The Powerbeats Pro 2 has been a long time coming, and it’s finally here. Beats claims this is their most advanced product yet, and after spending some time with them, it’s easy to see why. These second-generation Beats fitness earbuds introduce a host of new features and improvements over the originals, which were first released nearly six years ago (…right?). There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s take a closer look at these buds and see if the Powerbeats Pro 2 lives up to the hype.
For the launch of these ultimate fitness earphones, Beats brought together three of the world’s biggest sports icons, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and Shohei Ohtani, for the “Listen to Your Heart” campaign
highlighting the powerful connection between passion, performance, and heart. As they each embark on their respective journeys, these three extraordinary athletes push the limits of greatness—driven by one unifying force: their hearts. We witness their relentless pursuit of excellence, where the heartbeat symbolizes determination, focus, and the will to overcome challenges. Powerbeats Pro 2, designed for high performance, mirrors this intensity, offering the perfect blend of power, clarity, and comfort to fuel their training.
Packaging & First Impressions
In typical Beats (and Apple) fashion, they’ve kept the packaging clean and efficient. It’s only the Powerbeats themselves, some paperwork (and a Beats sticker – yay!), and then a generous selection of five different eartips from extra small to extra large. No charging cable included in the box, but it is just a USB-C cable or a wireless charger that you’ll need.
We have the Jet Black and Electric Orange colourways in for review, and they’re both super clean. Beats has always offered bold colour choices, and this generation is no exception, with Quick Sand and Hyper Purple rounding out the lineup.
Design & Build Quality
There’s a lot to like about the build and design of the Powerbeats Pro 2. The ear hooks were a major reason why the originals became such a popular alternative over Apple’s own AirPods, and if you were one of the few who just couldn’t get the latter to stay in your ears, do yourself a favour and give these a go. The earhooks are now 50% smaller than the OGs, but still provide a secure and stable fit on my ears. Made of a nickel titanium alloy, Beats claims these will retain their form even throughout years of use.
As fitness earbuds, the fact that I can move around freely without worrying about them falling out is a big plus for me. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Bud Pro 2s have never played too nicely with my ears, and though my AirPod Pro 2s do feel fairly secure, they’re nowhere near as planted as these. Of course, fit and feel is subjective, but with the five different ear tip sizes included, finding a proper seal shouldn’t be an issue. The large size worked well for the both of us.
The earbuds themselves do feel very high quality — they don’t feel cheap or flimsy. Each bud weighs around 8.5g, sitting between the 5.3g AirPod Pro 2s and the 11g original Powerbeats. The weight is well distributed around each bud, which I found to be suitable for extended periods of use. And lo and behold, these still have physical buttons! No buggy touch controls here. You have a volume rocker and a multi-function button to control ANC and playback, both of which can be customised in the app. One minor gripe: pressing the buttons produces a noticeably loud click, which can be a bit jarring, unlike my AirPods Pro 2 which use haptic motors for a softer, more subtle click. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something to keep in mind.
As expected, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are IPX4 rated, meaning they are sweat and water resistant, but the case itself isn’t rated so try not to get that wet.
Now, one of the bigger complaints about the originals’ case was its sheer size; that thing was an absolute unit. This time around, Beats have slimmed down the case by 33%, and it’s also quite a bit lighter than I expected. It’s still not as small as an AirPods case, but considering the extended battery life (which we’ll get to shortly), that’s a fair trade-off.
The case includes a pairing button, an LED indicator and wireless charging support, though no MagSafe. However, expect third-party accessories for these buds coming out soon, which could provide that functionality. Inside the case has really strong magnets that snap the earbuds securely into place — no finesse required.
Sound Quality
For us, sound quality is a big deal. We both use AirPods and Galaxy Buds as our daily drivers, but we also own our fair share of higher-end audio gear (Chris is using his HIFIMAN Edition XS planars and thinks they’re awesome) – so naturally, we had high expectations for the Powerbeats Pro 2.
When we had the chance to sit down with Beats’ marketing lead, one of the burning questions we had was about the tuning of these buds. The goal, we were told, was to retain the same fun listening experience signature to Beats, whilst delivering a more ‘mature’ sound profile. And after spending time with them, we’d say they nailed it.
Out of the box, the Powerbeats Pro 2 offer a much more balanced sound signature than any of their predecessors, or any of the cheaper TWS buds on the market for that matter – make no mistake, they’re still capable of being absolute bass cannons if you want to EQ them as such. But if you’re coming from Beats of old, you’re going to find these offering a much clearer and less muddy sound. Another big plus? The tuning doesn’t go all wacky when you switch across listening modes (looking at you, Sammy Bud2 Pros), and there’s no weird suction feeling when ANC is enabled.
