The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 have officially landed as Beats finally updates its well-loved truly wireless sports earbuds that first launched back in 2019.
For the new Powerbeats Pro, it’s keeping that ear hook look, all while making them more comfortable to wear and introducing audio features from newer Beats earbuds and Apple’s AirPods. That includes ANC and transparency modes.
Beats is also introducing heart rate tracking, letting you monitor your effort levels from the ears whether you’re using them an iPhone or Android phone.
Testers Mike and Nick have had the Powerbeats Pro 2 in their ears to find out if that fit is still great, the sound quality has been upgraded and the added heart rate powers does spell the end of your heart rate monitor chest strap.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:39 – Price, key features and what’s new from Powerbeats Pro
02:17 – The Run Test
14:47 – Verdict
More ways to enjoy The Run Testers
Subscribe:
Read: Best running shoes of 2024:
Follow Us:
Listen to The Run Testers Podcast:
Watch The Run Testers Shorts:
Some other videos you might find useful:
Jabra Elite 8 Active Gen.2 Review:
Suunto Sonic Review:
Shokz OpenFit Air Review:
The Run Testers Awards 2024 Winners:
Hey this is Mark from the r testers These are the brand new beats Power Beats Pro two the update to the Power Beats Pro which launched back in 2019 so It's been well overdue an update and There's definitely some big upgrades Here for the pro two including the Ability to track heart rate from your Ears and it's the first Apple Beats Headphones that are able to do that now Myself and Nick have both been testing The pro two we'll get you through what's New from the power boots Pro get into Whether those heart rate monor skills Along with everything else work well and Whether the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 are A good truly Wireless airbud fit for [Music] Runners so let's whip you around those Key beats Power Beats Pro to details Let's start with price and the Power Beats Bro 2 cost £249 in the UK and $249 In the US putting it in at the same Launch price as the Powerbeats Pro color Options are gray black orange or purple With all colors featuring an on air hook Design that's now smaller and lighter Carries an ipx4 rating to make them Sweat and water resistant and includes Physical controls the outside of the Buds with two volume rockers on either Side in the box you'll also find a now Smaller charging case that now supports Wireless charging and five sets of soft
Silicone ear tips in terms of audio Smarts there's nowc and a transparency Mode along with adaptive EQ and spatial Audio modes that are found on other Apple and Beats headphones and earbuds You're also getting six microphones in Total to handle calls and are used for Thec and transparency modes the new Onboard Optical heart rate sensor works With both Android and iOS and lives Inside both earbuds where both signals Are used to deliver accurate data and Also uses the onboard accelerometer to Compensate for movement as you exercise With them iOS users can use the heart Rate monitor with the following apps Listed while Android users can use with Any compatible apps that support Bluetooth heart rate monitor pairing you Can additionally pair them with Connected gym equipment as well battery Life is up to 10 hours withc off which Is up 1 hour on the original Pros Battery life there's now a total of 45 Battery hours with a fully charged case Which is up from 24 hours a fast charge Mode gives you 1 and a half hours Playback from a 5minute charge as [Music] Well so I've been using the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 in the peak weeks of my Marathon training ahead of the Phil Marathon so I've managed to rack up a Lot of time with them on the run I think
I've done about 150 Mi or more of indoor And outdoor running with the buds along With other workouts including cycling Yoga strength training and overall I Think they're pretty fantastic I really Like them they're really comfortable and Secure to wear for long periods on the Run really reliable fit all around They're certainly not without their Problems especially when it comes to the HR but generally I do think they're Outstanding headphones for runners to Consider design is a really nice upgrade On the Beats Power Beats Pro original Ones with that Slimmer lighter design Just smaller it sits more comfortably on The ear it's easier to fit around things Like glasses and hats which I usually Wear on the Run even the cas being Smaller is a big plus because it was a Very big and heavy case in the past so Yeah definitely a nice design upgrade Al Just nicer to hold and look at I think And the fit is obviously great You' got The ear hook on here which is almost the Measure of Last Resort for runners like If you can't get inar headphones or Headphones with wings to stay in your Ear on the run you go for an ear hook And you're guaranteed a good fit and you Certainly get that with the Power Beats Pro too it's not just very secure hasn't Moved at all in any of my runs but it's Also really comfortable like I say you
