From 12 July also in Italy you can buy the Powerbeats Pro, the new Bluetooth earphones by Beats: for some months they have been talking about them with very enthusiastic tones in the US newspapers that deal with technology, whose general opinion is that they are the first Bluetooth headsets truly capable of competing with AirPods. The TechCrunch website, for example, reviewed them with the title: “The Powerbeats Pro are the Bluetooth headsets to beat”.
They are the first truly innovative product introduced by Beats: a brand around which a small cult had been created especially among hip hop music fans, purchased by Apple in 2014. They did not fail to meet expectations, according to The Verge: «They are a triumph “. We put together what they say to see if they are really that extraordinary.
How the Powerbeats Pro are made
The Powerbeats Pro are earphones that connect to the device from which you want to listen to music, or with which you want to make a phone call, via Bluetooth. Unlike the other Bluetooth headsets produced by Beats in recent years, they have no “collar” that connects the two headsets.
Like the AirPods, they have a case that doubles as a portable battery, but they are distinguished from the AirPods by their shape. First of all, they are not worn simply by tucking them into the ear: they are mainly designed as earphones to wear while exercising, so they have a support to slip behind the pavilion to keep them in place. In addition, the part that fits into the ear is made of silicone, to better adapt to the shape and size of the external ear canal of the user: the pieces of silicone can be replaced with smaller or larger versions depending on how it is made. your ear. Finally, they are not available in one color like the AirPods, but in four different colors: black, ivory white, moss green and “navy” blue.
Precisely because they are designed for training and sports activities, the Powerbeats Pro are resistant to sweat and small amounts of water: according to the IP code, which evaluates the degree of protection against the intrusion of solid particles such as dust and liquids, they are IPX4, i.e. they can withstand drops of water (for example those of rain when you go for a run in a park in bad weather), even if they cannot be immersed.
On each headset there is a key: it is under the b of the Beats logo and is used to pause music, restart it or activate a voice assistant, whether it is Siri or Google Assistant, by holding down a little longer. Unlike most Bluetooth headsets, it is not necessary to learn complicated key press sequences to adjust the Powerbeats Pro: there is a wheel to adjust the volume, otherwise you use the device to which they are connected, or the commands vowels. There is no switch off button: like the AirPods and all other Bluetooth headsets, the Powerbeats Pro cannot be turned off but only put into sleep mode (simply by leaving them stationary on a shelf, because they have an accelerometer with which they know they are no longer be in your ear) and recharge inside their box. This has a small indicator light that can be red or white, while the earphones have no lights of their own: to find out their percentage of charge, you need to consult the app that connects them to your smartphone.
The Powerbeats Pro cost 250 euros – therefore 80 euros more than the AirPods, from the list price – and for now they can only be purchased from the Apple site (or that of Beats).
Because they are highly rated by tech experts
In Wired's summary judgment: «They never fall out of your ears, they sound better than the AirPods and they have a battery which lasts almost twice as long ». Sound quality is the aspect that reviews insist on the most. According to Engadget's review, the Powerbeats Pro are the Beats products from which music is best heard. For Wired the music is heard much more clearly than with the AirPods (Apple has reduced the sound distortion with some technical improvements) and Samsung's Galaxy Buds. The bass sounds are not as heavy as those of the other Beats: they are powerful but “don't take out all the sound with them”, which is a good thing. The Verge adds that “Apple product enthusiasts who have always found their earphones lacking bass will be much better off with the Powerbeats Pro” and that bass quality makes male voices richer and more pleasant to hear.
However, most reviews slightly criticize the fact that unlike other Beats headphones and earphones, the treble is very pronounced with the Powerbeats Pro, until it becomes unpleasant when the volume is at maximum. . For The Verge this feature makes the earphones unsuitable for occasions when you just want to listen to some music and relax; after all, they are designed for use during physical activity, for example when you are forced to try to cover the music of the gym in which you train with a genre that you appreciate the most. The unpleasant high-pitched effect is most noticeable with some genres of music and, according to Engadget, is not a problem if you listen to hip hop, electronic music and metal. For other genres it is better not to keep the volume at maximum.
Bass aside, the Powerbeats Pro's big selling point is the battery , which is the same as the Galaxy Buds but gives better performance. Jeffrey Van Camp of Wired has verified that the charge lasts nine hours as said by Apple: in most Bluetooth headsets it lasts less than five. The recharging box can then recharge them two more times, to reach 24 hours of total autonomy. Another big advantage of the Powerbeats Pro is that 5 minutes of charging are enough to get an hour and a half of use; with 15 minutes of charging instead you can use them for 4 and a half hours. Charging of the earphones is complete after 90 minutes; that of the recharging box after 2 and a half hours. One thing to watch out for is to place the earphones well in the box: at first it may take a while to figure out how to do it.
