There was a time when each sportsperson on the earth appeared to have a set of Beats over their ears. The true wi-fi in-ear Beats Powerbeats Professional might look a bit completely different from these athlete-endorsed cans, however their popularity as a number of the finest working headphones stays.
And rightfully so. These headphones have the customary glossy design of their guardian firm (Apple) and we discovered they had been extremely snug to put on for every little thing from cross nation working to CrossFit.
So, in the event you’re trying to lace up your trainers and desire a pair of headphones to assist soundtrack your strides, we predict the Powerbeats Professionals are a fantastic choice.
Specs
Good enabled/compatibility: Sure
Waterproof: Splashproof, IPX7
Battery life: 9 hours (as much as 24 hours with charging case)
OS help: Sure
Bluetooth: Sure
Noise-canceling: No
There may be, nevertheless, one main omission that separates these earbuds from different high fashions; they don’t have lively noise cancellation (ANC). With a alternative of silicone suggestions permitting you to discover a set that gives a superb seal, they do a reasonably good job of isolating the sound of your music, however this nonetheless can’t compete with the ANC of a lot of their rivals.
All in all although, the Powerbeats Professional are a superb pair of working headphones, offering good sound high quality, a fantastic match and unmatched consolation so you possibly can rack up the miles with out worry of a falling earbud.
Table of Contents
Worth and launch date
The Powerbeats Professional have been round for some time now, with Apple releasing them in 2018 with an MSRP of $249.99 within the US or £219 within the UK. Three years on, they continue to be Apple’s premium sports activities headphone providing. And, on the time of writing, a brand new pair might be picked up for $199.95 on Amazon (opens in new tab).
Set-up and design
If, like our tester, you have got an iPhone, establishing the Powerbeats Professional is an extremely easy (pleasant, even) expertise. Owned by Apple, Beats has clearly optimized its headphones to work seamlessly with its guardian firm’s package, and it reveals.
Whenever you change the iPhone’s Bluetooth settings on, a pop-up message will spring from the underside of your display, permitting you to pair the Powerbeats in seconds. You’re additionally given the choice of turning on voice notifications, however we’d advise in opposition to this in the event you’re a part of any group chats (we realized this lesson after enduring a relentless torrent of undesirable updates delivered in impassive tech-driven tones).
Apple customers additionally don’t have to fret about updates because the headphones will maintain this routinely, although the directions say Android customers must obtain the Beats app to do that.
There are a number of different elegant touches iPhone homeowners can get pleasure from too, just like the headphone icon switching to the silhouette of the Powerbeats Professional, and the battery of the case and every particular person earbud displaying on the house display, which we appreciated.
Now, on to the design.
That is our favourite facet of the Powerbeats Professional, with the headphones feeling extremely snug to put on for working and different types of train.
The adjustable hooks sit cosy across the ears, and might be pushed into place to tighten or loosen the match. This, twinned with a alternative of 4 different-sized silicone buds to make sure you get a superb seal, means there’s no threat of the headphones taking a tumble mid-workout. The hooks felt so pure we forgot they had been even there and so they by no means induced our ears to ache throughout longer exercises — not like the silicone wings of different true wi-fi earbuds.
Their IPX4 score, which means they’re immune to splashes of water solely, is decrease than many of the sports activities headphones we tried. However they continued to work effectively for us via wet runs and sweaty exercises.
So, in the event you’re coaching for a marathon or different endurance occasion, we will’t advocate these headphones extremely sufficient for long-lasting consolation and a dependable match.
The very last thing to say is the charging case. The headphones provide as much as 9 hours of playback on their very own (sufficient to fulfill followers of music and extremely marathons alike) and this determine is boosted to 24 hours with the charging case. You may also get pleasure from as much as 1.5 hours of music from simply 5 minutes of charging because of the Quick Gas function, which is helpful while you’re on low battery simply earlier than your run.
The case is significantly greater than most different true wi-fi earbuds, with its dimension which means you’ll wrestle to slide it into the pocket of your pants. However, as sports activities headphones, we don’t think about you’ll be carrying this with you in your runs or journeys to the health club.
Controls
That is one other space the place, in our opinion, the Powerbeats Professional have crushed most of their rivals. You see, relatively than the customary contact controls on related true wi-fi headphones, the Beats have old-school buttons on every earbud.
A quantity rocker on both ear means you possibly can crank up the sound in seconds to encourage you up a very steep incline, and the Beats brand doubles as a button to regulate every little thing else — press as soon as to pause or play your music, twice to skip a observe, 3 times to return to the earlier track and maintain to summon Siri.
Like contact controls, the earbuds’ buttons prevent from digging your cellphone out of your pocket and disrupting your run or exercise. However, we discovered the buttons had been much less error-prone, with a a lot decrease likelihood of our favourite track being unceremoniously skipped by the comb of a sweatshirt or stray shoulder.
The voice assistant can also be helpful if you wish to carry out extra sophisticated actions like checking the forecast or setting a timer, however we discovered we used this pretty sparingly.
Match
As talked about above, the adjustable design of the Powerbeats Professional permits them to supply a fantastic match, regardless of the dimensions of your ears.
The hooks might be pushed into place to wrap cozily round your ears, and the inclusion of 4 completely different silicone suggestions permits you to discover the correct dimension to offer a superb seal — isolating and enhancing the sound of your music, sans-ANC.
We discovered these two options mixed to create a incredible match that would not budge irrespective of how arduous we tried — and belief us, we tried. We wore them via excessive affect workout routines which have been the downfall of many-an-earbud through the years, together with sprinting, lengthy runs, weightlifting, skipping, burpees and even handstand push-ups. Credit score to the Powerbeats Professional although, they remained comfortably in place all through.
Sound high quality
Sadly, that is the place the Powerbeats Professional didn’t fairly reside as much as expectations. Don’t get us improper, the sound high quality is nice, and a notable enchancment on most earbuds. Nonetheless, contemplating the excessive worth and the model’s popularity for highly effective sound, they didn’t pack as a lot of a punch as we might have preferred.
Verdict
If you happen to’re an endurance athlete or lengthy distance runner on the lookout for a pair of earbuds that can keep in place with out inflicting discomfort throughout prolonged cardio periods, the ergonomic design of the Beats makes them a worthy funding. They could be on the expensive aspect, and true blue musos would possibly desire a barely extra highly effective sound, however for most individuals the strong sound high quality might be greater than passable, and the consolation, match and glossy design of those earbuds will make them a incredible working companion.
Options
JBL Replicate Stream Professional
These glorious true wi-fi headphones are cheaper than the Powerbeats Professional, present a fantastically detailed sound and provide a superb match by the use of silicone “powerfins” designed to take a seat in opposition to the within of your ears. Thanks to those attributes, we had been capable of get pleasure from every little thing from pop to podcasts, EDM to people, all with out worrying that the earbuds would fall out of our ears.
If you happen to’re after a glossy set of headphones however don’t fancy spending over $200, the Mifo O5 Plus are a fantastic choice. Their elegant chrome end, metallic charging case and futuristic design give them a trendy aesthetic like no different, and you’ll scoop up a pair for beneath $100.