Can wear these for long periods on the Run and then for the rest of your day as Well and because of the ear hook the in Ear part of the head doesn't have to jam Quite so much into the ear canal which I Often find is quite uncomfortable for me Over long periods if I'm using you know Just in buds with wings or without any Kind of security attachment at all with The power be Pro to they still do rest In the ear canal and block out external Sound but it is a much more comfortable Fit and yeah all around that's certainly One of the major selling points of these Headphones compared to you know cheaper Excellent in ear buds is the fact They've got that ear hook which is Really well designed controls are also Excellent big fan of having buttons on Headphones and it's just a simple Effective design here with the volum Controls on both sides which is Handy You know volume controls sometimes are a Bit of an afterthought of headphones but It is probably the thing that I adjust The most on the run and that simple Multifunction button that just always Works even when I've been running in Gloves or even mittens as I have been For most of the time whilst running with These headphones sound quality is good On the headphones as well you've got That classic big beat sound profile lots Of bass it's loud it's clear it's good
Clarity in the higher ranges a nice like I say amount of power in the base and On The Run it's got good enough audio Quality for me for sure when listening To my music and trying to inspire myself In the late stages of hard runs and also Nice and loud and clear when you're Listening to podcast as well by you know In noisy environments on the run so yeah No concerns really with the sound Quality as running headphones I'm not Necessarily sure they match the best High-end sets from other brands in terms Of pure sound quality but for work at Headphones you know they sound really Good ANC and transparency also pretty Good like I don't think the ANC is great Though like I don't think it's as good As the ANC on the airpods Pro 2 which is A bit surprising kind of being sister Companies and all that or even as good As actually jabra's ANC or Bose's ANC on Their higher end earbuds I think don't Think you get quite as much noise Filtered out with the power be Pro two As you do those headphones like still Does work pretty well and in when I'm Indoors running on the treadmill on a Next size bike it you know cleans that Sound out very nicely indeed but when I'm traveling I think I notice a bit More stuff coming in with the Beats Power Beach Pro 2 compared to those Headphones it's also quite windy like
Thec doesn't really filter out wind Noise so on the run a lot of times I Didn't really use the ANC I had to use Transparency and let in that wind Because otherwise you got that horrible Sound of the wind hitting the mic which Isn't being filtered out for some reason So yeah I don't think the N is Particularly strong point for runners it Is useful for General use but I think Does fall short a little bit of the Standards you can get from other Headphones transparency mode though is Good you know does keep you aware on the Run you don't feel you have to pop a Headphone out you can really hear what's Going on around you the battery life Think is also positive for the Headphones it's not actually completely Amazing you know 8 hours in the buds Withc on and 28 in the case there are Smaller buds that offer more than that You know these are earhook headphones With a big case you think maybe they Could go a bit further but I've Certainly been hitting the listed Numbers from beats and it's definitely Long enough that even with all the Running I've done and using this headph Outside runs I never really felt worried That I'm going to run out of juice or Anything like that got a handy Quick Charge feature as well so yeah all of The above I think broadly very positive
Especially the fit and the design of the Headphones negative would be the heart Rate monitoring which is just been hard To use and not accurate when I have been Able to use it like The Limited Compatibility is a problem I think that Needs to be got rid of quite quickly I Am an iOS user I know Mike's been able To test it on Android a bit more Successfully but I've only been able to Use it in those seven apps even then Like it was hard to know the headphones Were definitely connected until I Actually started a run so you had to Just kind of trust it was going to get Going when you started to run and just Constantly have to think about it like That you heart rate to be useful I think It's going to be something that just Works and you don't have to think about It too much so doesn't link to Gman Watches in fact it kind of scrambles Everything about the heart rate if you Try and Link it to a Garmin watch at the Moment didn't link to my choros watch Either so you're kind of stuck with Those apps you know you can link it to The Apple watch but the then the Apple Watch will use its own native sensors so Got those apps up you know I'm not Normally running with those apps lots of Runners would have running watches and If they did want external heart rate Sensors they'd use a strap that connects