The other two features that satisfied the reviewers are the stability on the ear and the excellent connectivity. Regarding the first, Van Camp said that even shaking his head hard just to make them fall, they did not come off. Vlad Savov of The Verge said he “ran, played basketball, jumped like a 20-year-old at a metal concert, lifted weights and smacked” with the Powerbeats Pro, never moving. However, he partly criticized the shape for those who have to wear them with glasses or a hat: they can be uncomfortable in these cases; for people with glasses it is recommended to wear them before glasses. TechCrunch's Brian Heater said that after holding them all day he had a sore ear, but at that point he had worn them for much longer than any other headset he had ever tried, with little discomfort.
As for the connectivity , thanks to the H1 chip, the same present in the newer AirPods, the connection between earphones and iOS devices is almost instantaneous (two seconds maximum) and is very fast even with Android devices, to the point of being able to watch videos on YouTube without experiencing delays between image and sound. The same also applies to phone calls, which can be done with either a single earphone or both, unlike other models where the right earphone is “dominant” and the left cannot be used alone. The reviewers also say that the maximum distance you can move from your smartphone without losing the signal is greater than that of all other Bluetooth headsets.
The defects of the Powerbeats Pro
Despite the numerous and convinced appreciations, the reviews of the Powerbeats Pro also point out some defects of the earphones. The first and most cited is the size of the box and the charger: it is considerably larger than that of the AirPods (“huge” according to TechCrunch, “ridiculously big” according to The Verge, “a burden »according to Engadget) and not very comfortable to carry around, especially if you don't use a bag and in these summer months when you go around without jackets. According to the estimates of Vlad Savov of The Verge, in a box of Powerbeats there are four of the AirPods. It must be said, however, that it is a very sturdy box and contains a battery that allows the earphones to remain charged for more than double the time. In total, according to Apple, the batteries in the earphones and the battery in the box allow you to use them for 24 hours without the need for a cable.
Powerbeats Pro are definitely bulkier than Apple's AirPods, in and out of case. The kit comes with 4 sets of tips, a case and a black lightning cable. pic.twitter.com/mexivitLHV
– Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) May 6, 2019
Just the cable to recharge the box is another defect of the Powerbeats Pro pointed out by all the reviewers, some of them users of devices with Android operating system, therefore not Apple: it is a Lightning to USB-A cable , that is, it is made like the cables that are used to recharge the latest iPhone models and only and exclusively Apple products, which is why it forces Android users who own a pair of Powerbeats Pro to move with a cable other than the one they charge their phone with. Reviewers also complained about this choice because Apple has recently been switching from Lightning output to the more common USB-C output, for example with the iPad Pro.
The box of the most recent AirPods (which cost 230 euros instead of 180) can be recharged without cables: it is likely, according to experts, that a similar system will also be available for future Powerbeats Pro models, but for now we have to make do.
The price , very high, is also to be put on the list of cons. For those interested in buying real Bluetooth headsets today (without the collar that is) and feel good, the only really valid options all cost at least 150 euros and the Powerbeats Pro cost 100 more. Reviewers are a bit divided about the price. Vlad Savov of The Verge thinks the advantages of the Powerbeats are worth the difference in price to the AirPods, while Billy Steele of Engadget is more cautious and says that all things considered the best deal for him remains Jabra's Elite 65t earbuds (for sale at about 150 euros on Amazon) and if you want to give importance above all to sound quality – and less to comfort when doing sports – Sennheiser's Momentum True Wireless (280 euros) and MW07 Master & Dynamic (300 euros) are to be preferred .
Some other less relevant negative sides are also reported. According to The Verge, the intensity of high-pitched sounds can be tiring if you listen to music for very long (or too loud adds Engadget), and due to their size the Powerbeats Pro don't look discreet enough, at least to be used. in environments such as an office. Regarding the design Engadget is critical of the hook that holds the earphones in place, which can be uncomfortable for some ears.
So if I'm interested in Bluetooth headphones, is it worth buying the Powerbeats Pro?
It depends a bit how much importance you give to the sound quality, to the shape of your own ear and to their willingness to spend 250 euros. Perhaps it is worth waiting for the release of another model of Bluetooth earphones that will arrive on the American market in August, for $ 230: the Sony WF-1000XM3, the first real Bluetooth earphones with a noise-canceling technology, which reduces the noise from outside. In general, if you are interested in this type of innovation, it might be worth waiting for next year, when other companies will also offer Bluetooth headsets with this feature: for example Bose.
On this issue, however, personal sensitivity counts a lot. According to Jeffrey Van Camp of Wired, you might not even need noise-canceling with the Powerbeats Pro, because they isolate you from them, to the point that he thinks Apple should introduce a mode that highlights the noises of the surrounding world, instead of the other way around. According to Savov of The Verge instead the fact that they don't really isolate makes the Powerbeats Pro unsuitable for subway travel – albeit better suited than AirPods – compared to Samsung's Elite 65t and Galaxy Buds.
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