Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey’s 90th Anniversary Edition review: Perfect for Mickey Mouse fans

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9.3/10 rating

Beats as a company have come a long way. Since Apple has owned the company, their sound has changed as well. I’ve reviewed a few pairs of Beats headphones since Apple has taken over and they’re certainly not the same as the Monster days. This holds true for the Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey Mouse 90th anniversary edition as well.

While the Beats Solo3 Wireless has been out for a while, the new Mickey Mouse 90th Anniversary Edition has only been out for a few months now. Mickey Mouse needs no introduction and the fans of the cartoon rodent are rabid and loyal. This is why the Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey Mouse 90th anniversary edition are perfect for such fans. While the sound of these headphones may be debated by fans, the look of them is sure to please most Mickey Mouse fans out there. Read on for our full review of the Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey’s 90th Anniversary Edition.

Specifications

The Beats Solo3 Wireless has the following features and specifications:

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  • Class 1 Bluetooth
  • Apple W1 Chip
  • On-Board Call and Music Controls
  • On-Board Volume Control
  • Noise Isolation (earcups)
  • Stereo Bluetooth
  • Wired playback via RemoteTalk cable
  • RemoteTalk Cable with inline Controls
  • LED Fuel Gauge
  • Charge via a Micro-USB cable
  • Available colors: Mickey Mouse design in grey
  • Weight: 2lbs

What’s In The Box

  • Beats Solo3 Wireless Headphones – Mickey’s 90th Anniversary Edition
  • Custom felt case
  • Collectible pin
  • Custom decal sticker
  • 3.5mm RemoteTalk cable
  • Universal USB charging cable (USB-A to USB Micro-B)
  • Quick start guide
  • Warranty card
Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey Mouse
What’s in the box

Design

The Beats design hasn’t changed much over the years. There have been some refinements and Apple has toned down the lines and colors substantially but they appear pretty much the same. Of course, these headphones have good old Mickey Mouse emblazoned all over them. Beats did this in such a way that it doesn’t look gaudy at all. I really like the Mickey design on these headphones and the choice of grey as a background color was perfect.

Like the Studio3 headphones, the Beats Solo3 Wireless are made of mostly high-quality plastics, metals, and soft leather-like materials. The headband not only features Mickey, but also a shiny area with the Beats and Solo3 branding. The inner part of the headband is this soft rubbery material that is pretty comfortable on the head. Even so, I will say, for me at least, that after a few hours of listening, I did have to take them off for a few minutes.

The earcups are a soft leather-like material and are very comfortable. The clamping force of these headphones is a bit aggressive, just like its big brother. Again, after a few hours, I did have to rest my head a bit. The earcups also articulate to provide some additional comfort and sort of conform to your head.

The Beats Solo3 Wireless do fold up and tuck nicely into the felt carrying case that is included. The carrying case has a nice heavy-duty zipper and comes with the Disney and Beats logos on the outside. There are no pockets inside the case to store cables, that would have been nice to see.

On the inside of the headphones, just above the left earcup, it says, “Heritage 1928, Disney.” On this same earcup on the outside are the touch controls for volume, tracks, and calls. The headphone jack is also located here. The left earcup has the fuel indicator button as well as the Micro-USB port for charging. No USB-C here, which is a bummer.

Overall, these headphones hold true to Beats design language. They bump it up a notch with all the cool Mickey Mouse stuff but they’re still a pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones. They’re fairly comfy, but some may not like the clamping power and headband.

Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey Mouse
Nice felt carrying case

Ease of Use

With the Apple W1 Chip on board here, pairing to your iOS 10 or better device is seamless. Make sure Bluetooth is on, then press the power button on Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones for 1 second, then follow prompts on the screen. It literally takes 3 seconds to get connected.

The nice thing for Apple users is, once you’re connected to one device, all of your Apple devices will recognize the headphones and you can connect everywhere. You can even switch from one device to another quickly. Say you’re listening on your iPhone and want to switch to your iPad, just swipe up on Control Center and select the headphones and it instantly switches.

If you’re not using an iOS device you can still pair the regular way via Bluetooth. You just won’t be able to switch as seamlessly between devices on non-iOS devices.

Overall, these are probably the easiest headphones I’ve ever paired with iOS and they’re still easy to use without an iOS device.

Beats Solo3 Wireless
These are over ears on little kids.

Sound

My last experience with Beats was rather good when it came to sound. My old memories of the Monster Beats headphones was a bottle of mud in my ears from so much bass. I’m glad to say that Apple has refined the sound to suit a broader audience. The Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones are still leaning to the bass side, but it’s at least not as harsh and compliments most musical genres.

There is more bottom end than I usually like though, so I would say that if you don’t like a lot of bass, these may not be for you. But if you’re a Mickey Mouse fan, you may not care.

Mids and highs were at least discernible, unlike older Beats headphones. Vocals do come through and things like guitars, cymbals, and percussion can be heard fine. But you will notice the thick bass frequencies, especially in music you know wasn’t tuned to be bass heavy. The bass portions of those songs are far more pronounced.

Overall, these sound good, not perfect, just good. I could do with less bass but I do know many people love the bass tweaked up to this extent.

Reception/Call Quality

Like its other W1 Chip equipped headphones, the Beats Solo3 Wireless has amazing Bluetooth reception and call quality. I can easily get 300 feet from my iOS device and not drop signal. Call quality is also great, overall, nothing to complain about here.

Battery Life

Apple claims up to 40-hours of use with these headphones. I didn’t do a long-term test but these headphones lasted for weeks without charging. Having used the Studio3 Wireless as well, I think Apple’s claim is pretty spot on. Remember, this is with normal use, so volume at around 40-50%. The battery life will vary depending on your use, that includes volume level and distance from your source.

Price/Value

The Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey Mouse 90th Anniversary Edition is priced at US$299.95 but you can find them on sale now on both Apple’s website and Amazon for US$224.95. At the US$300 price, I’d say these are worth it, especially to Mickey Mouse fans. But at the US$224 price, I’d say they’re a great deal.

Wrap Up

Mickey Mouse lovers will love these. If you’re just looking for a nice pair of headphones, then these will serve you well, especially if you’re into a more bass heavy sound. At the current sale price I think they’re perfectly priced, at the normal price, they’re fairly priced.

*We received a sample of the Beats Solo3 Wireless Mickey headphones for the purposes of this review.

Last Updated on February 3, 2021.

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