Powerbeats Pro 2 Can't Play Music While Tracking Heart Rate on Gym Equipment

[MacRumors]

Apple's new Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds have come in for heavy criticism because of a major limitation in its heart rate monitoring functionality, according to a detailed review by DC Rainmaker and corroborated by user reports.

DC's YouTube review reveals that despite being marketed as capable of pairing with gym equipment to display heart rate data at a glance, Powerbeats Pro 2 cannot simultaneously maintain a Bluetooth connection to a phone for music playback, a limitation Apple has since confirmed.

"You cannot listen to music with your iPhone while also paired with the gym equipment for heart rate," Apple said in an email in response to DC's query.

Several Reddit users have complained about the same issue. The limitation means users must choose between listening to music from their phone or sharing heart rate data with gym equipment, but not both at the same time.

DC's review also highlighted persistent HR detection issues when using Powerbeats Pro 2 with Apple devices. Apple markets the $249.99 earbuds as fully compatible with both iOS and Android systems, however DC and other fitness reviewers encountered problems getting the heart rate functionality to work properly with various iPhone apps.

"I started off on the Apple ecosystem side trying to use my Mac with an application called Zwift, but it wasn't detecting the heart rate sensor," DC explained. "I used the Strava app, it didn't work. I used the Peloton app, it didn't work. I used the Wahoo Fitness app, and it didn't work. I tried the Nike Run Club app, and it didn't even see the thing."

"It's at this point I decided to give up on my beloved iPhone and just went straight to an Android phone."

Curiously, when switching to Android devices, the Powerbeats Pro 2 heart rate functionality worked immediately across multiple fitness apps. This doesn't appear to have been down to a defect with DC's review unit, either. Similar issues have been reported by other tech reviewers, including DesFit and Shervin Shares, who also resorted to Android devices after failing to get reliable heart rate data on iOS.

The heart rate accuracy itself also came under scrutiny, with DC's testing showing significant data dropouts and inaccurate readings during both indoor cycling and outdoor running sessions.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 were released on February 11 with several new features including Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and heart rate monitoring. Apple claims to have put the earbuds through over 1,500 hours of testing against 1,000 athletes, but the reported real-world limitations suggest Apple's implementation is falling short of some user's expectations.

Powerbeats Pro 2 retail for $249.99 and are available in Electric Orange, Hyper Purple, Jet Black, and Quick Sand. Have you had similar issues with the earbuds? Let us know in the comments.

(Thanks, Thomas!)

Article Link: Powerbeats Pro 2 Can't Play Music While Tracking Heart Rate on Gym Equipment

 

[RezSeeker]

Lol… that’s all I have to say

 

[derek1984]

If you already have the Powerbeats 1 and they still work, or if you find a good deal on the Powerbeats 1, just go with those (this coming from someone who has both 1 & 2)

 

[LogicalApex]

That's an expensive boondoggle.

I can't imagine why they'd release expensive headphones with heart rate monitoring that can't handle multiple connections to enable music playback. Bluetooth has supported multiple simultaneous connections for a long time now. My old Bose QC 35 II headphones from a decade ago will connect to my Mac and iPhone simultaneously so it can rapidly switchover to where I'm actively listening...

Granted, maybe Bluetooth is limited to one "active" connection in terms of like data transfer or something and the other connection on my Bose is a sort of standby to allow rapid failover. If that's the case though then I'd say this feature on these headphones has zero real world value. As no one wants to wear headphones at the gym and just sit in silence. That's a deep well of sadness.

 

[Razorpit]

Wow, no one thought how stupid this was before releasing it? They couldn't come up with some kind of music buffering system while transmitting the heart rate? 🤯

 

[mcru21]

lmao this makes no sense

 

[Andy_2341]

What is the point of even having the earbuds if they can't play music while also doing one of their big features over other earbuds? Just get a watch or something at that point.

 

[dannyyankou]

This makes no sense to me. If you’re using an Apple Watch, it can play music to your AirPods and sync with gym equipment at the same time. Powerbeats have the same H2 chip, the same Bluetooth 5.3 technology. I’m not an engineer, but it sounds like there is no technical limitation here.

If there is a limitation that I’m not understanding, then a workaround Apple can implement is to use your iPhone as a relay point for heart rate date with the gym equipment.

 

[contacos]

How was this released?

"Here is our latest iPhone but you cannot take photos unless you disconnect your usb-c cable"

 

[Kalixt]

This is from company that's trying to reduce e-waste and using it as one of the main domains. There is no technical limitation why it shouldn't stream music and health data at the same time.

 

[BigBellyBelcher]

Total piece. Apple should be ashamed.

 

[Someyoungguy]

This is like something you’d buy from Wish or Temu. Ensh**ification seems to apply to more than the web these days.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Hmm. I just ordered a pair. Guess I'll wait 30 days to see if a software update surprisingly fixes the issue before returning them.

 

[randop]

jabra headphones could do heart rate and play music 10 years ago

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Hmm. I just ordered a pair. Guess I'll wait 30 days to see if a software update surprisingly fixes the issue before returning them.

Don’t risk man, what if it is something associated with hardware?

 

[iPhoneFan5349]

I don’t get it. At first you would think it’s a hardware limitation but then they say you can do it on android

 

[turbineseaplane]

Well, that was that

So much for the headline feature

 

[VPsmith]

Just get an Apple Watch. Idk why anyone would want their headphones to take their heart rate then display in on some gym equipment. My watch takes my HR, tracks it, shares it with me privately..

 

[lenger]

Seems incredibly botched…

 

[NMBob]

That page of the testing procedure was eaten by someone's dog.

 

[DevNull0]

Does anyone at Apple actually use the products they make?

 

[Godspeed8230]

It's like you can't listen to the radio while driving. Nope, sorry, you have to park your car first.

 

[Rychiar]

I swear they're just adding features to sell new headphones at this point. shoulda just added the H2 and been done with it.

 

[titanium69]

From 'It just works' to 'It just about works'.

Apple is like that guy who peaked in high school & now gets by purely on his looks

 

[TwoBytes]

Apple has to have a reason to sell the AirPod Pro 3 with HR tracking and exercising for more money...