Beats Powerbeats Pro

Brand Beats by Dr. Dre, owned by Apple since 2014, announced its first Powerbeats Pro TWS headphones in 2021. They cost the same as the AirPods Pro, but outperform them in almost every way.

Design and ergonomics

Headphones received a stylish recognizable design and, despite some external bulkiness, sit firmly and comfortably in the ears. This is facilitated by the behind-the-ear fastening in the form of an arc, tightly wrapping around the ear. Its only drawback is that it can interfere with the temple of the glasses. Otherwise, the design does not cause the slightest discomfort, Powerbeats Pro can be freely worn in a hood or headgear, they will not cling to it.

The body of the headphones and the case is completely made of matte plastic and has water protection. However the manufacturer does not indicate the level, but we think that it is not lower than IPX4, as in AirPods Pro. It's still a sporty model.

The buttons feature a glossy Beats logo. There are many colour options: there is marine, pale pink, red, blue, ivory and, of course, black. But the case is black anyway. It is large enough to fit in a jeans pocket, but such dimensions are explained by a capacious battery and the design of the headphones themselves. The case is equipped with a dot status indicator and a Lightning connector for charging. The lid closes tightly, does not play, accidental openings are excluded.

Connection and control

Powerbeats Pro are equipped with the Apple H1 chip. Therefore, their connection quality is no worse than that of the new AirPods, and the sound delay is minimal and invisible when watching a video.

Like all apple products, the headphones are tailored for use in the Apple ecosystem. With iOS and Mac devices, pairing will be as simple and fast as possible, with all others you will have to connect in the old fashioned way, holding the button pressed for a few seconds so that the headphones are identified in the Bluetooth list of the connected device.

Each earphone has a proximity sensor responsible for auto-pause. But you can also control playback using physical buttons. They can also call voice assistants, scroll through tracks, receive and reject calls. And to adjust the volume, there are barely noticeable rockers, which, despite their miniature size, are quite convenient to control, even if you have large fingers.

Sound

The Powerbeats Pro sound smooth and balanced, without any frequency distortion. The basses do not dominate, the highs do not squeak, the middle is wide. In terms of music styles, they can be called omnivorous, that is, if you have any complaints about their sound, then most likely it is from high expectations.

Noise suppression

There is no ANC in the headphones, only passive isolation, and it works as it should. That is, ambient sounds penetrate, but not enough to make listening uncomfortable. Of course, the Powerbeats Pro won’t be able to overcome the noise of a busy subway, but in this case, you can add volume, with its reserve everything is more than normal here.

Calls

But how the headset, Powerbeats Pro, frankly failed. Despite two beamforming microphones for better voice pickup, an accelerometer for tracking the environment and reducing background noise, the quality of voice transmission during a call leaves much to be desired. Simply put, the interlocutor will most likely ask you to speak directly on the phone. This miscalculation could be forgiven for TWS for $50 – $70, but not for $200.

battery life

And finally, battery life. Without recharging, Powerbeats Pro last up to a maximum of 9 hours, and they can be charged two more times from the case. Given the size of the latter, this is, to put it mildly, bewildering. Yes, 9 hours from a single charge is certainly great, but only two charges from the case? The Fast Fuel mode will sweeten the pill, allowing you to charge the headphones for 1.5 hours of work in just 5 minutes.

In general, the Beats Powerbeats Pro made a mixed impression on us. That feeling when they could do it cool, but decided that it would do.