Review: Powerbeats Pro 2 tick all the boxes with heart rate monitoring, slimmer design, H2 chip, more

When Powerbeats Pro were first released in 2019, we described them as “the ultimate sport earphones.” They set a new standard for workout-focused headphones with a truly wireless design, an ultra-secure ear-hook fit, and impressive durability.

Now, Beats has officially unveiled Powerbeats Pro 2 — and they’re better in every way. Plus, they have a first-of-its-kind fitness feature: built-in heart rate monitoring.

I’ve been using Powerbeats Pro 2 for the past two weeks, and here’s everything you need to know.

Powerbeats Pro 2 highlights

• Apple H2 chip with ANC, Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio and more
• Case is 33% smaller with USB-C and Qi charging
• Built-in heart rate monitoring features
• Battery life: Up to 45 hours with the case
• Colors: Jet Black, Quick Sand, Hyper Purple, and Electric Orange
• IPX4 sweat and water resistant
• Price: $249.99
• Availability: Order starting today for arrival on February 13

Powerbeats Pro 2 design and fit

The new Powerbeats Pro hold true to the much-loved design language set by the first generation, while simultaneously making several major improvements. The first thing you’ll notice is that Powerbeats Pro 2 are significantly slimmer than their predecessors. The buds themselves are slimmer, while the ear hooks feature a much more compact design.

At first glance, I was concerned that the smaller and more angular design of the Powerbeats Pro 2 earhooks would make them less comfortable. After testing them for hours upon hours for two weeks, I’m happy to confirm that’s not the case. Beats also says Powerbeats Pro 2 are 20% lighter — something I noticed right off the bat.

Not only are they comfortable, but Powerbeats Pro 2 are by far the most snug-fitting and secure earbuds I’ve ever used. The earhooks and in-ear tips do an incredible job at anchoring the buds to my ears. In my first few days with Powerbeats Pro 2, it took me a few tries to get that perfect fit, but since finding that sweet spot, I’ve had no complaints.

There’s a lot to be said for the peace of mind provided by the Powerbeats Pro 2 design. AirPods Pro fit me well, but they’ve fallen out of my ears multiple times when I’m sweating or walking in the rain. With Powerbeats Pro 2, my mind is at ease knowing they won’t fall out of my ears

Powerbeats Pro 2 are significantly slimmer, but Beats hasn’t compromised on the built-in controls. Both buds feature a multi-function button on the ‘b’ logo that allows you to change listening modes, play/pause music, and more. You can customize the different button actions in the Settings app on your iPhone. There’s also a tactile volume rocker on each earbud. I’ve found the volume rocker to be a tad bit finicky to use while I’m on the move, but it’s nice to have it as an option when needed.

Powerbeats Pro 2 case

The smaller design of the Powerbeats Pro 2 also enabled Beats to dramatically shrink the size of the charging case. The new case is 33% smaller than its predecessor, which addresses one of the most common complaints about the original Powerbeats Pro. Beats emphasizes that a lot of engineering work went into making the new case as small as it is.

“It was a true labor of love to get the charging case down to this size. Our teams conducted literally thousands of experiments to ensure that the ear hook positioning, usability and bud presentation was aligned in the smallest possible form factor for the charging case,” Matthew Costello, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering, told 9to5Mac.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 case is still bigger than the cases for AirPods 4, AirPods Pro, and other Beats earbuds, but that’s to be expected given the earhook design. Given the popularity of the original Powerbeats Pro, that’s a tradeoff many people are willing to make. Over the past two weeks, I’ve found the smaller and lighter charging case to be one of the most notable quality-of-life upgrades with Powerbeats Pro 2.

In addition to the smaller footprint, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 case also packs two key upgrades. First, it switches from Lightning to USB-C for charging. More exciting, however, is that the Powerbeats Pro 2 case is Beats’ first-ever case to have support for wireless charging. I’ve complained about this limitation in pretty much all of my Beats reviews over the years, and I’m thrilled that it’s finally been addressed.

From L-R: Beats Solo Buds, Beats Studio Buds+, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2, Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Pro 2, Powerbeats Pro 1

Connectivity features

I’m happy to report that the Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product since the Beats Fit Pro in 2019 to use an Apple audio chip.

The last several releases from Beats, such as the Studio Buds Plus and Solo 4 headphones, have been powered by a custom Beats chip rather than an Apple-designed chip like what’s used in AirPods. For Beats, this has enabled better cross-platform support for Android users, but it’s also come at the cost of several popular features for Apple fans. For example, the Studio Buds Plus lack support for automatic in-ear detection, iCloud pairing, automatic device switching, personalized spatial audio, and more.

