Made to Move

After what feels like an eternity in consumer technology, the successor to the OG workout earbuds that put Apple brand Beats on the map for fitness buffs worldwide have finally arrived. For the Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats took all the good bits from the original, refined the fit and added active noise cancelling and heart rate monitoring. Yes, heart rate monitoring…in an earbud. 

 Like all Beats earbuds, the Powerbeats Pro 2 connect seamlessly with Apple devices, thanks to the Apple H2 chip enabling the same ease of use as AirPods - instant pairing and switching on devices signed on to the same iCloud account, audio sharing with other Beats/AirPods buds, Find My tracking and spatial audio with head tracking. If you have the Beats app installed, the earbuds work nearly as well on Android smartphones, although fair warning: the buds only support SBC and AAC, with no support for higher-resolution Bluetooth codecs, and there’s no support for Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity to multiple Android devices at the same time. 

Out of the box, the case is still comically large, almost the size of two AirPod cases put together, but it does come with Qi-wireless charging and gives the 10-hour battery life on the buds an additional 45 hours. The hook design of the original Powerbeats Pro is retained, which wraps around the back of the ear and keeps the buds in place even if you have a proclivity of head-banging during your workout. It is smaller, about 20 per cent in size and weight, but you do feel minor fatigue after several hours of use. You can wear the buds to workouts, no matter how strenuous or sweaty, but not for a swim or a post workout shower. 

Heart rate monitoring is the headlining feature here, and it’s enabled by the inclusion of optical heart rate sensors in each bud. You do need to consciously engage the heart rate monitoring when you kick off a workout, since it isn’t continuously monitoring your heart rate all day. The data is transmitted over Bluetooth to a number of compatible apps, and bear in mind, if you have an Apple Watch, the iPhone will prioritize Watch data over the buds. You don’t lose by using one or the other, since the buds and watch are within a few beats per minute of each other, which means you can well leave the Watch at home and head out only with the iPhone and the buds. 

How do they sound? They sound like workout earbuds do, which means a gym-friendly, bass boosted, energetic sonic profile with amped up bass and treble levels. It’s not going to be audiophile pleasing, but if big on workout (music), these are going to be playing your tunes all marathon long! No custom equalizer though, so you don’t get a choice in tuning the music your way.

Rating:8/10

Price: Rs. 29,900