Apple Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: A Runner’s Delight

Apple’s new Powerbeats Pro 2 build on the previous generation with some smart improvements, a more ergonomic design, and a better battery—all for $250.

The older Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds have always been known as the sporty cousin of the Apple AirPods Pro. What made them special was how seamlessly they worked across the Apple ecosystem. It also didn’t hurt that they sounded great, and the ear hook design made them a favorite among runners, hikers, and anyone afraid of losing an earbud on their daily commute. Read on for our review of the new Powerbeats Pro 2, including how they compare to the original.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: Design and Fit

© Adriano Contreras

As much as I liked the original Powerbeats Pro, they had issues. The sequel addresses nearly every critique about the original, starting with size. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are roughly 30% smaller. More importantly, the ear hook stems are much thinner, leaving more space for the temples of your glasses.

As a glasses wearer, I find earbuds with ear hooks hard to wear all day. However, once you secure the buds, Powerbeats Pro 2 are more comfortable than I’d thought they’d be.  I never once felt like they would fall out when I was out for a run or squeezing into a crowded subway car.

See Powerbeats Pro 2 at Amazon

Another much-needed size reduction was for the charging case, which is 30% smaller. Based on our testing, you get about three full charges for your earbuds from the case. Another feather in the case’s hat is that it now supports Qi-wireless charging. Despite being smaller, the case still feels a little bulky compared to other fitness earbuds, though it can actually fit inside a pocket now.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 are still rated for IPX4, so they are sweat- and water-resistant but not waterproof. I’d be careful with these around pools, toilets, and puddles. I know a small segment of Powerbeats Pro users wanted something more heavy-duty, but I can understand Beats’ decision to keep costs down.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review:  Audio Performance

© Adriano Contreras

Considering how much we like the previous generation, it shouldn’t be too shocking, but the audio quality of the Powerbeats Pro 2 is top-notch. I was concerned that the slightly slimmer design would somehow affect the sound quality. The audio is well-balanced, and the bass isn’t overly thick. Since you’ll likely be working out while wearing these, you don’t want bass drowning out your favorite songs’ hooks, like in APT. by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars or my new favorite track when I’m out for a jog in the cold, Bad Bunny’s WELTiTA, which makes me forget for a few minutes that I’m in 20-degree weather.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 now have Active Noise Cancellation, and the buds do a decent job of blocking out the world so you can focus on your workout or, in my case, write a product review. Of course, you have a Transparency mode, and Adaptive EQ, which takes advantage of Apple’s personalized spatial audio feature, feels a little hit-or-miss since it automatically tunes the lows and mids based on the shape of your ear. Most of the time, it was fine, but there were a couple of instances where music and dialogue from TV shows felt like they were floating around me. In these cases, I took the earbuds out and put them back into the ear, which seemed to fix the issue. I still prefer choosing my EQ settings instead of relying on the earbuds to guess what’s right for my ears.

If you’re making a phone call on the run, you’ll be happy to hear that the voice isolation does an excellent job, so callers can hear you clearly while the devices cut out background noise like wind and traffic.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: Features

The feature you’ll hear a lot about is the Powerbeats Pro 2’s built-in heart rate monitor. Each earbud has an LED sensor that emits light through the skin, hitting the red blood cells in your ear. Combined with the accelerometer in the buds, this gives you fairly accurate reads during your workouts. The heart rate monitor works on apps like Nike Run, Runna, Slopes, and Peloton on iOS or Android phones.

I’m a Peloton user, so seeing all the heart rate activity sent to my iPhone’s Health app post-workout was nice. Other apps like Nike Run can monitor your BPM (beats per minute) in real-time. I usually never think about how my heart is doing when I run or work out, because I always forget to charge my Apple Watch or heartbeat sensor. Having it built into the earbuds is incredibly convenient and gives me one less excuse not to keep track of my health data.

Interestingly enough, according to Apple, if you’re wearing an Apple Watch at the same time as the earbuds, the phone apps should prioritize those readings over the earbuds, since smartwatches tend to provide better results. However, the Powerbeats Pro 2 did a pretty good job providing accurate heart rate data. I did find that if the earbuds aren’t secure, it does mess with the readings, but that’s nothing a quick on-the-fly adjustment couldn’t fix.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: Controls

The Powerbeats Pro 2 work well on pretty much any Apple device, from iPhones to iMacs. This means you can access iOS features like Siri integration, Find My (for locating a missing bud), and, perhaps most usefully, iCloud pairing, which lets you use the buds across multiple devices without physically pairing them to each device.

Each earbud has an up/down volume rocker and a customizable ‘b’ button, so each press and long press can be used for things like taking calls or activating Siri. This is almost all the customization you can do on the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can skip tracks with a simple double tap of the ‘b’ button, and a triple tap plays the previous track. You’re pretty limited in what you can tweak in the iOS Settings menu. I would have liked more freedom in customizing my buttons, but in my time with the buds, I never had to fight with the controls whenever I tried to take a call or switch listening modes.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: Battery Life

The battery life also got a big upgrade over the last generation. Apple says you can get about 10 hours of battery life with ANC turned off. In our testing, it was closer to 8.5 to 9 hours. With ANC on, that number ranged from 5 to 6.5 hours. Mostly, people will mix their usage between toggling listening modes, which means you’ll get through most of the workday. That’s also not counting the three charges you get from the charging case.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Review: Verdict

If you’re an iPhone user who enjoys an active lifestyle, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a no-brainer because of how seamlessly the buds integrate with the Apple ecosystem. While the Powerbeats Pro 2 still work well with an Android phone, iPhone users get more out of the earbuds. They offer a more secure and comfortable fit than the Powerbeats Pro. The addition of Active Noise Cancellation and built-in heartbeat sensors are smart upgrades that improve an already great pair of sports earbuds.

See Powerbeats Pro 2 at Amazon