This ‘evolution’ in sound quality seems to have taken cues from the AirPods Pro 2s, and Apple’s shift towards a more refined, natural tuning – and we’re all for it. Right away, we were actually surprised with the new Powerbeats’ top end, which gave a nice boost to vocals and guitars and widened the sound stage out a bit. The bass response has a bit more body than my AirPod Pro 2s, but does lack the same degree of tightness; this isn’t always a bad thing – if anything, a slightly more boomy, looser bass is what you want during workouts. Overall, they’re a very fun listen, and should suit whatever you throw at these. Nice job Beats.
Features
The Powerbeats Pro 2 come packed with a ton of new features, and the good news is that, unlike many of Apple’s other offerings, most of these are actually available to Android users (AKA us). That includes the all-new heart rate monitoring, button customisation, Locate My, Adaptive EQ, in-ear detection, and equally as important, over-the-air software updates. We haven’t come across any bugs yet during our time with these, but added functionality could always be added later on down the track through these OTA updates if Beats so wish. You will need the Beats app to customise these features to your liking, but if you’re on iOS, no app is needed – you’ll be able to do all of this natively. So, for Android users, this just means you won’t have to awkwardly ask your friend for their iPhone just to customise the double tap – thank you, Beats!
Now, let’s talk about the heart-rate monitoring; historically, this feature hasn’t been well executed in earbuds – whether that was Sennheiser’s Momentum Sport buds or the Soundcore Liberty 4s, there was always a compromise, be it inaccurate tracking, mediocre sound quality, or something else. Fortunately, that isn’t the case here. The Powerbeats Pro 2 uses a combination of LED sensors and accelerometers to deliver precise tracking, and in our testing, they live up to the promise.
Firstly, the Powerbeats won’t be constantly tracking your heart-rate. On iOS, just start a workout with one of the compatible apps and it’ll automatically start tracking. If you’re on Android, double-tap and hold the multi-function button, or use the Beats app for the buds to start tracking. We gave the Powerbeats a spin during a workout using the Peloton app (it was leg day, if you were wondering), and heart rate tracking seemed to remain consistent and without hiccups throughout.
For those more serious about their training, this will be a genuinely useful feature, especially if you’re working towards specific heart rate zones. Using the PowerBeats means you won’t need to carry around a dedicated heart rate monitor, and you can even leave your smartwatch at home too if you want. Definitely a huge win for convenience.
Some more good news is that Beats claims using the heart rate monitoring won’t have any discernible impact on battery life, which in our testing, that held true. As for overall battery performance, let’s just say you won’t have to worry about it. These new Powerbeats deliver a whopping 10 hours for each earbud and an extra 35 hours with the case, without ANC. With ANC enabled, you’ll get 8 hours per bud and 28 hours total. If you’re low on juice, a quick five-minute charge will grant you an extra hour and half of listening time. Keep in mind it’ll take two hours to fully recharge the case.
Now, perhaps the best excuse to upgrade from your old Powerbeats is the introduction of ANC and transparency modes, powered by the same Apple H2 chip found in the AirPod Pro 2s and AirPod 4s. This was a great move by Beats, because you know battery life, pairing speed, latency, and ANC are going to be really good. In real world usage, the ANC on the Powerbeats are able to block out the majority of low to upper mid frequencies, so things like a car engine or fan, but they do struggle with higher frequencies like my Neo80 with Gateron Melodics. Comparing them to the AirPods Pro 2, which are widely regarded as having the best ANC period, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a small step below that, but still very good and definitely beat out the Galaxy Bud2 Pros. What sets the AirPods Pro 2s apart is its ability to block out a wider range of frequencies, most notably higher pitched noises, like distant chatter or background noise in a cafe.
The transparency mode is a similar story; with the AirPods Pro 2s, it’s almost as if you’re not even wearing them; the microphones and behind-the-scenes processing is that good. On the new Powerbeats, it’s not quite as seamless. You can definitely tell that the microphones are amplifying your voice, and it sounds just a tad unnatural. That said, for a pair of sports focused earbuds, the ANC and transparency here is still very impressive and definitely among the best.
Conclusion
The Powerbeats Pro 2 launch at the same price as the originals; $249 USD or $399 AUD, which firmly place them right up there in the wireless earbud market. That’s a significant investment, which then raises the question: Are they worth it?
All in all, yes, despite its sharp price tag. Beats have made meaningful enhancements across the board; not only do they play nicely with Android, but they also just sound really good, and have near top-tier ANC and transparency modes. Add to that the new heart-rate monitoring, stellar battery life, Apple’s H2 chip and all its magic, and we’re having good fun with these. You definitely are paying a premium to have all these features stuffed into a pair of earbuds, but it honestly doesn’t get much better than these.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 are available in Jet Black, Quick Sand, Hyper Purple and Electric Orange and are available to order now from Apple’s website and JB Hi-Fi here in Australia, with on-shelf stock on 13 February 2025. Just in time to get one for your loved ones.
We would like to thank Beats for providing these units for review.
