The original Beats Powerbeats Pro have been a fixture in our round-up of the best running headphones since they were launched way back in 2019. But the Powerbeats Pro are missing some features that are standard on newer headphones, such as active noise cancellation, and were overdue for an update.
That update has arrived, and as you can see from our Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review, ANC is one feature of many that has been added to the second version of the buds. They also offer improved sound quality, heart rate tracking and longer battery life, all in a smaller, sleeker design.
I’ve been using the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 for all my workouts in the weeks ahead of their launch, running more than 150 miles with them as well doing cycling, strength sessions and yoga, and I’m impressed. They’re a worthy successor to the originals and certainly among the best workout headphones available, but not every new feature has hit the spot.
Here’s what I’ve loved and what I haven’t about the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 after 150 miles of running and other workouts.
Beats PowerBeats Pro 2: What I like
The fit is very secure and comfortable
The Powerbeats Pro 2 have a smaller and thinner design than the original buds and sit very comfortably on the ear throughout long runs and daily use. I found I could wear them with glasses and a hat without my ear getting too cluttered, and no uncomfortable pressure is put on the ear by the hook or in-ear buds.
They also stayed in place reliably through runs and other rigorous workouts. I wore the Powerbeats Pro 2 for a 22-mile run during marathon training and they didn’t require any adjusting. The earhook certainly gives you peace of mind on this front compared with in-ear buds that just use wings or nothing at all.
The controls are easy to use while running
Many sports headphones now use touchpads instead of button controls, a trend I dislike immensely because buttons are much easier to use on the run, especially during winter when I’m usually wearing gloves or mittens.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 have a simple-but-effective setup, with volume controls and a multifunction button on both buds. I was able to change the volume, skip, play and pause and switch between ANC and transparency modes easily on the run and during other workouts.
The battery life is impressive
Given the size of the Powerbeats Pro 2 and their case, you might argue that they could offer even better battery life, but eight hours of use in ANC mode with another 28 in the case is still plenty to ensure they lasted me weeks of running plus other use.
The quick-charge feature also nets you 1.5 hours of use from just five minutes of charging, which is enough to see you through most runs, so if you are caught short of juice, you can get them charged in the time it takes to change into your running gear.
The sound quality is good
You’ll get a more in-depth appraisal of the sound quality on the headphones in our Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review, but I was impressed by the sound during workouts. While they don’t have the clarity of some top buds I’ve tested like the Bose QC Earbuds Ultra, the full, bassy sound of the Powerbeats Pro 2 helped to push me through hard workouts and I enjoyed using them outside my training as well.
The transparency mode is useful
The addition of ANC makes the Powerbeats Pro 2 better headphones outside workouts than the originals, and the transparency mode is very useful during outdoor runs when I want to hear what’s going on around me.
I found I could hear traffic and sounds like bikes coming up behind me during runs, and the transparency mode was my preference on my outdoor runs, while when I was using the treadmill the ANC filtered out the sound of the machine well.
Beats PowerBeats Pro 2: What I dislike
The HR monitor is hard to use, and not always accurate
At launch, the HR monitoring on the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 only works with seven apps on iOS (it works with any app you can connect an HR monitor to on Android), and I found it hard to set up even with those apps, having to go deep into the settings in the Health app to turn on permissions.
I also experienced regular dropouts where the heart rate wasn’t being sent to the app I was using during runs, and even when it did work the accuracy was hit and miss. On a couple of runs the headphones matched the Wahoo TRACKR chest strap’s readings perfectly, but on most of them the Powerbeats Pro 2 seemed to lock onto my cadence rather than my HR and had far too high a reading as a result.
If you use HR to judge your effort during run and your overall training load, I’d stick with using a running watch or ideally a chest strap or armband monitor, which have proved the most reliable for me as a runner.
I couldn’t connect the HR monitor to my Garmin or Coros watch
As well as having limited compatibility with apps on iOS, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 headphones wouldn’t link up with the Garmin Fenix 8 or Coros Pace Pro watch to show live HR readings during runs. This makes the feature a lot less useful if you’re trying to run in a certain HR zone and don't want to have to keep looking at your phone to see your HR.
Things get windy with ANC on
When I turned the ANC on during runs on windy days I found that rather than filter out this noise, the wind made it harder to hear my audio,which was another reason I mainly used the transparency mode when outdoors.
This is not a problem confined to the Powerbeats Pro 2, but I have found that the Bose QC Earbuds (2024) and Jabra Elite 8 Active are better at filtering out wind during runs when in ANC mode.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
