The new generation of PowerBeats Pro, these high-end wireless headphones for athletes, makes important and welcome improvements, almost six years after the original model. A taste of the next AirPods Pro 3?
Athletes know the PowerBeats Pro headphones well that combine both sound quality and stability on the ears thanks to the flexible arch passing behind the pavilion. An appreciable quality for so-called True Wireless headphones, that is to say independent from each other: no wire connects the left earpiece to the right earboard. The first version of these headphones dated from May 2019, it was time to offer an improved version and incorporating all the advanced functions that we are entitled to expect in high -end headphones. It is now done with the PowerBeats Pro 2 and their manufacturer Beats, a subsidiary of Apple since 2014, has not done things by halves.
PowerBeats Pro 2: lighter and more enduring
At first glance, one might think that the PowerBeats Pro 2 are identical to the model they replace. Only, if they resume a similar design, there are many differences. The weight of each earpiece goes from 11 g to a little less than 9 g, while the case which serves both for storage and a lighter charging station is announced as lighter and more compact with a reduced volume of 33% All without sacrificing autonomy since PowerBeats Pro promise 10 hours of continuous listening, against 9 hers for the first models. And total autonomy, that is to say including all possible recharges with a box also loaded at full pass from 24 hours to 45 hours!
PowerBeats Pro 2: noise reduction, transparency mode and its space
The other big novelty is that the PowerBeats Pro – Apple obliges – now integrate the H2 chip, like the AirPods Pro 2. This therefore allows them to offer an active noise reduction mode to isolate themselves and also From the famous transparency mode, which allows you to hear your music as well as the surrounding noises, essential when you walk in town, for example. The Power Beats Pro 2 also offer personalized space audio, to enjoy music in Dolby Atmos, notably offered by Apple Music. Like the first version, the PowerBeats Pro 2 therefore benefit from the ease of Apple products: just pair them on one of these devices, an iPhone for example, so that they are automatically available on all others, Mac and iPad . But these headphones are sold under the Beats brand, so they are perfectly compatible with any Android smartphone, for example.
PowerBeats Pro 2: Integrated heart rate monitoring
All these new features have already made this new model very interesting. But PowerBeats Pro 2 go further by integrating, for the first time in this type of headphones, monitoring of heart rate. Taking up a technology close to that integrated into the Apple Watch, mini LED sensors send light flashes more than 100 times per second and are thus able to raise the heart rate every five seconds. And this statement is then transmitted to the smartphone. This should interest athletes who do not like to wear a watch while they play sports.
PowerBeats Pro 2 have always been high -end headphones, therefore at high prices. And unfortunately, the addition of new functions does not come without an increase in price, in any case in France, while the price remains identical to the United States. Indeed, the 249 dollars (excluding taxes as usual in the USA) remain stable in Uncle Sam, while you have to pay 300 euros TTC, in France for PowerBeats Pro 2, against 249 euros for the previous model. Ouch!