products that began with the fantastic Powerbeats Pro. They come in the soft case, which is made from a lot of recycled materials, and when you take them out, they definitely look like Beats, but they're somehow more refined. All that glossy, greasy plastic is gone now, and the Solo Pros only come in matte finishes. And these exposed aluminum sliders make them feel just a little bit more classy than previous Beats headphones did. So there's no power button on these headphones. You turn them on, you just unfold them, and they power on. If you want to shut them off, just fold them back up, and they turn off. Now, some people like me like to wear their headphones around their neck sometimes. So as long as no music is playing, these enter a low power state and save battery life automatically. Beats has made other improvements that you might not notice just by looking at the Solo Pros. The surface area of the cushions has increased by 70%, and your ears will appreciate that added foam padding. And since Solo headphones are so popular at the gym, Beats also changed things internally to make them more sweat- and rain-resistant. Now, inside the Solo Pros is Apple's H1 chip, so these can instantly pair to any nearby iPhone or iPad. And they have hands-free, hasty voice commands, and a new iOS 13 feature called audio sharing. So you and a friend who has AirPods can listen to the same song or watch a video together at the same time. Don't worry, Android people, these headphones work perfectly fine with your phones, too. They charge with a lightning connector, not USB-C, I know, I know, but there is a cable in the box. What you won't find on these headphones is a 3.5 millimeter input. Apple is determined to kill the headphone jack, and Beats has not been spared. So if you want to use these headphones wired, you've got to pay $35 for a cable from Apple. Otherwise, it's all wireless, all Bluetooth, all the time. I think that might frustrate some frequent flyers. Put the Solo Pros onto your dome, and well, here's the thing, they don't fit me so great. Now, I've got an enormous head. Back in Little League, I had to use the special batter's helmet, which was one size bigger than the biggest size for people with normal-sized heads. So I'm an exception, don't focus on that. I wanted more input, so I gave the Solo Pros to the folks around the office and had them wear them around. But that same theme kept coming up. People say they felt tight, a lot of pressure on their ears, and for folks who have also big heads, they feel a little small sometimes. But there's a reason why these clamp down on your ears so hard. See, for noise cancellation to work well, there has to be a good seal, so the ear pads need a lot of pressure up against your ears to cut off outside noise. Makes sense, I get that, but I also think some people might find these fatiguing or just straight up uncomfortable after a few hours. Say, if you're on a long flight somewhere. Okay, so Beats' noise cancellation is pretty good. I don't think it's quite at the level of Bose's noise-canceling headphones 700 or Sony's 1000XM3s. Those names. But it does a pretty good job of cutting out the rumble of the subways or the clamor of city streets. Now, unlike the noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Microsoft and some others, Beats does not allow you to adjust the level of noise cancellation. It's all automatic and it adjusts automatically based on your environment. So in a quiet room, it'll ratchet down and if you step onto a plane, it'll crank right back up. But if you have to hear what's going on around you for safety reasons or to pay for a coffee or whatever, you can press this button to enter transparency mode. And on that note, the Solo Pro is one of the most natural sounding pass-through modes I've ever heard. Conversations sound natural, not overly processed or digital. Battery life is 22 hours with noise cancellation mode or transparency mode, but you can turn all of that off and get up to 40 hours of good old music listening. But if you somehow do manage to run out of battery, you can charge them up for 10 minutes and get three hours of listening time. So let's do it. Sound quality. You know the reputation that Beats has and so do I. For years, it was about head rattling, thumping bass at the expense of everything else. But that's not true anymore and it hasn't been true for a while now. Things started turning around with the Solo 3s a few years ago and then got really good with the Powerbeats Pro. For the Solo Pros, the bass is still pronounced, but it's not too boomy or overwhelming. It feels restrained compared to older Beats headphones, even those Solo 3s. One word I would associate with these headphones is clarity. They don't have the widest soundstage in the world, but they're balanced and pretty enjoyable. Now do they sound as good as Sennheiser's $400 noise-canceling headphones? No, but there's also nothing wrong with them either. Now Beats doesn't offer any kind of EQ customization, so definitely put these on in the store, try them, and make sure you're into that sound. The bottom line is that these are not audiophile headphones, but they fill the role of everyday take-everywhere headphones pretty well, so long as your head isn't quite as big as mine. And then there's the nitpicky stuff. I wish these paused music automatically when you take them off your head and they don't do that. Plus these controls on the right ear cup could be a lot better. You press up or down to adjust volume and you press the center area to pause or play music. Pressing twice skips a track and three times goes back, but I keep trying to press left or right for those same functions just like the iPod click wheel back in the day. I wish that was the case here, but it's not. And then there's that $35 cable if you want wired audio. Come on, Apple. But with all that said, if you find these comfortable and you're okay with that $300 price, I think the Solo Pros are pretty much the best Beats headphones ever. No, the noise cancellation isn't best in class. If you care about that most or you travel a bunch, stick with Sony or Bose. But I suspect, just like their predecessors, these are the new headphones you're going to start seeing pop up pretty much everywhere very soon. Hey everybody, thanks so much for watching. It seems like new headphones and earbuds just keep coming, so we've got more tech reviews on the way, and for all those and everything else, subscribe to The Verge at youtube.com slash the verge.
