Here are the earphones; immediately appear of good quality, A good part of the observers of the Apple world had expected for 2019 the launch of a renewed version of the AirPods. There was a bit of disappointment when at instead of a revolution, a modest evolution has arrived without any novelty of substance. In fact, it would be enough to broaden your gaze and take a look at what Apple has put under the Beats brand, or the Powerbeats Pro to understand that there has been a revolution of the AirPods …
Ok, the PowerBeats Pro are not the AirPods, they have another name, but these earphones are currently probably the best earphones you can buy, far superior to the AirPods, the so called AirPods 2 included. Better, of course, if you like the style and if the price is not an issue and if, perhaps, as often happens, it is not their iconic status that makes you buy the AirPods. How do you say? What this attack sounds like the conclusion of a review? Certainly, it is. But this does not mean that we will not take away the burden of reading the reasons why we have come to these conclusions. Follow us and you will understand why today there are no , for us, better headphones to buy on the PowerBeats Pro market.
Out of the box
Following the traditional lineup means starting from the ' observation of the box . Here the combination with the AirPods, although inevitable, is complex enough to make rational. Even if the company that produces the two earphones is the same, it is quite clear that we are facing two products conceived in a radically different way .
If the AirPods do everything to appear light, almost ethereal, the PowerBeats are delivered in a decidedly impressive and black packaging, a reference to the style of Beats , certainly not historically interwoven with minimalism. Nor is the case minimalist whose dimensions are, indeed, gigantic . This partly depends on the size of the PowerBeats Pro, which in turn depends on the internal battery capacity and shape; but it seems to us that in large part also for the box we are facing a different design philosophy.
What matters, in practice, is that you will have a hard time putting the case in the pocket of your jeans and especially in that of the gym shorts; if, as someone who writes with the AirPods often does, you pretend to put it in the pocket on the back of the cycling shirt, the result will be an uncomfortable and unsightly bump. In reality it must also be said that, given the autonomy (as we explain they are) carrying the charging box with you may not be necessary.
The PowerBeats Pro box
If the box stylistically separates the PowerBeats Pro from the AirPods, it is once unpacked that the PowerBeats Pro also manifest the total departure from the style of the AirPods . They are large, made of soft plastic (of excellent quality), black in color (in the version we tested, the other colors should arrive later in the year), have the classic hook to attach to the ears and are distinguished by the logo with the “b” of Beats. The component from which the sound comes out, the one that contains the driver, protrudes clearly ;: understandable since we are talking about “in ear” earphones and must enter the ear cable.
An important aspect that helps to further distinguish the PowerBeats Pro from the AirPods are the physical keys ; one is under the “b” of Beats. The other is the balance wheel that adjusts the volume. We speak in the singular (key …) but in reality we should speak in the plural since each headset has the same controls with the same functions, this makes it possible to use one headset at a time.
Aesthetically, the Beats earphones, while larger, immediately seemed less striking than the AirPods . Of course the look is quite aggressive , but partly because of the black color, partly because their shape is common to that of many sports earphones (as opposed to that of the AirPods), you don't feel embarrassed to dress the Powerbeats Pro even outside the sporting context.
How they work
The PowerBeats Pro are based on the H1 chip around which the AirPods are built and therefore work, basically just like the AirPods, starting with the pairing process, totally automatic if you have a iPhone. Just open the case and touch the button on the iPhone screen to connect them. Subsequently, every time the earphones are worn they will connect and since they “see” your iCloud account, they will be automatically paired with all other devices connected to the same account. Also if you are using an iPhone the AirPods you can read the battery charge of the case and the two single earphones or you can ask Siri for it. If you have an Android phone, on the other hand, you have to use the classic system that passes by pressing a button on the case to pair them; to check the battery level you will need to use an ad hoc app (like this one)
The keys
We mentioned the keys . This is perhaps the difference (with the shape) more macroscopic than the AirPods . As mentioned there are 4 of them, two per headset. On each headset they perform the same functions. A duplication that is very convenient because it allows us to dress the earphones even one at a time. The main button, the one with the Beats logo, works to play or pause the audio, skip to the next track or go back. The same button with the logo also recalls Siri (although thanks to the H1 chip the PowerBeats Pro are compatible with Hey Siri). The volume key obviously works… to adjust the volume. In practice, compared to standard earphones, what is missing is only the on-off button.
PowerBeats Pro keys provide excellent control
Charging in case
The PowerBeats Pro , just like the AirPods, are totally dependent on their case . It is used to combine them and also to recharge them. The internal magnetic hook connects the earphones with an extra battery located inside the case. Its purpose is to restore that of the earphones for a couple of times without having the current at hand.
