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

[outcoldman]

🤦 it is like sell the car with the feature of heated seats that is only available while parked.

I like those headphones, don’t care about the heart rate feature, as I have Apple Watch, but just hope that there is going to be a law suit about that, and I will get some money back.

 

[ttaylor2258]

I mean this has to be one of their all-time blunders, does it not?

 

[Chungry]

Funnily enough, was using Watch Ultra last year - it's not half bad for quick-n-dirty ride tracking, if you don't use power/speed/shifting sensors etc. Fundamentally sucks for open water swimming though - got myself Garmin watch and love it (and proper battery life too!). Garmin watches can broadcast heart rate, but accuracy is quite spotty, tbh.

Apple is not about fitness equipment, it's about style.

If I didn't need all the sensors connected I'd be there. Open water is my next gig as I work towards the Ironman

 

[ZipZap]

I'm more surprised it took several weeks to figure this out. MacRumors had these at the start of February and didn't find this out somehow.

this was reported day 1....

mr was slow to report

 

[robvalentine]

I wonder if the heart rate issue is down to how Android is more cross compatible, where as iOS is more locked down (and IMO less user friendly in that regard)

I use zwift, and if I use my apple watch for heart rate measurement, I can only get it to work on a windows laptop, or android tablet, nit my ipad or macbook pro. Which is annoying.

But headphones that can't play music if a USP is used? Useless. As much as people saying what would Steve think annoy me, "What would Steve think?"

 

[Chungry]

I wonder if the heart rate issue is down to how Android is more cross compatible, where as iOS is more locked down (and IMO less user friendly in that regard)

I use zwift, and if I use my apple watch for heart rate measurement, I can only get it to work on a windows laptop, or android tablet, nit my ipad or macbook pro. Which is annoying.

But headphones that can't play music if a USP is used? Useless. As much as people saying what would Steve think annoy me, "What would Steve think?"

Zwift is terribly annoying because the limits are based purely on Apple device limitations. Want more than two sensors, you gotta use the companion app because Apple TV won't allow it (that's how I use Zwift).

From all of this one can determine that Apple is about rings- casual fitness. And their fitness products are aspirational step counters and car crash detectors. But they don't fill even an enthusiasts requirements for athletic metrics. Which is fine, Garmin and Coros certainly do. But it's also annoying if you're invested in Apple's walled garden because the limitations are purely due to lack of care or consideration.
THIS BEATS ISSUE RIGHT HERE- another example.
Apple use cases for their fitness products are casual so if you become even slightly more than a casual athlete, their solutions suddenly show to be very broad and very shallow. I'm irritated by this because it doesn't have to be this way. But it is because this is more checking a box than, say, making the Apple TV connect to an indoor trainer or the Apple Watches connect to bike sensors. Sigh

 

[Surf760]

I understand wanting data from the treadmill and why you'd want to pair your watch or phone... but what is the use-case for pairing AirPods as well as a watch/phones? I'm guessing AirPods wouldn't work the same way

Is the only use-case so you see the heart rate from your AirPods on the gym equipment's screen?

I frequently notice that my Watch can stop tracking heart rate on my wrist from what I have always suspected was sweat buildup and very small shifting movement. I believe this because if while running I get a towel under the watch face and clean it, it often starts to work. Challenge with that is that it often makes the watch think you took it off, and is generally not something you're trying to do while carrying a challenging pace.

As someone who has owned the original Powerbeats since the beginning, but is noticing reduced battery capacity and wanted something with wireless/usb-c charging I was interested in the new model. I hoped I'd be able to use the heart rate tracking in the headphones and that it would at minimum be far less prone to stop reading heart rate. That goes out the window with this issue.

 

[Chungry]

What all of this says to me is that Apple will do Apple and people should decide accordingly how they engage with the company. It's the speedboat vs cruise ship analogy: Apple used to be a speedboat; lean, nimble and able to pivot and turn at a moments notice. They are now the cruise ship. Big. Lumbering. Any movement requiring a massive amount of hands on deck. Slow and sluggish in response to ever-changing conditions and challenges on the open seas. It is prone to being more protected than a smaller craft but at the expense of being nimble.

This sums it up so well, and it bears repeating, Apple doesn't care about you when it doesn't align with hitting a price point or delivering shareholder value. The edgy, loveable underdog has been supplanted by a behemoth with more in common with 90s era Microsoft with all the scheming and dragging-of-feet you'd expect. This is modern Apple and I hate it. Someone in the comments of the article has a great take on holding on to devices as long as possible and buying used which, if enough do it, would definitely be noticed.

 

[DMG35]

It would be much more convenient than heart rate chest strap (and you don't have to wash them regularly). I'd use these for cycling.

Don't do any fitness training, do you?

🙄 Right, because if you aren't connecting your headphones to the gym equipment then you must not be training.

 

[trellus]

This is pretty bad for Apple overall, in my view. That being said, I never intended to use these -- if I buy them as I still plan to do -- for any heart-rate functionality at all, as I already wear TWO devices which track my heart rate, an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and a Garmin Fenix 7.

