Beats Powerbeats Professional 2 overview

Regardless of years of rumors and analyst predictions suggesting that coronary heart charge monitoring is on the best way for the Apple AirPods, the Powerbeats Professional 2 has as an alternative debuted the know-how first. This marks a big second for Apple’s sub-brand Beats, representing the corporate’s first step in what many foresee as a protracted journey towards deep, correct biometric monitoring from the ear.

This isn’t a totally new idea. We’ve encountered it with Jabra, Sennheiser, Bose, Amazfit, and long-forgotten startups like Bragi. All have tried to make coronary heart charge monitoring headphones work. As our testing over the previous decade has proven, the latency and accuracy are spectacular sufficient to compete with a coronary heart charge monitor chest strap—the gold normal for monitoring throughout exercises. But, none have stood the check of time.

Beats says it’s doing issues in another way, trying to the sensor know-how and neural community of the Apple Watch to offer its well-loved sports activities earbuds the added monitoring powers.

It’s not simply coronary heart charge monitoring that’s new for this era. Beats is showcasing a notably smaller ear hook, lighter and extra compact earbuds, and enhanced battery life, all whereas decreasing the dimensions of the charging case. Apple’s H2 chip now additionally powers the audio, providing options like energetic noise cancellation (ANC), Personalised Spatial Audio, and Adaptive Transparency Mode.

We’ve been testing the audio and coronary heart charge monitoring in outside and indoor exercises over the previous few weeks. Right here’s our full Beats Powerbeats Professional 2 overview.

Word: Further testing and pictures by Conor Allison, Wareable’s Editor

Worth and competitors

As we talked about within the introduction, the variety of convincing ‘hearables’—earbuds or headphones with built-in monitoring options—obtainable in the marketplace is restricted. Nevertheless, following an preliminary increase within the late 2010s, we’re beginning to see new choices emerge.

Polar and Sennheiser collaborated on the Momentum Sport final yr, and the Suunto Aqua—swimming headphones that includes AI teaching—debuted at CES 2025 in January.

In fact, the checklist of non-tracking sports activities headphones is infinite and dominated by manufacturers like Shokz, Beats, and Apple. However the state of play is what makes Powerbeats Professional 2 comparatively distinctive. They’re essentially the most important launch within the hearables class in years.

Due to this fact, the $249.99 RRP will not be significantly stunning. The guts charge monitoring know-how additionally offers customers with an choice to keep away from investing in a smartwatch or coronary heart charge monitor chest strap, making it an effective way to include audio and monitoring in a single resolution. Total, we predict it’s glorious worth for those who’re the proper of person.

Design, consolation and controls

The unique Powerbeats Professional’s longevity is partly because of how properly they suit your ears. That top-quality, safe match hasn’t modified with the Powerbeats Professional 2, and so they comfortably cross the match check.

Beats continues to make use of an ear hook design, however it’s now 50% smaller than the unique Powerbeats Professional. The brand-stamped stem can be positioned extra vertically to the ear and stays safe with out gripping too tightly.

We’ve worn Powerbeats Professional 2 for hours at our desk with out experiencing any of the same old discomforts related to hook designs. In reality, we most popular them over the smaller Beats Match Professional. Nevertheless, the true check of any sports activities headphones is how properly they deal with high-intensity exercises that contain important head motion. We are able to verify that the Professional 2 meet that problem.

There are 5 totally different units of ear tricks to improve general consolation, starting from XS to XL. Because of this selection and the eartip match check in iOS, we’re assured that most individuals will obtain a safe seal. We examined two pattern models, with one reviewer happy with the out-of-the-box medium measurement, whereas one other switched to massive (although medium labored completely tremendous as properly).

Just like the last-gen mannequin, Beats makes use of an IPX4-rated design to supply safety towards sweat and rain. We completely examined this in a single future in very stormy situations. The headphones received soaked however had been okay to make use of after we dried them off, and so they by no means appeared to wrestle with sweat.