To them and you can't do that with this At the moment it seems and and on the Run I've had a couple of really good Runs I had one amazing interval run Actually inside doing Mar reps where the Headphones were incredible match the Chest trap beat for beat the whole way Like a beautiful graph really impressed And other than that it's been really Spotty like I've had one pretty good Easy run a pretty solid strength workout But then lots of runs experienced either A lot of dropouts or Cadence lock where The headphones would lock onto my Cadence rather than my heart rate so I Had very very high heart rate throughout The runs and if you're going to use an External heart rate monitor as opposed To the one on a watch then it needs to Be really really good I think cuz Otherwise what's the point of the and This is a bit hard to use and it hasn't Really proved that accurate yet so it Wouldn't be a reason I'd buy these Headphones at the moment they're great Sports headphones but the hard rate Monitoring hasn't really hit the spot For me yet this has always been the case For me with headphones with heart rate Monitoring like it never seemed to be All that accurate it always seems to be A feature that doesn't necessarily need To be there and that's still the case With the Beats despite you know one that
One amazing run where they really were Very accurate but even then the faf Around setting these up and the lack of Universal compatibility just makes it a Feature that wouldn't be a reason to buy Them right now okay so let's get into That run test and I'll start with design Now the reason I think one of the Biggest reasons that the power be Pro Hung around for so long I thought they Hung around on your re very securely and Very reliably so you know beats didn't Have to make drastic changes I don't Think with the design it's still an ear Hook design they slightly more Vertically they are smaller and lighter And I think as a result you still have That secure reliable fit but they're Very very comfortable and I think when I Compare it to something like the Beats Fit Pro which I definitely had issues With on kind of longer runs from a Comfort point of view that's definitely Not been the case with the Beats Power Beats Pro to I think you know from a Kind of control point of view I'm glad That beats hasn't gone down that kind of Touch control route it's got physical Controls and a good set of them you got Two on the kind of Beats logos on the Outside of the buds and those allow to Kind of toggle through the listening Modes also to kind of you know play and Pause music you've got big kind of
Volume rockers as well there and it just Makes them very easy to use when you're Out running and on the move and running A little bit faster as well look looking At the charging case is smaller than the Previous one it's still not massively Pocket friendly but it is smaller Nonetheless and does you know doesn't See a downgrading battery performance You know from that kind of charging case Either you got the added convenience of Wireless charging here with that case as Well too so that's a nice touch for Anyone that wants that from a Sound Performance Point of View you know what I really associate with Beats headphones Or the Power Beats Pro in general is That it's really about prioritizing Power and base and you still get that Here but I definitely think there's a Bit more balance and a little bit more Finesse a little bit more in keeping With the airpods and airpods pro to Making this something that if you're not Listening to kind of super base heavy Music then they can work for kind of Listen to audio books you know podcast You also getting very good transparency In active noise cancellation modes which We didn't get on the previous airbuds For me they're very effective in terms Of how well they work I think for me Indoors when I've been running thec is Very good the transparency mode is very
Good as well I think Outdoors when it's Slightly windier I think there's a bit More kind of you know to compete with That active noise cancellation you know It's not entirely blocking out the wind For me that's going to be some Experience for kind of the Coe quality I Think the cool quality is very good I Don't think it's exceptional but I do Think it's very good I think these Headphones are good enough to use for Calls if that's something that you want To do with them so in terms of bat I've Been very happy what I've got here with The Beats power bre Pro 2 you're getting An extra hour off kind of that single Chart charge compared to the original You're getting more from that charging Case as well in general you're getting That fast charge mode there as well so Whenever you're kind of putting them Back in you're topping them up and it's Always giving you enough battery life For your next session I found very Comfortably to get through a week with These you know training and running with Them on a regular basis throughout that Week and kind of using them outside of Running and when I've just been working With them as well I think you know when You use thec in transparency mode that Will see the battery drain quicker for An hour's worth of running it was kind Of 10% without it it was a little bit
