Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: A huge improvement

The Beats earbuds line have undergone a major glow up over the last couple of years, with the excellent Beats Studio Buds+ and the Beats Solo Buds bringing some great features to reasonable price. Now it's the Powerbeats Pro's turn to receive an upgrade, and this time around Beats has gone all out with the features and updates. We’ve got a whole new look, improved ANC, new colors… and a heart rate monitor?

This is a pair of buds that’s aimed directly at the fitness crowd. The monitor is supposed to bring with it better, more accurate heart rate monitoring when you’re out for a run, giving you a more holistic view of your exorcise. But the buds have to remember that first and foremost they need to be able to play music well, and give a satisfactory, engaging performance for people who are on the go.

For the most part, the Powerbeats Pro 2 succeed in their mission, despite some minor heartrate monitor issues — but how do they stack up against the best workout headphones, or even the best wireless earbuds around?

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Price and availability

The Powerbeats Pro 2 aren't the cheapest fitness buds on the block, but the fact that they’ve remained a very similar price to their predecessor is, in my eyes at least, a massive boon. Their $249 / £249 sticker price as expensive as their Apple stablemates, the AirPods Pro 2, but they're $50 less than the $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds and the Sony WF-1000XM5.

Of course, there are reasons why you might want to go for the more expensive Sony or Bose buds. For one, they’re going to sound better than the Beats, and they pack in better ANC and more compact cases. If you want a more secure fit and some extra fitness features, however, then the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 could well be just what the doctor (or your personal trainer) ordered.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Design and comfort

• Some of the best color options around
• Very comfortable fit
• MASSIVE case

As far as looks are concerned, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a sleek pair of in-ear buds. They’re slightly bigger thanks to their ear hook design, but that’s not stopped the designers from making something that is far more compact than it has any right to be. I like how svelte and cool they look, with their subtle Beats branding letting everyone know what company made your buds. In-ear they’re more subtle than you might expect, even in this bright orange colorway, and they’ll stand out just enough on the gym floor to not be completely obnoxious.

Unfortunately, the same compact design language has not made its way to the case they come packed with. It’s Massive. I mean monstrous in all dimensions; it’s a kind of very fat square shape, in some effort to contain the ear hooks of the buds, but it still feels like it's bigger than it really needs to be. The height of the case makes it harder to put into a pair of skinny jeans or running leggings without it jutting out like your Dad’s wallet, making them a prime candidate for ‘these should go in your backpack.’ The buds fit inside perfectly though, and they click into place with magnets that don’t let go no matter how much you might shake their case.

It’s more good news for comfort, thanks to a wide range of fitting options and extremely handy fitting hooks. Getting them in your ear is slightly more of a pain than traditional shaped buds — it’s a kind of ‘twist and nestle’ motion so that you can get the bud tips in your ear holes at the same time as getting the hooks over your ears. Once they’re in though, they aren’t going anywhere. They fit great, and I didn’t have to adjust them once to get them seated properly throughout my time wearing them.

There’s a fit test in the app as well to make sure they fit properly, and it works well. It plays you some music and then lets you know whether they’re seated properly so that the sound and the ANC are at their best. This remains something I wish more earbud makers would implement into their products, so that you can make sure you’re getting the best performance out of your buds.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Connectivity

• Bluetooth 5.3
• Multipoint connectivity
• No extra audio codecs

As they're powered by an H2 chip like the Airpods Pro 2, the Powerbeats Pro 2 fit perfectly into your ecosystem if you use Apple devices. Open them up next to your iPhone, follow the pairing prompts, and you’ll be listening to your buds in no time at all across your family of devices like your iPad or MacBook. That’s a massive boon for Apple users, as always, and makes them super simple to use.

Android users are also treated to one-touch pairing, but you do need the Beats app to get them updated. There’s multipoint as well, although you’ll have to initiate pairing mode with the case to get them hooked up to your other devices. Once they’re all connected, you’re away with no hiccups in switching between devices. Overall, usability on Android is not quite as seamless as using them with Apple devices that you’re signed into, but it still works very well.

On the other hand, codec support of the Powerbeats Pro 2 isn’t spectacular, especially for Android users: There’s no LDAC support, or AptX, so you don’t get treated to the highest quality streaming. That’s no great loss, but it is a shame. Apple users can listen to the higher quality streams from Apple Music though, so that’s a bonus.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Controls and app

• Physical controls!
• All built-in on iPhone
• Barebones Beats app on Android

Physical controls. On earbuds no less! I don’t like how every pair of wireless earbuds now uses touch controls — so to see proper buttons on the Powerbeats is, in my eyes at least, an enormous tick in the ‘buy these’ column.

There are four different buttons on the Powerbeats, two on each bud. Thanks to their larger frames, there’s space for a full-volume rocker that you use to, you guessed it, change the volume. On the outer edge of the bud there’s the second button, and both sides do the same thing. Press once to play/pause, twice to skip, and thrice to go backward a track. Hold the button down to change between ANC on and transparency modes, and then press once and then hold to start a heart monitoring session.