With the Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats has gone back to its roots and opted for an Apple-designed chip. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are powered by Apple’s H2 chip, the same chip used by the latest-generation AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. This means you get the full suite of Apple-focused audio features, including:

• One-Touch pairing
• Audio Sharing: Share audio for music or movies with another set of compatible Beats headphones or AirPods
• Find My: Locate your lost headphones on a map based on the last known connected location
• Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking
• iCloud pairing: Instantly pair with every device in your iCloud account
• Siri integration: Simply say “Hey Siri” or “Siri” to activate Apple’s voice assistant
• Ultra-low latency: Lossless Audio with indiscernible audio latency for Apple Vision Pro
• In-ear detection to automatically play and pause music
• Ear-tip fit test available in the Settings app on iPhone

I can’t underscore how pleased I am to see Powerbeats Pro 2 use Apple’s H2 chip, offering nearly the same slate of features as AirPods Pro 2 for Apple users. In my testing, all of these features have been rock solid. Powerbeats Pro 2 are quick to pair and connect to my devices, automatic device switching is fast and reliable, and Vision Pro integration is a nice touch.

“This product would not have been possible to achieve without leveraging the amazing technology and teams of Apple,” Costello told me when asked about using the H2 chip in Powerbeats Pro 2.

Sound quality

Powerbeats Pro 2 offer Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode as listening modes. The former is meant to block out all the noise around you, while the latter lets you hear the noise around you.

Here’s what Beats says about the sound architecture of Powerbeats Pro 2:

Powerbeats Pro 2 features a redesigned acoustic architecture and Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking to deliver powerful, immersive sound, with clear highs, rich mid-range tones and deep bass.

To ensure the best listening experience when training, Beats leveraged Apple’s best-performing Active Noise Cancelling technology and added Transparency mode to allow athletes to hear the world around them. Adaptive EQ tunes sound in real time based on how Powerbeats Pro 2 fits in the user’s ear. An inward facing microphone monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.

I’m not an audiophile, but I have tested a lot of AirPods and Beats headphones over the years. Powerbeats Pro 2 have a very bass-driven sound profile, more so than any other recent Beats product I’ve tested.

It’s up to you to decide whether this bass-heavy soundstage is good or bad. I tend to prefer it most of the time, but there are cases where I think a more balanced approach would sound better (think piano-led ballads like “The Scientist” by Coldplay).

I’ve been very impressed with Active Noise Cancellation on the Powerbeats Pro 2. It might just be the best ANC experience I’ve had with a pair of earbuds. Yes, even better than AirPods Pro 2. I think this can be attributed to the incredibly secure and precise in-ear fit of Powerbeats Pro 2. While the AirPods Pro 2 also feature an in-ear design, the addition of the earhook on the Powerbeats Pro 2 gives another layer of security to make sure that fit is as snug as possible.

Powerbeats Pro 2 also come with five sizes of ear tips in the box (XS, S, M, L, XL), compared to the four sizes you get with AirPods Pro 2.

Battery life

You might think that the smaller Powerbeats Pro 2 form factor means battery life has taken a hit. Quite the opposite, actually.

• 45 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode turned off)
  • 10 hours of playback per bud per charge
• 36 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency Mode turned on)
  • 8 hours of playback per bud per charge

For comparison’s sake, the original Powerbeats Pro provided up to 9 hours of listening time per bud and up to 24 hours of battery life with the charging case. AirPods Pro 2, meanwhile, offer up to 6 hours on a single charge and up to 30 hours with the charging case.

The new Powerbeats Pro 2 also offer Fast Fuel support, which gives up to 90 minutes of playback with a quick five-minute charge. I’m still waiting on Apple to copy that feature for AirPods.

I’ve always found Beats to be true to its word when it comes to battery life claims, and the Powerbeats Pro are no different.

Heart rate monitoring

All of the aforementioned features and improvements make Powerbeats Pro 2 an incredibly compelling product, but Beats has one more thing: Powerbeats Pro 2 feature built-in heart rate monitoring.

Each Powerbeats Pro 2 earbud has a built-in heart rate monitor comprised of four components. First, there’s an LED sensor that emits green LED light at a rate of over 100 pulses per second. This light is emitted through the skin and hits your red blood cells. The photodiode then receives the reflected light from the red blood cells that is modulated by the red blood flow. There’s an optical lens that helps direct and separate the transmitted and received light, along with an accelerometer to ensure accuracy and consistency in data collection.

Beats adds that the Powerbeats Pro 2’s heart rate sensor technology is derived from Apple’s work on the Apple Watch.

So how does the heart rate monitoring feature on Powerbeats Pro 2 actually work?

On iPhone, Beats has teamed up with some of the key fitness apps to integrate heart rate data from Powerbeats Pro 2:

• Peloton
• Nike Run Club
• Runna
• Ladder
• Slopes
• Open
• YaoYao

While those are the apps that Beats is touting as its partners, the Powerbeats Pro 2 should integrate with any app that supports accessing and recording data from the Health app using Apple’s HealthKit API.

