If you’re looking for a gadget to get as a last-minute Christmas gift, we’ve got your back. The Beats Solo 4 are among the best on-ear headphones we’ve tested in the last year or two, and they’re currently down to a new low of $79 ($120 off) in select colors at Walmart. If you prefer a different color, both Amazon and Best Buy have also marked them down to $129.95 ($70 off). All three stores are offering fast, free shipping, allowing you to pick them up before the holidays.
Beats headphones are known for being relatively bass-heavy, but the Solo 4 have an EQ that doesn’t overemphasize particular frequencies, making them well suited for a variety of genres. The headphones are wireless, but you can use them as a wired pair by connecting them to your device with the included USB-C or a 3.5mm audio cable. Using them in wired mode allows you to listen to lossless audio with no compression, and you can continue to use the Solo 4 in wired mode when their battery runs out. However, that shouldn’t be a problem given they can last up to 50 hours on a single charge.
On the technical side, the Solo 4 support both Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find Hub networks, which allow you to track them using either an iOS or Android device. However, there are features that are exclusive to each platform. iPhone users get personalized spatial audio with head tracking, for instance, while Android users get automatic device switching between Android, Chromebooks, and other devices.
The only major features the Solo 4 don’t have are water resistance and active noise cancellation, which means they’re not the best choice for traveling. Nonetheless, they’re still well suited for listening to music at home or a quiet office, with relatively good passive noise isolation.
