The Powerbeats Pro were like the Guns N’ Roses of the earbud world. Boom, out comes Appetite for Destruction to mass acclaim, and then they evaporate before the hotly anticipated follow-up sees the light of day.
When Beats’ Powerbeats Pro launched in April 2019, they were the darlings of audio reviewers’ worlds—at least as far as earbuds go. Fantastic sound quality, seamless pairing with smartphones, and a secure design had us eagerly awaiting their sequel act.
Then all we heard for years was radio silence. They’d been so well received, it was curious that the lineup had been seemingly abandoned. I wrote off the Powerbeats Pro line, shrugging my shoulders that Beats had knocked a home run with the originals, and then just lost focus.
Now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the Powerbeats Pro 2 is due to launch, and not just down the road sometime. They’re coming next week, on February 11. The news is like when you pop in an earbud, forget that you’d maxed out your volume, and are jolted with a sonic blast. But this time, in a good way.
what’s under the hood
They’ll sell for $250, according to Gurman—the same as the AirPods Pro 2, although the AirPods are on sale for cheaper right now. Reports say to expect better active noise cancellation, but I mean, we should expect that. It’s been six years, after all.
Since it’s said to share the AirPods Pro 2’s H2 chip, I expect very similar, if not outright the same, active noise cancellation capabilities in the Powerbeats Pro 2. Gurman also says they’ll come with heart rate monitoring and new colors, including orange.
Heart rate monitoring meshes with a continuation of Beats’ positioning as a more fitness-focused earbud than Apple’s line of AirPods. Since Apple owns Beats and the two premium-aligned earbuds share chips and pricing, there has to be some way of distinguishing the two so that they don’t cannibalize each other’s sales.
they stay put like cement
Apple’s AirPods Pro always fall out of my ears when I take them to the gym. And I’d never take them running, because I’d give them 10 whole minutes before the light jostling would catapult one out of my ear and into a sewer or a giant New York rat’s open mouth.
My weapon of choice for working out was, for a while, the original Powerbeats Pro. They sounded just as good as my AirPods Pro but were way more secure in my ears. The over-the-ear clip kept them glued solidly in there so no jostling or positioning could dislodge them.
I’d lay back on a bench press, and where a common earbud had tumbled out, the Powerbeats Pro stayed clipped on. I’d even use them when I was working the punching bag with boxing gloves. Like concrete, they never budged.
They also never felt overbearing, like over-the-ear headphones’ cups would become stuffy and sweaty. A few minutes after I’d put them on, I’d forget they were there. We don’t have images yet, but we expect them to retain much of the original Powerbeats design.
We’ll continue to keep an ear out for news, leaks, and developments. And when Beats unveils them officially on February 11, we’ll blare the news at volume 11 from the rooftops.
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