After nearly six years, the long-awaited Powerbeats Pro 2 has finally arrived—and it was worth the wait.
A follow up to the original Powerbeats Pro, Apple has packed these sports-focused earbuds with top-tier features, including active noise canceling (ANC), spatial audio, heart rate monitoring, and a massive 45-hour battery life. Most importantly, they retain the signature around-the-ear hooks, ensuring a secure fit no matter how intense your workout. With seamless Apple integration and strong Android support, they offer premium sound, durability, and convenience for athletes and everyday users alike.
Design
The Powerbeats Pro 2 refines the original’s design with a sleeker, more compact build that better aligns with the modern Beats lineup. The iconic around-the-ear hooks remain the star feature, ensuring a secure fit without requiring deep insertion into the ear—perfect for those who struggle with in-ear stability. With five ear tip sizes and a flexible yet durable nickel-titanium alloy frame, they balance comfort and longevity.
Built for intense workouts, they boast an IPX4 rating for water and sweat resistance. Another standout feature is the physical button controls—each bud has a tactile multi-function button for playback and voice assistant activation, plus a dedicated volume rocker. No touch controls, no accidental presses, just intuitive, customizable functionality.
Apple has also stepped up the aesthetics with four stylish matte color options: Electric Orange, Hyper Purple, Quick Sand, and Jet Black. The bold yet refined look makes them as visually appealing as they are functional.
Battery & Charging Case
One of the only trade-offs with the Powerbeats Pro 2 is the still bulky charging case—though it’s a huge improvement over the predecessor. We measured the old charging case and buds at 131 grams versus the new at 85 grams. While the new case doesn’t quite disappear into your pocket, it’s still pocketable.
The long battery life also makes the larger case less of an issue, you can go out for a day without the case if necessary. The earbuds alone deliver an impressive 8–10 hours of playback, depending on ANC and transparency mode, and the case provides three additional full charges, bringing the total to 36–45 hours.
Fast charging is also here, giving you over an hour of playback from just a 5-minute charge. The case supports both USB-C (oddly, no cable included) and Qi wireless charging, offering flexibility for refueling on the go.
Features
Holy features—Apple packed the Powerbeats Pro 2 with everything you could want in a pair of earbuds. We wouldn’t have expected their sports headphones to offer active noise cancelling or even spatial audio, but they do. They also come with transparency mode, which is one of the best we’ve used.
The inclusion of heart rate monitoring really solidifies Powerbeats Pro 2 as best-in-class sports headphones. The heart rate monitoring works with almost all Android apps that support bluetooth monitors and a handful of iOS apps like Nike Run Club, Peloton, Runna, Open, and more. I used heart rate on the Nike Run Club app and there was virtually no setup. The monitoring worked just as well as my Apple Watch.
Our favorite comfort feature, auto-play/pause, is included with a wear sensor that knows when you put on or take off a bud.
A big perk for iPhone users is how perfectly they’re integrated with all Apple devices — there’s no app required to unlock all of the added functionality and settings. They’re as natively integrated as Apple’s AirPods — there’s one-touch pairing, iCloud Pairing that automatically pairs with every Apple Device, seamless audio switchover between Apple devices, audio sharing where 1 device can stream to multiple Beats/Airpods, Find My, “Hey Siri”, and more! Android requires the Beats App and has many of the features like one-touch pairing, Find My via the Beats app, customizable buttons, heart rate monitoring, ANC, and Transparency. Android’s mainly missing out on Spatial Audio, which isn’t a big loss in our opinion.
Sound Quality
The Powerbeats Pro 2 delivers a significant leap in sound quality over the original. The first-generation model lacked bass and clarity, but the new version brings more detail, richness, and balance. The sound leans bright, with a slightly lighter bass response, though a proper fit can help enhance low-end performance. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t include an EQ or manual tuning options—just an “Adaptive EQ” that adjusts the sound profile when ANC is off. We’d bump the bass if we could.
ANC itself is subtle, reducing background noise but not eliminating it. The loose fit likely plays a role here, making these less isolating than in-ear buds with a deep seal. Spatial audio is similarly mild but adds a touch of immersion that some may appreciate. Apple has also included an ultra-low-latency lossless mode for the Vision Pro, making these an interesting choice for users in that ecosystem.
Each bud contains 3 microphones and a voice accelerometer to isolate voices and reduce background noise. The microphone was great at isolating voices and removing background noise, but voices came through grainier than expected from Apple.
Bottom line
The Powerbeats Pro 2 proves to be well worth the wait, offering a balanced blend of performance, comfort, and advanced features. With the upgraded design, including the secure around-the-ear hooks, heart rate monitoring, and an impressive battery life, they are primed to be the go-to earbuds for workouts and everyday use.
For those with ears that don’t do well with traditional buds, the secure and comfortable fit is a true game changer. Apple’s seamless integration with iOS enhances the overall experience, though Android users still enjoy a solid set of features, minus a few Apple-specific perks.
While the case remains bulky and bass response could be more robust, these drawbacks don’t overshadow the all-around improvements that make the Powerbeats Pro 2 a top-tier choice for both fitness enthusiasts and casual listeners alike. At $249.99, they’re pricey, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other headphones that compete with their fit and features—plus, if they’re as durable as the predecessor, they could easily last for years.