How Do Apple's New Powerbeats Pro Compare to AirPods?

[ignatius345]

I have a pair of proper headphones that are over 6 years old, still works fine. These battery powered devices are throw away , once the battery goes, into the waste stream they go.

I picked up a pair of Grado's new GW100 wireless headphones recently and I'm very happy with them -- one reason is that they work over bluetooth but also have a headphone cable connection. So even if the battery dies (or if you just want higher quality than Bluetooth can provide), there's the cord.

They have absolutely zero sound isolation so they'd be a terrible choice for commuting or flying, but in a quiet environment, they're mind-blowingly good.

 

[ELman]

Mine too!!

View attachment 836175

Mine shipped as well but won’t arrive until Monday because I did standard shipping. For those that ordered early Apple should of had free next day delivery.

 

[xtimx]

I hope I haven’t misunderstood the Live Listen function. I’m thinking of buying one or the other for the use they are intended for. However, as a side note, I’ve been quoted a couple of grand for hearing aids. Could I use my iPhone as the microphone to pick up and amplify ambient sound to the AirPods/Powerbeats whilst I watch tv for example, my main problem! I believe if I Bluetooth the tv connection, then it mutes the sound for my wife?

Apologies if a silly question.

Yeah, not a silly question, it’s work good! I sometimes use it when I go to the bathroom during a game or something that I don’t want to miss! I leave the phone near the tv. Definitely a great way to hear better without negatively effecting anyone else watching in the room.

 

[Rygaard]

The most important thing for me besides physical buttons huge plus:

How are the connection ?

Before i got apple AirPods i had a Jabra Headset, sport edition, where they had the earhook and a wire, witch was fine for me - BUT with iphone in pocket i lost connection when leaning in over my bike, the signal could not find the way around my body this problem NEVER happens with AirPods

so how are the Beats, will they have reach around my body, and in my whole house, like AirPods.


(and omg, im inviting to a joke about the size of my body... i know..)

 

[matc]

OT: Can someone tell me which charging mat that is he's using in the video? With the wood it looks quite nice...

 

[jona2125]

The most important thing for me besides physical buttons huge plus:

How are the connection ?

Before i got apple AirPods i had a Jabra Headset, sport edition, where they had the earhook and a wire, witch was fine for me - BUT with iphone in pocket i lost connection when leaning in over my bike, the signal could not find the way around my body this problem NEVER happens with AirPods

so how are the Beats, will they have reach around my body, and in my whole house, like AirPods.


(and omg, im inviting to a joke about the size of my body... i know..)

I picked mine up this morning and they seem equivalent to my AirPods and PB3. Nothing groundbreaking but I can get about 35 feet away before they start cutting in/out

 

[Glockworkorange]

Mine too!!

View attachment 836175

This is why I spent the extra $8 for expedited shipping. I thought there was an outside chance I'd get them launch day and it looks like it worked out.

 

[mattynat]

off topic but what was the wireless charger they used in the video? one that charges iPhone and the AirPods case.
[doublepost=1557490971][/doublepost]

OT: Can someone tell me which charging mat that is he's using in the video? With the wood it looks quite nice...

just realized I asked the same question! hopefully we get an answer. looks awesome.

 

[BarrettF77]

The fact we even have to pay for next day shipping is garbage. It’s release and showed in TN. They held onto my package and now will deliver Saturday. I’m disliking Apple more and more these days.

The era of Timmeh is gone, and it’s time to find someone better. A visionary and not a jobs leg jumping bean counter.

 

[FierceCorgi]

Doesn’t look like they are compatible with glasses.

Obviously, fit is going to vary a bit from person to person on something like this, but I do own a set of PowerBeats3 which are very similar in shape. I haven't noticed any problem with the earhook on my frames - they aren't really "gripping" on my ears the same way as my frames do. I use these primarily while jogging, and there hasn't been any issue with my glasses.

I won't be getting these right away, as my PowerBeats3 are still doing fine, but I imagine whatever the current iteration of these will be when my current set goes out will be my next purchase.

 

[psac]

Put two small metal rings around the stem, one above the other. Now it can sense swipes up and down. Volume up/down, song next/prior here we come!

I have my left double-tap to start/stop, and my right double-tab to song next, so at least I have that function. (No Siri, because useless.) But yeah, swipes up and down would be neat.