But Apple is marketing these for that feature and if it's this crippled, and I had bought it wanting that heavily marketed functionality, I would be truly irritated, not gonna lie.

 

[Loi84]

If you have an Apple Watch, why would you need a heart rate monitor in your earphones?

1. Did you read the article and the comments?
2. How is that question relevant within the context of what's being discussed here?

 

[Rayansb]

wow. talk about a monumental cockup! that's like a chef saying he can't cook when he's in a kitchen.

 

[SebCohen]

Tim Apple, what have you become?

 

[StuBeck]

this was reported day 1....

mr was slow to report

Gotcha, not very surprising I guess. The review was pretty high level and seemed to be from someone who either didn't work out much, or intentionally decided not to discuss any of the shortcomings.

 

[Hank001]

Funnily enough, was using Watch Ultra last year - it's not half bad for quick-n-dirty ride tracking, if you don't use power/speed/shifting sensors etc. Fundamentally sucks for open water swimming though - got myself Garmin watch and love it (and proper battery life too!). Garmin watches can broadcast heart rate, but accuracy is quite spotty, tbh.

Apple is not about fitness equipment, it's about style.

QFT. An Apple Watch doesn't support ANT+. Without that, it's quite useless in sports.

 

[Hank001]

Zwift is terribly annoying because the limits are based purely on Apple device limitations. Want more than two sensors, you gotta use the companion app because Apple TV won't allow it (that's how I use Zwift).

Apple lives in their self-created bubble. Everyone I know on Swift uses an AppleTV, but it only connects to two devices. Total fuster-cluck.

edit Swift should read Zwift (damn u auto correct)

 

[DeepIn2U]

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.
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.
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

LMAO Are you kidding me?!

like seriously?

Jabra got this right way back in 2016 for crying out loud!

 

[craigyy]

I got mine because I wanted a pair to connect seemlesslsy to my apple devices and that felt secure and wouldn’t fall out whilst on my echelon.
I’m not overly fussed about the hr monitoring but if I’m not happy after some testing I’ll send them back

 

[svish]

Wonder why this issue exists when paired with Apple devices. Hopefully a firmware update can fix this problem.

 

[Godspeed8230]

1. Did you read the article and the comments?
2. How is that question relevant within the context of what's being discussed here?

Yes, I have read the article.
I am just taking a step back and wondering why they had to put a heart rate monitor into the headphones? Like, what problem are they trying to solve (apart from creating a new one apparently )?

Again, I'd argue almost anyone who exercises with these will own a fitness watch with HR tracking already.

 

[StuBeck]

Yes, I have read the article.
I am just taking a step back and wondering why they had to put a heart rate monitor into the headphones? Like, what problem are they trying to solve (apart from creating a new one apparently )?

Again, I'd argue almost anyone who exercises with these will own a fitness watch with HR tracking already.

They're trying to add a feature that others don't have, or aren't publicizing it very well. Thats really it.

The fact the headphones prefer a watch for HR monitoring, which isn't very accurate, shows how dead in the water the tech is at the moment.

 

[canyonblue737]

It's worse than this article even talks about...

1. optical HR is almost unusable on iOS and works better with apps on Android.
2. when synced with a piece of gym equipment to display your HR you can't listen to music.
3. accuracy of HR on iOS and Android is inaccurate by 20+ bpm ANYTIME you are in motion nearly 80% of the entire workout (leaving only 20% of the time accurate) ... this device only displays reasonably accurate HR when on a stationary bike (accurate about 80%) of the time. totally unusable for running etc. Compare this to 95%+ accuracy in HR on an Apple Watch for any of these activities and it's obvious why when wearing a smartwatch the HR sensor is disabled in the Powerbeats Pro 2.
4. Fit of the eartip in the ear works with FAR, FAR less users than the old Powerbeats Pro and Beats Fit Pro... for many the fit is loose or gets loose with motion... so while the hook will prevent them falling out the quality of sound and ANC gets poor, flat bass and ambient noise leaks in. By far the worst fitting of any Beats in-ear product on the market today although as always... if they fit your particular ear, they sound decent.

 

[xyz01]

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..

Actually, this is one of my dislikes with Apple Watch. It should be able to share heart rate with gym equipment when using the normal workout app.

Sure, there are some workarounds using third party apps and an iPhone but this should be unnecessary. Personally, I work around by using a HR arm strap in addition to my Apple Watch, but that should not be necessary. Other watches support it.

 

[xyz01]

Honest question: Why would you hook up your headphones directly to the machine anyway? I would think you'd want the biological information from the gym equipment to be shared with the phone which also gets the information that the headphones have, with your phone being the central hub rather than the gym equipment.

The biological information here - heart rate - comes from the headphones. It can be very useful to display the HR on the treadmill, to give one example.

And the problem is that while this sort of works, you can't listen to music from your phone at the same time.

 

[RedWeasel]

Do people actually pair their EarPods to gym equipment? That seems like a fairly niche use case to me.

I certainly pair my heart rate monitor to gym equipment. And if I buy earphones that are advertised as having a heart rate monitor function, I would expect being able to use that function and still use the earphones as earphones.