Its stout bottom and entrance grille present some rugged sturdiness, however as I found on a current tenting journey, it’s not fairly as resilient to drops or bumps because the hardest choices. Whereas jamming tunes on a cabin deck, a buddy by chance knocked the Capsule off a 4-foot railing, sending it bouncing off a few stairs. The efficiency wasn’t affected, however the grille gained some recent battle scars within the type of twin dents at its edges. Again house I attempted the same stairwell drop take a look at with the JBL Flip 5 and Final Ears Growth 4, each of which walked away largely unscathed with none noticeable dents.
Considerably mockingly, a part of the rationale I positioned the Capsule in such a precarious place is its relative lack of setup positions in comparison with these extra versatile rivals. It is actually sturdy sufficient for outside adventures–simply choose your setup spot higher than I did.
Totally Loaded
Beats packed the brand new Capsule with a full suite of options, together with some I by no means even thought-about, like a USB-C digital enter that permits you to wire in high-resolution audio à la the Beats Studio Professional (7/10, WIRED Recommends). As earlier than, you’ll be able to pair the speaker with one other Capsule to “amplify” the sound or unfold them out as a stereo pair, which works properly however unsurprisingly does not match equally priced desktop models. Class 1 Bluetooth offers glorious wi-fi vary (I obtained as much as 130 ft with line of sight earlier than cutouts), significantly useful for these instances while you wander off from the get together together with your cellphone.
Different extras embody one-touch pairing and even Discover My performance for iOS or Android gadgets, a built-in speakerphone, entry to your cellphone’s voice assistant, and the power to flip the USB-C port to output energy for charging different gadgets. You don’t get a 3.5-mm enter for sourcing legacy audio gadgets, and there’s no option to EQ the sound, however neither of these are options I often attain for in a speaker designed largely for ambiance.
I’ve some minor factors of rivalry with the Capsule’s management system. It is easy for duties like play/pause, music skip, quantity, and calling, however going deeper generally calls for an excessive amount of “multi” from the multifunction keys. After I first tried powering down, I stored holding the ability key previous the required “.8 seconds,” placing the speaker in pairing mode. You’ve obtained to make use of a fast faucet for a battery verify, or faucet thrice to permit the USB-C port to cost different gadgets. iPhone customers should undergo some center-key hullabaloo to get two Capsules to pair up, whereas Android customers can join them within the Beats app. None of this can be a big deal, however you could have to look on-line since some controls aren’t outlined within the fast information.
The Capsule’s mondo battery life steps in to ease these minor management inconveniences. With as much as 24 hours of playback at half quantity, the speaker doubles its predecessor and cheaper choices just like the Flip, whereas simply outlasting the newest UE Growth (15 hours) and pricier JBL Cost (20 hours). I obtained much more play time in testing, since I not often raised the Capsule’s quantity above 30 p.c indoors.
Snazzy Sound
In true Beats trend, the Capsule takes a calculated extremist method to its sound signature. The bass is huge and brawny, whereas the treble is snappy and vibrant for a efficiency that’s as slick, shiny, and polished because the speaker itself. At first, I believed it was a too sculpted and snazzy for my style, however possibly due partially to Apple’s takeover, there’s a resigned tact that retains issues from getting overly boomy down low or brittle up excessive.
After I settled in, I started to essentially benefit from the Capsule’s affected sound for its capacity to reveal devices and results with each readability and energy. The highest facet preserves lush element and spectacular sonic depth throughout genres, whereas the full-bodied bass brings a brazen pressure that warms up your favourite tracks for a candy experience. My spouse and I couldn’t assist however discover the speaker buzzing warmly throughout surfaces just like the picnic desk at our campsite, including some bounce to our breakfast.