We’re happy Beats selected to maintain the bodily controls that had been so properly executed on the unique Powerbeats. Urgent the brand button makes it simple to modify between listening modes or play and pause audio, whereas Siri additionally offers hands-free assist for iPhone customers. Above which are quantity rockers that make adjusting the amount a breeze whereas on the transfer.

After they’re not in your ears, they reside contained in the matching-color charging case. This case nonetheless doesn’t disappear in your pocket like different charging instances (corresponding to an AirPods Professional 2 case), however the measurement discount is a really welcome enchancment.

The case additionally fortunately helps wi-fi charging this time, permitting you to position it on a Qi-certified mat and keep away from utilizing a USB-C cable to energy it again up.

Coronary heart charge monitoring: The way it works

As talked about earlier, coronary heart charge monitoring headphones aren’t new. Jabra and Below Armour launched hooked, single-wire choices a few years in the past, although more moderen, true wi-fi designs implementing the tech (just like the Sennheiser Momentum Sport) have been wobbly at greatest.

Have the Powerbeats Professional 2 fared higher? Effectively, whereas accuracy has been glorious, we’ve nonetheless had our share of issues with connectivity and stability throughout iOS and Android testing.

Beats measures coronary heart charge utilizing an optical sensor and a singular algorithm, very similar to different coronary heart charge monitoring earbuds that derive knowledge from the ear. What units it aside is that it consists of sensors in each earbuds, in contrast to opponents that normally solely implement a single earbud sensor. This design will increase the prospect of reaching essentially the most correct coronary heart charge knowledge.

An onboard accelerometer movement sensor additionally compensates for motion (or movement artefacts, as they’re typically referred to) to enhance monitoring accuracy while you begin understanding.

The guts charge monitoring characteristic is out there for each iOS and Android customers. As we’ll discover under, although, it operates fairly in another way on the 2 platforms.

Coronary heart charge monitoring expertise with iOS

When paired with iOS, coronary heart charge monitoring can solely be accessed by a choose assortment of appropriate apps, which incorporates Nike Run Membership, Peloton, Runna, Open, Slopes, YaoYao, and Ladder. There aren’t any native HR readouts or storage for exercises, and also you’re not capable of begin exercises from throughout the Apple Well being or Health apps.

To view knowledge in real-time when utilizing appropriate third-party apps, you first have to authorize entry to your coronary heart charge knowledge within the Apple Well being app. After a exercise, the info is saved within the coronary heart charge part of the Well being app and may, in fact, be viewable in these apps as properly.

Along with the app assist, you may also join the onboard coronary heart charge monitor to appropriate related health club gear. We managed this with a Technogym treadmill within the health club whereas making an attempt to pair to an app, and it labored properly.

Nevertheless, for those who’re contemplating utilizing it along with your Apple Watch, we now have unhealthy information: the center charge sensor knowledge from the smartwatch takes priority over the earbuds, leaving no possibility to decide on between the 2. Throughout our makes an attempt to pair it with non-Apple smartwatches, we additionally encountered connection points. Particularly, with a few Garmin watches, we seen that the center charge monitoring was disabled, which required a restart to resolve.

On one hand, we are able to perceive Apple’s reluctance to permit a pair of Beats headphones to probably undermine a key characteristic of the Apple Watch. Nevertheless, this ends in a fairly clunky expertise on iOS proper now.

Each of our testers had been unable to attach the Powerbeats Professional 2 to a lot of the appropriate apps (although it’s unclear whether or not this is because of app software program not being prepared for the newly launched mannequin). We tried to make use of Nike Run Membership, Peloton, Runna, Ladder, and Open; nonetheless, we solely succeeded in getting the Open app to trace coronary heart charge knowledge. The respiratory and meditation app (proven above) delivers coronary heart charge as a visualizer after which offers a abstract of biometrics after a session.

We’ll proceed to make use of the Powerbeats Professional 2 on iOS over the approaching weeks and months, and we’ll replace this part if issues enhance. Because it stands, they’re tough to advocate to iOS customers from this angle alone.