Less than that but for me overall I Think the battery on the or battery life In general on the Power Beats Pro to Kind of will offer you some of the best That you're going to get on a set of Kind of sports airbuds and you know is An improvement on the original airbuds Then we get into the heart rate monitor Which is a big deal here for Apple and Beats because it's the first time they Ventured into this space now that's not The first time that we've seen heart Rate monitoring airbuds you know Jabra Has done it with were one of the first To do it Sennheiser more recently did Heart rate monting airbuds you know People like am maaz fits smaller Startups like braggy now I've tested all Of them and I think my biggest takeaway Is that no one has really kind of Delivered something that I think this is A better alternative to a heart rate Monitor chest trap in terms of Reliability in terms of accuracy is it Better than a heart rate monitoring Armband or you getting better more Reliable data from a smartwatch or Sports watch it's not kind of been there For me so this is a big gamble I think For Apple and Beats to do this and They're doing things slightly Differently unlike some of those Solutions it's putting the optical Sensors in both airbuds which you know
Kind of increase variability and Accuracy of that heart rate monitoring It's using that kind of accelerometer in The airbuds as well to compensate for Kind of you know when you are moving and There's more frenetic movement when You're wearing them so it's it's looking At how it can improve things compared to The other solutions that we've seen on Other airbuds now I've used them on both Kind of iPhone and Android now before Getting into the kind of data the Accuracy I've had kind of a lot of Problems with the kind of compatibility Side of things particularly on the IPhone side things now there's a more Select group of apps that you can use The um airbuds with to get that heart Rate monitoring data and you've got to Kind of make sure there's the right Approvals and the Apple Health kind of App as well to make sure you can see That data in real time and kind of Record it kind of have that Archive of Heart rate data now from a running point Of view You've got things like Nik run Club You've got pelaton you've got runner in There as well too is the main running Focused apps now I've really struggled To get the airbuds to kind of Successfully pair to those apps in my Time and get that data in general anyway I've had a much more positive experience
Using with the um kind of Android side Of things and I've used them from a Running perspective with straa with the Nike run Club app when I've used them From the data that I have managed to get It's looked pretty good on the first one I did with straa Android app the days Didn't absolutely match to a chest trrap But it wasn't far off and enough to say That you know it's telling me the right Type of things that was a pretty relaxed Easy run so that's kind of what I Expected I didn't expect it to kind of Fult on that point of view and I did you Know another successful run that I did It was a longer run kind of uh using With the Nike run Club app compare it Again to heart rate one to chest trap The data looked pretty good so from an Android point of view it worked well for Me but on an iPhone side of things I Just couldn't get it to work for me just You know pairing them and getting that Heart rght data to kind of be displayed In real time and getting it archived Despite doing all the things that I Needed to do I kind of think you know From an Android point of view if it's Open up to all apps why wasn't it done For the kind of iOS side of things so my Experience hasn't been perfect I think From an Android point of view it's been A lot more positive iOS side of thing I've had a lot more problems I've
Struggled to get data outside of some Non running apps where I have managed to Get data pulled through but I've seen Some good and some not so good from that Point of view so it's definitely some Stuff I've liked about my time with the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 from a design Fit point of view Comfort sound quality ANC there's extra additional kind of Sound mode hard rate monitoring it's Just not quite been perfect for [Music] Me so the Beats Power Beats Pro to my Reservations about the heart rate Monitoring aside like if you're not Looking at that if just looking at all The other features I think they're Outstanding Sports headphones I think They're the best headphones with the ear Hook going right now and the clear Upgrade on the original model both in Terms of comfort but also the sound Quality the fact you've got ANC here the Battery life as well I think yeah all Around they're a really good set of Headphones have been recommending the Beats Power Beats Pro it's among the Best running headphones for a long time And the successor has arrived here and It is a worthy upgrade so I do think They are right up there if you're Looking for ear hook Bo headphones jlab Do make a couple of pretty good models At a lower price but you're going to get