 

[sidewinder3000]

Hey Dan From MacRumors:
Thanks for the comparison. Parts of it were helpful. But there were quite a few critical, obvious things missing as well:

• How can you fail to mention the size/convenience advantage of AirPods? It’s literally their #1 advantage over Powerbeats. First off, the AirPods case fits conveniently in a front pocket so you can have them with you virtually anywhere you go. They even fit in those tiny extra right-side pocket in jeans. Good luck fitting that huge Powerbeats case in your pocket. And just as importantly, AirPods can be put on and taken off much, much quicker than Powerbeats, which is hugely important for an activity you might do dozens of times a day. If I’m getting a phone call, I easily have enough time to pull my AirPods case out of my pocket and pop them in my ears before answering the call. Wayyy less likely with Powerbeats. Thirdly, due to their more open air design, AirPods are vastly safer for walking around an urban environment than any sound isolating earphones, including Powerbeats. For many people, not being able to hear traffic, ambient noise, and people around them is disorienting, and it’s definitely less safe. As a daily pair of earbuds that you can have with you all the time for music, podcasts and phone calls, the size/convenience advantage of AirPods is massive. Not even close. Best in class.
• How can you fail to stress a huge Powerbeats #2 advantage: their security in the ear? Yes, AirPods fit tightly in some people’s ears, but in just as many they can slip out when doing vigorous activities, sweating, or turning their heads sideways. The Powerbeats are specifically designed to stay put for sports/activities. Therefore, if you are engaging in something where you absolutely positively don’t want the earbuds to fall out (like outdoor running, aerobics/dancing, calisthenics, playing basketball, hiking/rock climbing, working construction, etc.) then Powerbeats have an overwhelming advantage.
• Powerbeats also have a big advantage if you are doing an activity where you want/need to keep the background noise out, like sitting on a bus, train, airplane, or noisy open office work environment. E.g., with their tight fit, Powerbeats passively removes the loud drone of airplane noise so that you can listen at a lower volume, which is obviously better for the health of your ears, and for clarity of comprehension is critical. It’s important to note for comparison’s sake that the tight fit/seal of Powerbeats isn’t good or bad, it just depends on how/where you use them. What is an advantage in some places (sitting at work) is a dangerous disadvantage when crossing the street in Chicago or waiting on a subway platform in Manhattan.
• How can you NOT be able to make the gestures on AirPods work? You’re a tech reviewer, and this function is so absolutely easy to use a child can do it. It’s also a little weird that you just gave up trying after the first few times. It kind of shakes my confidence in you as a tech expert. You go into Bluetooth settings and decide which functions you want ‘double tap’ to perform on each side and you’re done. When I want music to pause I double tap my right earbud. When I want to invoke Siri (without saying “hey Siri”) I double tap the left. It is absolutely dead simple and works virtually every time for me.

Again, these videos can be nice, and the effort is appreciated. But they honestly become less useful, and certainly strain credibility as a reliable source for pre-purchase expertise, when you omit obvious and critical differences between the two products during a compare and contrast segment. It’s not about which are better, it’s about which are better for which activities/purposes. I hope you consider updating your piece with the above information, and making sure future videos as least cover the basics.

 

[Vordaz]

Still waiting for high quality over-ear wireless headphones with a digital microphone and 12+ hour battery life. Please Apple!

Same here man!! There was a rumor that it was going to be released some time in the first quarter, but now April’s already over and there hasn’t been any news since does any one have an update ? Really hoping for a release

 

[DiceMoney]

One of the reasons I would be afraid of getting the Powerbeats Pro, I bought like 2 plus year ago some Powerbeats.
My first pair went bad after a couple months of use. I got Apple to give me a new pair, which the second one only lasted a couple months.
The warranty for that pair still had some time left, I was able to get another pair, but it seemed like the guy was going to not honor the warranty for a second. Anyhow, I did get a third pair, that pair lasted around 9 to 10 months. So I had 3 pairs totals, probably combined for close to a year and half of use.

I bought AirPods, I’ve had them for more than 6 months, still working great. I bought ear hooks, so I could jog with them.
For one, I don’t trust the reliability of Powerbeats brand, AirPods so far I haven’t had problems, and have jogged with them many times. So I would probably just keep getting AirPods, because I don’t trust the reliability of the Powerbeats brand.

 

[iamstilandy]

What Wireless charger is he using to charge his phone and airpods?

 

[coolfactor]

An assistant "tap-to-trigger" then spoken instruction could work quite nicely.

