We weren't impressed by Apple's second-gen AirPods, but the company also owns Beats, and the new true wireless Powerbeats Pro couldn't be more different from them.
The Powerbeats offer stronger audio performance, easier controls, and a more secure fit, for a better overall user experience.
The only thing we aren't fans of is the price, a high $249.95.
But it's no secret that Beats charges a premium for branding, and if you're a fan of the company's design and deep-bass sound signature, you won't be disappointed.
Design
Available in black, blue, ivory, or moss models, the Powerbeats Pro earpieces have a sleek design, with a smooth, matte finish and ear hooks that grip the ear firmly, without feeling uncomfortable.
An adjustable grip helps the eartips create an excellent in-ear seal with an exceptionally secure fit.
Along with four total pairs of silcone eartips in four sizes, it's hard to imagine these earphones falling out during exercise.
That said, they can be a little difficult to put in place properly, and if you wear glasses, you'll likely want to remove them first.
The stems on the ear hooks can be adjusted to a degree, and once you get the hang of it, the process gets easier.
The included charging case is on the bulky side, a flip-top design measuring roughly 2.5 by 3.0 by 3.0 inches (HWD).
The rear panel of the case houses the uncovered Lightning port; Beats includes a long black Lightning cable.
An IPX4 rating is somewhat middling as far as water-resistance goes, but it's a step up from the AirPods, which don't list one in their specs.
IPX4 means the earphones can handle sweat and light splashes, but you shouldn't submerge them or wash them off in the sink.
The on-ear controls are mirrored left and right, so there's no memorizing what one ear does versus the other.
There's a dedicated volume rocker along the top edge of each earpiece, and it's one of the easiest volume controls we've used on a true wireless pair.
The lowercase B on the outer panel of each ear is a multifunction button that plays or pauses music, and answers or ends calls.
Holding it in place summons Siri (if you have an iPhone).
Double-tapping it skips forward a track, and triple-tapping it skips backward.
There's nothing missing here, and the simplicity and tactile response is excellent.
Sensors detect when you put the earphones in and start playing music immediately.
I'm not sure why so many headphones offer this feature, but I find it a little jarring.
There's no way to disable it other than pressing pause immediately.
Internally, the audio is delivered by linear aluminum rigid piston drivers, and the earphones use Apple's H1 headphone chip, which purportedly allows for faster switching between devices, as well as a streamlined pairing process and iCloud sharing capabilities.
The chip is also what allows Siri to always be listening, should you choose to activate this feature.
If you choose to activate Siri's always-on mic access, you can summon the voice assistant by saying, "Hey Siri," at any time.
If you'd rather not have the mics listening at all times, holding the multifunction button down achieves the same result.
While the Powerbeats Pro can be paired with any Bluetooth audio source, pairing with iOS devices is as simple as removing an internal sticker that awakens the earphones and sends a pairing notification to your iPhone.
It can also be done the old-fashioned way via the Bluetooth menu.
Beats claims an impressive nine hours of battery life from a single charge, but Apple reps confirmed that, like the AirPods, this is based on roughly 50 percent volume level.
Most people listen to their tunes at somewhat higher levels, so a real-world result for these is going to be lower.
This is still better than average, however, and the case holds an additional 24 hours of charge.
In addition, the case and earpieces can charge rapidly—15 minutes can net you roughly 4.5 hours.
Aiding the overall battery performance is the auto-sleep mode, with optical sensors that detect when the earphones are idle to conserve battery power.
And there are tiny LEDs on each ear hook that tell you battery life status, which is a nice touch.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver a powerful low-frequency response.
At top, unwise listening levels, there is no distortion at all, and at more moderate levels, the bass still sounds quite strong, and well matched with the high-mids and highs.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Powerbeats Pro's general sound signature.
The drums on this track sound a bit overly thunderous—they're imbued with an added bass depth and fullness that isn't actually inteded.
Those frequencies are there in the recording, of course, but they're dialed back dramatically compared with what's pumped out here.
That said, plenty of people will enjoy the boosted lows—they're nicely matched with the high-mids and highs, so despite being quite heavy, they don't overwhelm the mix.
Callahan's baritone vocals get enough treble edge to stay clear in the mix, and the acoustic guitar strums have some extra crispness to them.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punchy presence, though we hear more of the drum loop's thump in the lows, which means there's some obvious boosting happening down there.
The vinyl crackle and hiss usually relegated to background status also takes a bold step forward in the mix, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with significant thunder.
The vocals on this track are delivered with a bright presence, but also some added sibilance.
In other words, this is an extra-sculpted sound signature.
It doesn't sound bad, but it is inaccurate if you're looking for any kind of flat response.
For orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the bass is boosted far too high for an accurate listen.
The lower-register instrumentation can sound booming at times when it should sound only sound rich, pulling the mix down like a magnet instead of anchoring and stabilizing it.
The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals get enough sculpting that this doesn't really matter—everything is wildly sculpted here.
Some listeners might prefer this sound to a flatter response, but there's a whole lot of boosting going on.
The mic offers better-than-average intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded clearly, though there were some typical fuzzy Bluetooth audio artifacts around the edges.
That said, the mic doesn't sound far away, and the audio is never faint, which is better than we can say for most true wireless pairs we've tested.
As for fielding calls, either earpiece can be used to answer in mono, which isn't always the case.
Conclusions
You're probably not buying the Powerbeats Pro because you want the most accurate-sounding earphones on the market.
And if you like Beats' bass-forward approach, they sound great.
From a design standpoint, the in-ear fit is top-notch, as are the on-ear controls, and pairing with an iOS device couldn't be easier.
Are the Powerbeats Pro worth $250? Not quite.
At this price we like to see something extra, like an app with adjustable EQ.
For less money, the JBL UA True Wireless Flash, the Jabra Elite Active 65t , and the Jaybird Run XT all offer solid audio performance and extra features that are lacking here.
But if you like the Beats aesthetic (visually and sonically), you won't be disappointed by the Powerbeats Pro.
The Bottom Line
A secure fit, easy operation, and a bass-forward sound signature make the Powerbeats Pro ideal true wireless earphones for Beats fans.
