Beats Powerbeats Pro
IMPRESSIVE-FITTING WORKOUT ‘BUDS FROM BEATS.
THE POWERBEATS PRO are the next logical step for Apple’s series of workout-focused earbuds – true wireless is the way of the future, obviously.
And while Apple could’ve churned out a half-decent, sweat-resistant pair of true wireless buds and called it a day, the Powerbeats Pro are something special – they’re supremely comfortable, sound decent and seem to never, ever fall out.
They might not be the best true wireless earbuds in Apple’s audio arsenal now that the AirPods Pro are here, but they are Apple’s most premium play into the true workout space, and are the buds we’d recommend to most workout enthusiasts.
In terms of design, there’s a lot to like about the new Powerbeats Pro
– it has a sport look to it, while still being practical enough to wear around outside the gym.
On each of the two earbuds the Powerbeats Pro have a center playback control button where the Beats logo is, plus a volume rocker. That means you can control your music with whichever hand is free, which is a nice feature. (Of course, if you have Hey Siri enabled, you can simply say the wake word with a voice command for the same effect.)
It also helps that the Pro is extremely comfortable, and not just in terms of how it fits in and around the ear, but also in terms of how it feels when you’re listening to music.
Like other AirPod products, the Powerbeats Pro are the most at home when paired with other Apple devices. On iOS, pairing up the Powerbeats Pro is as simple as opening the case near your iPhone or iPad. Two touches later and your devices are synced.
As with the AirPods, you can then open the case to see how much battery life is left on your iOS device, and that helps further their space-age feel. (It would’ve been nice to see their battery life in the top-right corner of the home screen like we’ve seen with other true wireless earbuds, but that’s not a dealbreaker.)
Staying in your ear and connecting to your devices seamlessly is table stakes in this category. What really matters is how good they sound when you’re moving – an area that a lot of popular earbuds don’t really master.
The good news is that the Powerbeats sound good both during a workout and during your time away from the gym. Yes, there’s a slight flimsiness to the sound if you take a critical ear to it – but it’s not the kind of thing you notice during your workout.
Over the course of a few weeks we listened to a number of genres and found that, like you’d expect, the Beats brand still caters to EDM, R&B and rap, and can now play most crunchy rock and alternative with some authority.
The true wireless Powerbeats Pro a big step up for the Apple-owned headphone brand. They have their limitations (see: lack of noise-cancellation, limited noise isolation and IPX4 rating), but they are Apple’s most premium workout buds.
THEY MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS IN APPLE’S AUDIO ARSENAL NOW THAT THE AIRPODS PRO ARE HERE, BUT THEY ARE APPLE’S MOST PREMIUM PLAY INTO THE TRUE WORKOUT SPACE, AND ARE THE BUDS WE’D RECOMMEND TO MOST WORKOUT ENTHUSIASTS.