The most important difference between the case of the AirPods 2 and that of the PowerBeats Pro is that that of the Beats product does not have a magnetic plate for the recharge . Instead, use a classic Lightining cable (black, included in the package). This peculiarity did not bother us particularly and it shouldn't bother anyone among the owners of an iPhone since the cable is the same one used for the phone. But if you are a fan of wireless, or if you have an Android phone, keep in mind that you will always have to carry an extra cable with you.
Autonomy
One of the absolute strengths of the PowerBeats Pro is in the battery . Apple claims that the playing time is around nine hours and we have to say that this estimate is even pessimistic. We used the earphones for two workouts of two and a half hours each, and for another two days we kept them on for about three hours in total, even answering a few phone calls, before hearing the classic low battery sound.
The battery (200mWh, more than double that of the AirPods: 93mWh) at that point was 25% in one of the two earphones. The complete shutdown of the first of the two occurred only an hour and a half later; the second lasted for another ten minutes In practical terms we are talking about almost ten hours of use …
By way of comparison with the AirPods, even when new, we have never managed to exceed four hours even using the most favorable conditions (zero phone calls)
Comparison with AirPods aside, it must be said that admitting that the PowerBeats Pro can also be used for phone calls, it is clear that it is impossible to drain the PowerBeats Pro battery in normal use . In a normal use, certainly the earphones sooner or later in those ten hours of use, will end up in the case which in five minutes, using a technology that Apple / Beats calls Fast Fuel, should add 1.5 hours of autonomy or even 4.5 hours with a 15 minute charge.
Speaking of the charging case, its internal battery (also much larger than that of the Airpods case) according to Apple is capable of fully charging the PowerBeats Pro twice. . Here, too, Apple seems to have been more cautious than reality. After we charged the case and earphones to 100% (it took about 140 minutes) and with great effort and waste of time we ran out of the earphones battery twice, spending a week of exercise and occasional use away from our bike, we arrived at the final charge, the one that also had to drain the battery of the case. Well, once finished we found ourselves with the earphones charged at 100% and the internal battery of the case at 8%
In short, if you had (as this writer) something to say about the autonomy of the AirPods, with the PowerBeats Pro it is practically impossible to complain since on the market there is no there is no full wireless headset with a capacity in terms of audio playback time.
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We open the box 
The case of the PowerBeats Pro 
The PowerBeats Pro in their case 
Here are the earphones; immediately appear of good quality 
The two packs, PowerBetas Pro and AirPods 2 
Compared to AirPods. The cases are of extremely different cuts 
The earphones are also of a completely different size 
The earphones worn 
The Lighting connector 
We pair the PowerBeats Pro The grommets are in a resealable package 
PowerBears Pro accessories, Lightning cable and grommets 
The powerBeats Pro without rubber pads The buttons of the PowerBeats Pro 
Another perspective on the earphones 
I ear tips that should fit all ear types. In our case only the first two are of comfortable size
Ergonomics
If the battery is perfect, we also have to make very positive judgments about ergonomics. In fact, the PowerBetas Pro add up all the advantages of automatic operation of the AirPods, canceling all their limits on the other hand. First of all, the system with which they are worn (they are not placed on the external part of the earphone cable, but enter it) makes them very stable.
There has never been a moment in our rehearsal when, whatever we did, we got the impression that they might fall . You can certainly use them for any type of sport, including a mountain bike ride on a bumpy path, without losing them. This depends both on the fact that the soft non-slip pads are friction with the skin, and on the headband that hangs on the upper part of the ear. Finally, the angled shape also contributes.
Still on the subject of ergonomics of use, we cannot forget are the great advantage of physical buttons . Adjusting the volume with the AirPods means either taking out the phone or resorting to Siri. The first system is always uncomfortable, even very uncomfortable when (stability permitting) they are used for a workout. In our opinion, using Siri is socially unacceptable when in a public place. The fact that you cannot customize the controls as happens with the AirPods seemed to us completely irrelevant; everything you need has already been preprogrammed.
PowerBeats pro fit like this
Around the actual comfort, the comfort once worn, we think that the only “caveat” should be placed. The rubber pads included in the package are of four sizes but, at least in our case, in fact only one, the smallest, has adequate dimensions. All the others, designed to seal the ear in a different way or to adapt to different conformations, of the earphone cable, in one way or another, began to bother us after a few hours or even after a few minutes. This of course is subjective, but probably a bigger one less and a smaller one more would have been handy.
No problem , instead if you use , as the writer, glasses. The only precaution, first wear the PowerBeats Pro and then put on the glasses.
