Beats’ New Bluetooth Speaker Shows Traces of Apple Influence

Well over a year after having been bought by Apple, Beats' headphones and speakers still look and sound much the same. Sure, they come in Space Gray to match your iPhone and iPad, but there are still the bright colors and slightly brash attitude. The new Pill+ is a Bluetooth speaker that holds on to the core Beats identity while clearly showing some influence from Cupertino.

The Pill+ is a major improvement over the Pill 2.0, which was last updated in late 2013. It's a little larger (a little more than 8 inches long and about 2.5 inches tall and deep), but it still has the familiar long, rounded shape and it has four internal speakers. In the Pill+, the speakers themselves are larger than those found in the original, and the tweeters have been angled outward to broaden the optimal listening area and minimize interference. The Pill+ also gets 12 hours of battery life on a three-hour charge, nearly double the Pill 2.0's 7 hours. It weighs a little over a pound and a half, so it fits fine in a suitcase—but it's a little bit too heavy to just toss in your purse for the day.