The controls are simple to use, and thanks to their physical nature, you won’t be pressing them accidentally when you go to take the buds in and out. They’re also a whole lot better if you’ve got sweaty fingers, or if you’ve got gloves on. No more will your fingers not register taps and swipes as they might with some of the alternative options out there, but they’re a whole lot easier to distinguish when you’ve got simple inputs should you be en-gloved. If you’re a big fan of touch controls you’re out of luck, and there’s the unfortunate side effect of a slight ‘clunk’ reverberating around your head when you use them, but I think it’s a worthy trade-off.

App control on iPhone is managed through the settings menu, just like the AirPods. From there you can change the ANC mode, and play with the EQ settings. You can also turn on the personalized spatial audio here, and keep them updated. They also work with Siri out of the box with Apple devices. Android users have a slightly more restricted time. The Beats app lets you change the ANC mode and update the headphones. This is also where you start the heart rate monitoring on Android. Unfortunately, there are no EQ settings here — but you can use ‘Find my Beats’ should you misplace them.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Fitness features

• Heart rate monitor hiccups
• Great ear hook keeps them in place
• IPX4

Now, I’m no expert in fitness, so I’ve reached out to someone who actually is — our Fitness Writer, Nick. He’s also been testing out the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, and he has some thoughts to share about the buds; how good they are for fitness users, and how they might fit into your workouts.

NHF: I’ve run over 150 miles with the Powerbeats Pro 2 as well as doing cycling, HIIT sessions and yoga with them, and they are among the best workout headphones I’ve tried, which is all down to the secure and comfortable fit, solid sound and battery life, and the physical controls, which are much easier to use during workouts than a touch panel.

You’ll notice I didn’t mention the heart rate monitoring, because for now that feature leaves a lot to be desired. Only seven apps can use the feature on iOS at launch, as long as you have permission to do so turned on deep with the Health app.

These apps are Nike Run Club, Peloton, Runna, Open, Slopes, YaoYao, and Ladder, with the glaring omission being the popular sports tracking app Strava. On Android, any apps with heart rate capabilities can link to the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 HR monitor, so I'm unsure why that's not the case on iOS.

I mostly used the Peloton and Nike Run Club apps with the headphones, and experienced a lot of dropouts where the HR stopped reading during workouts, even though my audio was still connected.

The accuracy of the HR readings was also hit and miss. I had a couple of runs and one strength workout where the reading was in line with the reliably accurate Wahoo TRACKR chest strap, but I often saw readings that were way too high, especially during runs where I think the headphones locked onto my cadence rather than my heart rate. I also couldn’t connect the headphones to the Garmin Fenix 8 or Coros Pace Pro sports watches to show HR on them during workouts. Problematically, the Powerbeats Pro 2 will connect to an Apple Watch, but by default will only record the data logged by the watch's HR sensor anyway.

As comfortable as they are, the headphones need to link to all apps and watches, and the connection needs to be more reliable. Even then, if you want the most accurate heart rate monitoring I’d still get a chest strap. Even with these issues, though, I still genuinely believe that the Beat Powerbeats Pro 2 are outstanding sports headphones and would be top of my list for people who need an earhook to keep their buds in place during runs and other workouts.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Sound quality

• Quick, dynamic bass
• Solid lower mids
• Some weirdness in the upper mids

It’s been a long time since Beats was derided for being bass-heavy monsters, only good for booming low-end and little else. Subsequent products like the Beats Studio Buds+ and the Solo 4 have shown that the Beats audio engineers really do know their stuff when it comes to tuning in a decent sound signature, and there’s evidence of that expertise here — although the audio experience isn't totally flawless.

The buds really shine the most in the low end. There’s some solid extension in the bass frequencies, allowing for some decent rumble from bass guitars and low-end synths. Kick drums have good impact and punch, and pounding bass beats in hip-hop and other bassier genres are well represented. This follows into the low-midrange, giving guitars decent body and width. That lends a certain weight to the sound, and makes things fairly warm on first listen.

They can get fatiguing for longer listens, however. There’s some pronounced sibilance at the very top, leaving cymbals and other high-range sounds feeling overly sharp. Play something with any amount of tambourines or lots of big drum cymbals, and you’ll really start to feel them after a while. Then there’s a slight dip in the upper mids, which doesn’t help, either; it makes guitars feel slightly one-dimensional and takes the edge of plucked strings and palm-muted, distorted power chords. The extra bass goes a long way in making things tolerable, but it’s immediately noticeable.

To demonstrate the issue, I listened to Dragged Into Sunlight’s Boiled Angel. That’s a track that needs some decent representation in the upper mids for the distorted guitar line and terrifying, harsh vocals and clarity in the top end for the pervasive cymbal use. The Powerbeats Pro 2 managed a good job of the lower end part of the track, with good presence of the bass guitar the majority of the guitar parts, but the sibilance left the cymbals feeling overly slicing in their presentation.