Pity it'd be Siri, so rather than a volume change you would probably end up making a phone call to a clinic...

When's the last time you used Siri? Ya, though so.
[doublepost=1557505638][/doublepost]What happens on the iPhone if you open both cases at the same time? First one win?

 

[trellus]

Yeah this. Though it's been soooo much easier since someone here mentioned a few weeks ago that you can use the crown on your AW to control the volume when the Now Playing window is open.

Yup, and that works for any Bluetooth headphones and earphones, not just Airpods, of course. I take advantage of the crown-for-volume control a lot. It's another very useful little feature of the Apple Watch!

 

[stringbeanie]

What Wireless charger is he using to charge his phone and airpods?

Could it be this one?
https://hellonomad.com/collections/power/products/base-station-hub-walnut

 

[DeepIn2U]

Still waiting for high quality over-ear wireless headphones with a digital microphone and 12+ hour battery life. Please Apple!

Beats Studio/Solo3's ... 30hrs+

 

[JTBing]

The fact we even have to pay for next day shipping is garbage. It’s release and showed in TN. They held onto my package and now will deliver Saturday. I’m disliking Apple more and more these days.

The era of Timmeh is gone, and it’s time to find someone better. A visionary and not a jobs leg jumping bean counter.

Yes, because it's Tim Cook's fault that your pre-order was a day late.

 

[trellus]

This isn’t a fair comparison, nor relevant, the price of the Sennheiser momentum’s is $350, that’s more than double the AirPods cost, and naturally the sound would be much better on that product, but you’re also not factoring the Sennheiser‘s are over the head earphones without any water resistance, in addition the Momentum’s are not geared towards gym/fitness at all, as the Powerbeats/AirPods are in that respect if you paid attention at all to the marketing.

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Momentum-Black-Headphone/dp/B00AZZNXOK

I'm thinking the poster was referring to the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless in-ears, not the over-ear big headphones, as the true wireless are "only" $50 more than the PowerBeats Pro.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/truewireless-details

 

[seeforyourself]

I got excited until I saw the price. $250 is very expensive. I thought paying $160 for AirPods was a lot when my friend got knocks that are way too similar for $50

 

[Nunyabinez]

As gross as this sounds what about wax accumulation? No joke I have ruined two pair of airpods using them at the gym and they become caked in ear wax... Before you give me crap, I literally clean my ears daily I have this weird thing where if I see a q-tip I have to clean my ears...

I don’t share your experiences, but do you clean your ears _before_ you go to the gym or the day before? I can’t imagine if you thoroughly clean them prior to using the earbuds, you shouldn’t be experiencing that type of build up if you clean them prior to any physical exercise/at the gym.

Apples recommendation on cleaning Airpods:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208729

OK, this is going to sound completely gross, but it works. The problem with cleaning AirPods is that wax accumulates in the very fine grating in the ear holes. I tried using q-tips, but it didn't work.

Here is what did. Clean any obvious wax out of the hole. I actually use a paper clip end to get as much off as can be seen. Then put your lips around the ear hole and suck air until it flows relatively freely. Yeah, it's disgusting. Then you can wipe your lips or tongue with a kleenex to try to regain your sanity.

I swear this works and when one AirPod starts to sound quieter than the other, I just have to suck it up (sorry for the pun) and clean out the grate.

 

[batman75]

OK, this is going to sound completely gross, but it works. The problem with cleaning AirPods is that wax accumulates in the very fine grating in the ear holes. I tried using q-tips, but it didn't work.

Here is what did. Clean any obvious wax out of the hole. I actually use a paper clip end to get as much off as can be seen. Then put your lips around the ear hole and suck air until it flows relatively freely. Yeah, it's disgusting. Then you can wipe your lips or tongue with a kleenex to try to regain your sanity.

I swear this works and when one AirPod starts to sound quieter than the other, I just have to suck it up (sorry for the pun) and clean out the grate.

There is a much better way. Use a sonicare electric toothbrush. I restored mine to new levels of sound with that.

Then I started using these foams on the AirPods to prevent the wax going in.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...85-20&linkId=063db3da4fd0dd2583b24b2e1cb880e5

Haven't had to clean out wax since. I've been using these foams for over a year. With the foam the AirPods still fits in the AirPods case. The foam improves sound quality and fit, and prevents the wax issue. You replace the foam whenever the wax build up is visible.