An upgrade here in terms of the fit the Sound the ANC and all around they're Really really good and they are very Expensive but you they're great Headphones and I do think if you need That security these are the ones that Stand out on the market certainly those Good budget options though from jayab Would be wanted to check out if you Don't want to spend such a high price For your Sports headphones if inbd do Work for you then you can get amazing Sports headphones for Less the Jabra Elite 8 active Gen 2 you are Considerably cheaper and often in sales And they've got better ANC you've got That small INE fit which some might Prefer to an over a fit and they have Been very secure for me airpods Pro to Are also excellent they they don't tend To stay my ears that well on the run so I tend I have to use third party wings To keep them in place but you know that Is an option as well I've also been Testing out recently the Bose QC earbuds Gen 2 which are in earbuds with a nice Comfortable and secure wing tip on them They're also a lot cheaper than the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 and do have very Impressive ANC and sound quality and all That but those are all inine ear but They're all really good options but if They don't stay in your ears then They're no good to you on the run and
These have that ear hook to guarantee You know that peace of mind when it Comes to the fit you also can get ear Hooks obviously on some really good open Headphones like the shocks open Fit 2 You are going to get more awareness then But you are going to take you know a big Hit on terms of sound quality compared To the Beats power bre Pro 2 and you Obviously won't have ANC which makes Them a little bit less usable when Traveling so all around really enjoyed Using this headphones will certainly Continue to use them hard feature isn't There yet for me maybe they will polish That up and make it a more useful Feature but in terms of the essentials The Sports headphones and running Headphones Beats Power Beat Pro 2 are Excellent okay so my VCT on the Beats Power be Pro 2 and let's just put the Heart rate monitoring to one side for One second if we're looking at it in Terms of an upgrade on the power boots Pro I think there's a lot to like here They're smaller lighter more comfortable And still very secure the sound quality Is fantastic and I think thec Transparency modes are good additions Where you're still getting very good Battery life in general like the Original Power boots Pro now if we're Looking at the heart rate monting if You're thinking well I can buy these
Airbuds to replace my heart rate monitor Trash strap or another device I Look to For heart rate monitoring I don't think They're quite there yet and you really Have to be the kind of person that is Using these particular apps from an iOS Point of view or using apps on an Android point of view that you're going To going to get that kind of good Experience out of them and get that good Data if we're looking at other airhook Design style headphones there are plenty Out there that are going to cost a lot Less you're not going to get the same Level of features that you're going to Get on the Beats Power Beats Pro to You've got things like the shocks open Fit air which are open air designs so You're not getting thatc you're not Getting the transparency modes but you Are getting a good fit you're getting a Good sound quality and you're getting a Safe way to listen to your music got Things like the JBL andur Peak 3 which Are a lot cheaper very good SEC secure Fit kind of bright powerful kind of Sound there as well good battery life And you know a bit like the Beats Power Beats Pro 2 you've got the not got the Smallest case there as well so you do Have some options outside the Power Beats Pro too if you like the P Beats Pro which are you know no longer on sale You can probably find them in a few
Places I think and you can afford to buy The Pats Power Beats Pro 2 you know Which are in at a similar price then I Think you're going to like we're going To get here if you're looking for the Complete heart rate monting airbuds at a Top of everything else then they're not Quite there for me just yet I think I Would like to see apple maybe open up That support just get it working better Because I think for me I think probably I'd have more success in my testing yes These are great if you kind of factor in The price you definitely can get better Value elsewhere from Air hook style kind Of truly worse airbuds but if you're Looking at all around package then There's a lot to like about the Beats Power Beats Pro too they're just not Going to me in their current state going To be the ultimate heart rate marting Airbuds but I've seen glimpses of what I Think will make them kind of you good Kind of airbuds to track your heart rate Okay so there you have it our multi- Test to take on the Beats Power Beats Pro two now if you got any questions About these headphones or other Headphones you want to see it Desperately compared to do let us know In the comments as always like And Subscribe hit that little bell to find Out about our latest videos and yeah We'll see you for the next round test
This video [Music]