Everything is managed through Apple’s Health app. For example, you need to ensure that the Peloton app has permission to read heart rate data from the Health app. Then, when you start a workout in the Peloton app, your Powerbeats Pro 2 will record your heart rate during that workout. The data is saved to the Peloton app and the Health app.

One thing that’s missing for iPhone users, however, is integration with Apple Fitness+. You can use Apple Fitness+ without an Apple Watch, but the service doesn’t have the ability to tap into heart rate data from devices other than an Apple Watch for its on-screen metrics. However, if you wear your Powerbeats Pro 2 during an Apple Fitness+ workout, you can view your heart rate data in the Health app and on the post-workout summary screen in the Fitness app.

Additionally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 will take continuously take background measurements of your heart rate when you’re wearing them. This data can be found in the Health app.

This brings me to my next point: if you already have an Apple Watch, you likely won’t find much use for the heart rate sensors in the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can’t connect the Powerbeats Pro 2 as a “health device” to your Apple Watch and use the earbuds as the heart rate source instead of the watch.

If you don’t have an Apple Watch, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 give you an excellent way to monitor your heart rate during workouts. In my testing, accuracy seems to be on par with the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor. If you want to work out without anything attached to your body other than headphones, the Powerbeats Pro 2 let you do just that while still getting that valuable heart rate data.

Other Powerbeats Pro 2 tidbits

• Powerbeats Pro 2 incorporate upgraded digital voice microphones and a voice accelerometer while also leveraging advanced computational audio.
• Support for Voice Isolation with beam-forming microphone technology and targeted voice uplink with wind-noise mitigation system.
• Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product to deliver Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency for Apple’s Vision Pro, for an unprecedented sound experience
• Powerbeats Pro 2 packaging is made from 100% plant-based material sourced from recycled fiber and sustainable forests.

9to5Mac’s Take

What fascinates me most about the Powerbeats Pro 2 is the clear collaboration between Apple and Beats. Apple, of course, owns Beats and we’ve seen Beats use Apple’s audio chips in the past. But for Beats to specifically call out the work with Apple on the H2 chip and heart rate monitoring features is a notable sign of the evolving relationship between the two companies. Customers benefit most from this kind of collaboration, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a prime example of that.

The Powerbeats brand has been a staple in the Beats product lineup since 2010, but the Powerbeats Pro in 2019 really took things up a notch. An Apple-backed chip design with stellar battery life, durability, and the iconic earhook form factor made Powerbeats Pro stand out among the increasingly-crowded world of truly wireless earbuds.

Powerbeats Pro 2 are the perfect iteration of the product line. They maintain the fan-favorite design while simultaneously making key improvements to the form factor, like the slimmer earbuds and smaller charging case. Battery life is stellar and performance is excellent thanks to the H2 chip. The secure fit is still unmatched.

If you set aside the heart rate monitoring features, those upgrades alone would make for an excellent “Powerbeats Pro 2” revision.

I personally don’t think I’ll find myself using the Powerbeats Pro 2’s heart rate monitoring features very often. I wear an Apple Watch all day, every day, and as far as I can tell, there aren’t any situations where it would make more sense to use Powerbeats Pro 2 for heart tracking instead of my watch.

But in our Apple blog bubble, it’s easy to assume everyone has an Apple Watch. In the real world, that’s not the case. There’s undoubtedly a crowd of people that will find it incredibly useful to have heart rate monitoring features built into their earbuds. For certain types of workouts, it’s not always feasible or comfortable to wear an Apple Watch. For those people and those situations, Powerbeats Pro 2 offer an excellent experience.

I do, however, wish Beats and Apple had taken the Apple Watch into consideration when developing these heart rate sensors for Powerbeats Pro 2. For example, ideally you would be able to pair the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds to your Apple Watch and use their heart rate data instead of the watch’s. The Apple Watch supports third-party heart rate monitors, like the popular Polar H10 Chest Strap. The Powerbeats Pro 2 just don’t support that integration.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 are clearly designed and marketed towards fitness enthusiasts. Even if you don’t think you fall into that category, however, I recommend giving them a shot if you’re in the market for a new pair of earphones. Again, the peace of mind offered by having truly wireless earbuds that you know won’t fall out of your ears can’t be overstated.

Finally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 release is the latest piece of evidence that Beats is firing on all cylinders right now. They represent the company’s most ambitious product yet, combining a significant form factor revamp and first-of-its-kind heart rate monitoring technology. Plus, Beats continues to give us the form factors, colors, and features that Apple’s AirPods are missing.

Powerbeats Pro 2 are available to order today for $249, with in-store availability starting on Thursday.

The full Beats lineup

Beats Solo Buds

Beats Studio Buds+

Beats Fit Pro

Powerbeats Pro 2

Beats Pill

Beats Solo 4

Beats Studio Pro