 Beats headphones are everywhere. You see them on your commute, at the gym, on the heads of
 celebrities and star athletes. Beats has sold over 30 million units of its solo line of headphones,
 and now there's a brand new version. These are the $300 Solo Pros, and they add a long-awaited
 feature, noise cancellation. These are the second release in what Beats says is a new generation of
 products that began with the fantastic Powerbeats Pro. They come in the soft case, which is made
 from a lot of recycled materials, and when you take them out, they definitely look like Beats,
 but they're somehow more refined. All that glossy, greasy plastic is gone now, and the Solo Pros
 only come in matte finishes. And these exposed aluminum sliders make them feel just a little bit
 more classy than previous Beats headphones did. So there's no power button on these headphones.
 You turn them on, you just unfold them, and they power on. If you want to shut them off,
 just fold them back up, and they turn off. Now, some people like me like to wear their headphones
 around their neck sometimes. So as long as no music is playing, these enter a low power state
 and save battery life automatically. Beats has made other improvements that you might not notice
 just by looking at the Solo Pros. The surface area of the cushions has increased by 70%,
 and your ears will appreciate that added foam padding. And since Solo headphones are so popular
 at the gym, Beats also changed things internally to make them more sweat- and rain-resistant.
 Now, inside the Solo Pros is Apple's H1 chip, so these can instantly pair to any nearby iPhone
 or iPad. And they have hands-free, hasty voice commands, and a new iOS 13 feature called audio
 sharing. So you and a friend who has AirPods can listen to the same song or watch a video together
 at the same time. Don't worry, Android people, these headphones work perfectly fine with your
 phones, too. They charge with a lightning connector, not USB-C, I know, I know, but there is a cable in
 the box. What you won't find on these headphones is a 3.5 millimeter input. Apple is determined to
 kill the headphone jack, and Beats has not been spared. So if you want to use these headphones
 wired, you've got to pay $35 for a cable from Apple. Otherwise, it's all wireless, all Bluetooth,
 all the time. I think that might frustrate some frequent flyers. Put the Solo Pros onto your dome,
 and well, here's the thing, they don't fit me so great. Now, I've got an enormous head. Back in
 Little League, I had to use the special batter's helmet, which was one size bigger than the biggest
 size for people with normal-sized heads. So I'm an exception, don't focus on that. I wanted more
 input, so I gave the Solo Pros to the folks around the office and had them wear them around. But that
 same theme kept coming up. People say they felt tight, a lot of pressure on their ears, and for
 folks who have also big heads, they feel a little small sometimes. But there's a reason why these
 clamp down on your ears so hard. See, for noise cancellation to work well, there has to be a good
 seal, so the ear pads need a lot of pressure up against your ears to cut off outside noise.
 Makes sense, I get that, but I also think some people might find these fatiguing or just straight
 up uncomfortable after a few hours. Say, if you're on a long flight somewhere. Okay, so Beats' noise
 cancellation is pretty good. I don't think it's quite at the level of Bose's noise-canceling
 headphones 700 or Sony's 1000XM3s. Those names. But it does a pretty good job of cutting out the
 rumble of the subways or the clamor of city streets. Now, unlike the noise-canceling headphones from
 Bose or Microsoft and some others, Beats does not allow you to adjust the level of noise cancellation.
 It's all automatic and it adjusts automatically based on your environment. So in a quiet room,
 it'll ratchet down and if you step onto a plane, it'll crank right back up. But if you have to hear
 what's going on around you for safety reasons or to pay for a coffee or whatever, you can press
 this button to enter transparency mode. And on that note, the Solo Pro is one of the most natural
 sounding pass-through modes I've ever heard. Conversations sound natural, not overly processed
 or digital. Battery life is 22 hours with noise cancellation mode or transparency mode, but you
 can turn all of that off and get up to 40 hours of good old music listening. But if you somehow
 do manage to run out of battery, you can charge them up for 10 minutes and get three hours of
 listening time. So let's do it. Sound quality. You know the reputation that Beats has and so do I.
 For years, it was about head rattling, thumping bass at the expense of everything else. But that's
 not true anymore and it hasn't been true for a while now. Things started turning around with
 the Solo 3s a few years ago and then got really good with the Powerbeats Pro. For the Solo Pros,
 the bass is still pronounced, but it's not too boomy or overwhelming. It feels restrained
 compared to older Beats headphones, even those Solo 3s. One word I would associate with these
 headphones is clarity. They don't have the widest soundstage in the world, but they're balanced and
 pretty enjoyable. Now do they sound as good as Sennheiser's $400 noise-canceling headphones?
 No, but there's also nothing wrong with them either. Now Beats doesn't offer any kind of EQ
 customization, so definitely put these on in the store, try them, and make sure you're into that
 sound. The bottom line is that these are not audiophile headphones, but they fill the role of
 everyday take-everywhere headphones pretty well, so long as your head isn't quite as big as mine.
 And then there's the nitpicky stuff. I wish these paused music automatically when you take them off
 your head and they don't do that. Plus these controls on the right ear cup could be a lot
 better. You press up or down to adjust volume and you press the center area to pause or play music.
 Pressing twice skips a track and three times goes back, but I keep trying to press left or right for
 those same functions just like the iPod click wheel back in the day. I wish that was the case
 here, but it's not. And then there's that $35 cable if you want wired audio. Come on, Apple.
 But with all that said, if you find these comfortable and you're okay with that $300 price,
 I think the Solo Pros are pretty much the best Beats headphones ever. No, the noise cancellation
 isn't best in class. If you care about that most or you travel a bunch, stick with Sony or Bose.
 But I suspect, just like their predecessors, these are the new headphones you're going to start
 seeing pop up pretty much everywhere very soon. Hey everybody, thanks so much for watching. It
 seems like new headphones and earbuds just keep coming, so we've got more tech reviews on the way,
 and for all those and everything else, subscribe to The Verge at youtube.com slash the verge.