 

[myapple2019]

Earlier this week, we shared a hands-on look at the Powerbeats Pro earbuds launching tomorrow, and today, we thought we'd do an in-depth comparison with the AirPods, giving MacRumors readers a closer look at the similarities and differences between the two devices.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

AirPods and Powerbeats Pro look nothing alike, as the former is designed for casual use and the latter is aimed at those who live a more active lifestyle. The AirPods feature an iconic design that's reminiscent of the EarPods design Apple has used for years, with the earbuds meant to fit ears of all shapes and sizes with no customization.

The Powerbeats Pro are more similar to traditional earbuds, with silicone tips that nestle in the ear and an earhook to hold them firmly in place. The silicone tips come in four sizes, but the earhooks, which wrap around the ear, are one size. These earhooks make sure the Powerbeats Pro stay firmly in place during physical activity.

The silicone tips of the Powerbeats Pro are meant to fit tightly in the ear, which produces a sound isolating - but not noise canceling - effect that dampens ambient noise. The AirPods have no such feature so ambient sound is more audible. Apple has also designed the Powerbeats Pro with IPX4 water resistance while the AirPods have no specific Ingress Protection rating, which means Powerbeats Pro should better hold up to sweat.

Both the AirPods and the Powerbeats Pro have been described as comfortable to most people in reviews and hands-on accounts, though some reviewers have called the Powerbeats Pro even more comfortable than the AirPods despite the earhook, while others find the AirPods easier to wear. The earhook is soft enough that it's not a hassle to wear for longer periods of time, and in our testing, it even fit well with sunglasses.

The Powerbeats Pro are much larger than the AirPods, and while the case that charges them up is similar in functionality to the AirPods case, it's much larger and it's not pocketable, plus it doesn't have wireless charging support and can only charge with a Lightning cable. The Powerbeats Pro only come in black right now, but this summer, Apple is going to release moss, ivory, and navy shades. The AirPods are limited to white.

There are major physical differences between the Powerbeats Pro and the AirPods, but the underlying feature set is the same and the two share similar hardware. Both include Bluetooth 5.0 and an H1 chip for quick pairing, fast device switching, and hands-free "Hey Siri" support. An accelerometer and other sensors also allow AirPods and Powerbeats Pro to pause audio when removed from the ear and resume when the earbud is placed back in the ear.

Music controls are included, and while tap gestures are used on the AirPods for changing tracks and playing/pausing, there are physical controls on the Powerbeats Pro, including a volume button, something the AirPods don't have. As for sound quality, the Powerbeats Pro sound better than the AirPods, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the larger body and the higher price tag.

In our experience, the Powerbeats Pro feature a more immersive and full sound profile because of the tight fit in the ears. Apple says that sound quality was a focus when designing the Powerbeats Pro, and it shows. The AirPods still sound great, though, and are more than adequate for everyday use.

For those who have been wondering, the Powerbeats Pro do indeed support Live Listen, as do the AirPods. Live Listen lets you use the iPhone as a microphone to amplify the ambient noise around you so you can better hear what's going on. As a side note, both AirPods and Powerbeats Pro have beamforming microphones so they sound great when using them for phone calls.

When it comes to battery life, the Powerbeats Pro win out. They're bigger and house a bigger battery than the AirPods, boasting up to nine hours of battery life per earbud and an additional 24+ hours through the case. AirPods max out at about five hours, though the AirPods case also adds 24+ hours of battery life. As for phone calls, Apple says the Powerbeats Pro offer six hours of talk time while the AirPods offer up to three hours of talk time.

Beyond design, pricing is one of the major differences between the Powerbeats Pro and the AirPods. Apple sells the second-generation AirPods with Wireless Charging Case for $199 and with standard case for $159, while the Powerbeats Pro cost $250.

For a deeper comparison of the Powerbeats Pro vs. the AirPods, make sure to check out our Powerbeats Pro and AirPods guide, which walks through the two audio accessories feature by feature. Our dedicated Powerbeats Pro guide also has everything you need to know about Apple's newest earbuds.

Article Link: How Do Apple's New Powerbeats Pro Compare to AirPods?

The review is accurate and does hit the key points. I just received the Pro via FedEx without expedited shipping. After setting it up painlessly, I could confirm what the review stated. The Pro is very comfortable to wear with my glasses on and the sound quality is definitely much better than AirPods. Looking forward to using them while working out. No wireless charging is not a big deal. It is definitely the best wireless EarPods available from Apple.