Coronary heart charge monitoring expertise with Android

Contrastingly, Android customers have extra freedom to make use of them with any health apps that assist pairing with Bluetooth coronary heart charge screens. The distinction within the course of is that you should faucet twice and maintain the button behind the Beats emblem to attach the onboard sensor to the app.

After our frustrations with iPhone pairing, we moved to Android, the place we had been capable of collect some knowledge and examine it with a chest strap HRM. The primary profitable check was utilizing the Strava app. Pairing was simple, and the info matched the Polar H9 coronary heart charge monitor chest strap very intently.

On a really relaxed outside run, the Powerbeats Professional 2’s common coronary heart charge was recorded as 151 bpm, with the utmost at 169 bpm. In distinction, a coronary heart charge monitor chest strap recorded a 153 bpm common coronary heart charge studying and a 172 bpm most coronary heart charge studying.

The subsequent profitable check was an out of doors run with the Nike Run Membership Android app. A look on the knowledge (under) reveals that the Powerbeats Professional 2 fared virtually identically to the Polar chest strap, which could be very encouraging.

We might have preferred to have extra knowledge to overview, however, sadly, the situations during which Powerbeats Professional 2 related and people during which they didn’t undoubtedly leaned extra towards the latter. Once more, like with iOS, we’ll proceed testing and replace this part if we see enhancements.

Audio high quality 

Refined was not a phrase usually related to the sound high quality of the unique Powerbeats Professional. That bassy sound profile stays unchanged within the Professional 2, however it aligns extra with the Apple and Beats headphones launched because the authentic.

Because of the inclusion of Apple’s H2 chip, iOS customers invariably get extra of these new options. This chip grants entry to Personalised Spatial Audio, which stays as excellent right here because it does on the AirPods Professional 2. Audio swapping between Apple gadgets can be extremely seamless—we’ve always shifted between iPhone, iPad, and Mac throughout desk time with out challenge.

The Discover My performance, Transparency mode, and Adaptive EQ supplied on the most recent AirPods are additionally right here, whereas each Android and iOS customers get entry to the Energetic Noise Cancellation mode.

If you activate these modes, they carry out properly. The ANC successfully mutes sounds round you whereas working at a desk in a co-working house or understanding within the health club (subsequent to a blaring speaker) at peak hours. Blustery, windy situations pose extra challenges on outside runs. Fortunately, they don’t smash issues for those who’ve received a great eartip seal. The ear hook design feels key to making sure these added ANC powers work properly.

The Professional 2 nonetheless delivers energy and bass, providing a extra balanced general sound than its predecessor and sports activities earbuds. Like Apple’s AirPods, the decision high quality can be spectacular right here.

Battery life and charging

As anticipated, the battery efficiency has significantly improved in comparison with the unique mannequin. Whereas including ANC does result in extra important battery drain, we’re nonetheless very impressed with the Professional 2’s battery life efficiency.

They’ll ship as much as 10 hours of battery life on a single cost, up from 9 hours. Beats’ Quick Gasoline quick-charge mode additionally offers 90 minutes of listening time from only a 5-minute cost. A completely charged case presents 3.5 fees, supplying you with a complete of 45 hours of playtime.

In distinction, the unique mannequin promised 24 hours, so it is a important improve—particularly contemplating the general design has shrunk significantly.

Utilizing the Powerbeats for per week with 1-2 hours of listening every day is well achievable, particularly in case you have a completely or partially charged case to position them in. Typically, listening for an hour with ANC or Transparency mode on results in over 10% battery drain, and that is naturally a bit much less if each options are turned off.

When evaluating the efficiency of varied Apple and Beats earbuds, the Beats Match Professional presents as much as 6 hours on a single cost, whereas the AirPods Professional 2 offers roughly 5 hours. This implies the Powerbeats Professional 2 comfortably delivers extra battery life, even with energetic noise cancellation (ANC) or transparency mode enabled.