The Powerbeats Pro with cycling helmet and goggles
How they sound
Speaking of sound quality of sports earphones it is always difficult to set the bar at the right level. In fact, we are not talking about a product for audiophiles and those who buy them it won't do it for studio listening. For this there are specific headphones that must also have structurally incompatible characteristics with those of an accessory for fitness, running and training. In any case, the Beats brand forces us to consider some considerations that go beyond “feels good”, or to the term “acceptable” …
Starting with the casual parameter, the first thing we can say is that the Powerbeats sound (significantly) better than the AirPods . The comparison, indeed, just does not arise. After all, the AirPods have never been a parameter of sound quality for anyone
If we wanted to be more analytical, assuming this may be necessary when it comes to sports earphones, we can add that Beats / Apple in the PowerBeats has mitigated the usual bass dominance in the brand . Mind you the lower frequencies are well perceptible, they are even authoritative, which is always liked when doing sports, but there is control. This is not artificially loud bass that ends up crushing or dragging everything else, including the tone of the human voice.
By resorting to tracks such as The Knife's Bass Can You Hear Me (Beat Dominator) Silent Shout or Nas' It Ain'T Hard To Tell, you will understand perfectly what we mean by “not artificially powerful bass”. So while the sound remains warm and stimulating, listening is pleasant and uniformly good with all types of music. The result is that the music coming out of the PowerBeats Pro is energetic, detailed and clear even in the higher registers ; if there is reverberation it is perceived, the instruments are separated and perceptible as demonstrated by the test on the Overture of William Tell by the London Philarmonic Orchestra, there is also the sensation of a certain spatiality as perceived by Enia's Carribbean Blue, unthinkable in other sports earphones. If there is one shortcoming, quite modest in its scope, it is in the mids which are (relatively) less defined than the highs and lows, an aspect that emerges in Adrian Legg's Cajun Interlude.
In general, however, the PowerBeats Pro are earphones with excellent definition , very agile and capable of reproducing a wide range of sounds efficiently, as perceived by Micheal Edges' Jitterbogie or Oakhurst's River Sticks which continuously vary on different tones, putting in the second case also a human voice that in other competing sports earphones ends up in the basement.
In short, even leaving aside the comparison with the AirPods and moving the comparison with other earphones of the same range and destination of the many we have tried, we can say that the PowerBeats Pro are placed in the empyrean of sports earphones . We could also add, with due caution, that the PowerBeats Pro are not too far from similarly priced over-the-ear headphones, which is certainly not cheap.
The rubber pads of various sizes. They guarantee soundproofing but they seemed to us too scaled up in size
Soundproofing
The ability to reproduce music faithfully and pleasantly also depends on the soundproofing capacity . From this point of view the PowerBeats Pro do their duty even if miracles cannot be expected . Being “in-the-ear” earphones without active ambient noise reduction, they rely on closing the earphone cable to attenuate external sound; this happens efficiently and even at a low volume on high-pitched voices and sounds, but on the rumble , the rolling of a tire on the asphalt or the wheels of the train on the tracks or the sound of a jet, the 'effect is not very incisive .
Since these are sports earphones, this is not even entirely negative, since using a headset that completely eliminates the noise around us in the street would even be dangerous; on the train and bus, however, while canceling the annoying and not infrequently futile conversations around you, I am unable to compete with active noise canceling headphones.
Conclusions
At this point it would be time to draw conclusions. In fact, the conclusions we have already drawn at the beginning: the PowerBeats Pro are the best sports earphones you can buy today. They are also the best earphones ever for the Apple world, superior to the AirPods that are leaking the comparison a little for the design and a little for the congenital and structural defects, partly derived and obliged by the functional design.
The PowerBeats pro are very ergonomic , also thanks to the presence of the physical keys, they sound good and have an incredibly long battery life. Not only do they work very well for sports, but they are also perfectly acceptable for other uses due to their rather aggressive but also relatively common shape (which certainly cannot be said for AirPods). All the greatest and most tangible merits are also transferred to the Android world which will only lack the sophisticated battery control system and the automatic synchronization function, for this reason even those who do not have an iPhone should seriously consider purchasing it.
The defects? Putting aside the question of the size of the case, which has a relative relevance, we find a limit in the price range: 249 euros is an important figure, comparable to that of a decent pair of over-the-air headphones and superior to most other sports earphones. . But the exclusivity of some functions and the superiority in critical ranges, such as autonomy, account for the cost and push us not to consider it exaggerated.
Pro
Cons
Purchase
The PowerBeats Pro are on sale in black on the Apple Store online for 249 euros. Amazon offers them for the same price, but at the time of this review they were not orderable.