Thankfully, for other music you’re going to have less of an issue. Kendrick Lamar’s DNA shows some of that healthy low-end bounce, and some solid vocal clarity. Kendrick’s bars are more than legible throughout the length of the piece, and the kick drum hits with plenty of impact. The light cymbal line is slightly backward in the mix, and this isn’t as susceptible to the sibilance issue. S-sounds and plosives are a little harsh, but that’s nit-picking.

To really get the bass going we move on to Chase & Status’s Badadan, and there’s a lot to love. The bass reproduction is thick and heavy, but fairly precise. It’s pervasive enough that the sibilance of the hi-hats is masked fairly well, although the vocal line does struggle a little bit, and the very edges of the synth stabs and sweeps are a little sharp. Overall though it’s plenty of fun — and it’s going to get you motivated at the gym or when you’re out for a run.

Spatial Audio with Apple Music is about as you might expect. If you’re already a fan of the format when using the likes of the AirPods Pro 2, you’re going to love the headtracked audio here, with wider, more spacious mixes. Android fans might not have as much fun though. On my Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I found the spatial audio switch in the settings menu of my phone, but the format didn’t work in Tidal or Amazon Music Unlimited. Shame.

Some of the issues with sound can be eq’d out on the iPhone, although the problem doesn’t go away entirely. Thanks to a lack of customizable eq on Android, however, those of us with Google-powered phones are left slightly more out in the cold.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: ANC

• It’s fine…
• But there are better
• Good transparency mode

The ANC built into the Powerbeats Pro 2 isn’t going to win any awards, but you’re going to be fairly well sealed into your own world when you’ve got them in your ears. There aren’t different levels of noise canceling as you might find with the Sony and Bose alternatives, so there’s no battery-saving option that still blocks out a little noise in quieter spaces. In real life, the noise canceling performs alright. Keyboards are quieted, AC units are silenced, and the noises of a commute are muffled.

I did find in a trip to the grocery store that they struggle slightly with areas filled with loud conversation. I could still just about hear the talking of customers around me, and while it was still much quieter than without, it still felt slightly disappointing. Overall, the ANC that’s perfectly fine — but you’ll have to crank the volume of your tunes if you don’t want to hear background music in the gym.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Call quality

• Fine for normal calls
• Not as good for conference or work calls

To test the call quality of the buds, I tried out a couple of different environments. I called a colleague from my home office to check how the buds performed in a normal call, without any real background noise. On my end, everything was fine with my colleague's voice coming through clearly. On the other end, things were more distant, and I sounded like I was on speaker phone — fine for chats with your mates or a quick work call, but not as good for more professional settings.

Turning on some traffic noise didn’t affect my voice in any meaningful way, but the Beats didn’t do anything to negate it. I was still audible over the rest of the noise, but it was loud enough to make my recipient have to listen more closely to the call. Again, a quick call to say you’re going to be home for dinner is going to be no problem at all — but you’ll want something slightly different if you’ve got a more professional call coming up.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Battery life

• 10 hours with ANC off
• An extra 35 hours in the case

The battery of the Powerbeats Pro 2 is good, and it just about outperforms that which you’ll find on the Sony and the Bose competition. 10 hours without ANC turned on is pretty good, and I found my testing pretty much matches that claim. There’s no official ANC-on battery figure, but I managed to pull about 3 hours out of them and was left with around 60% battery life. That’s not too bad, and given you’ll be pretty close to the case and you’re unlikely to be out exercising for longer than 8-10 hours you’ll be able to juice them back up fairly quickly.

The charging case has another 35 hours inside, and you can put the buds back in the case for 5 minutes to get an extra 90 minutes of charge. That’s a useful bonus if you find them run out over a longer work day, or during a long flight.

Strangely, however, the battery life is worse here than in the exemplary Beats Solo buds. Those pack in 18 hours of battery life to the buds, a whole 8 hours more than the Powerbeats Pro 2. Now, there’s more to run here, like the ANC, the improved sound quality, the H2 chip, and the heart rate monitor, but the ANC and Heart rate monitor aren’t on all the time. As it stands, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have excellent battery life — but it feels like it could be even better.

Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review: Verdict

If you’re after a pair of excellent fitness buds, ignoring the heart rate monitoring and focusing on fit, comfort, and security, then the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a great option for listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and music while you work out. They look super slick as well thanks to their svelte design, and their ten-hour battery life will get you through a trip to the gym or a run without any problems at all.

A word of warning for audio purists: If you’re after a pair of buds for sound and ANC, however, you might well be better of with something like the AirPods Pro 2 (that sell for the same price) or spending a bit more for a pair of WF-1000XM5 or the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds. You won’t get the same secure fit, but you’ll get better sound quality and much better ANC for only a slightly larger financial outlay.

At the end of the day, the target audience of the Powerbeats Pro 2 is the workout crowd, and everyone who's tried them on our fitness team loves them. As far as a pair of throw-in-your-bag-and-go earbuds are concerned, the Powerbeats Pro 2 outperform the competition in all the places that matter.

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