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Powerbeats Pro Water Resistance Test: Find Out What Happens if You Drop Apple's Newest Earbuds in the Toilet

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Apple's new Powerbeats Pro earbuds feature a "reinforced design" for improved "sweat and water resistance" along with an official IPX4 water resistance rating, which means they should be able to hold up to a good amount of moisture.

Still, there were a lot of reports of the Powerbeats 3 failing due to sweat exposure, so we thought we'd test the liquid tolerance of the Powerbeats Pro with a series of water resistance tests.


An IPX4 water resistance rating means that the Powerbeats Pro were able to withstand splashing water for at least 10 minutes, which is pretty decent because most people don't sweat buckets of water for an extended period of time.

powerbeatsprowet.jpg

We tested splashing water, jets of water, and even an extended dunk in water, and the Powerbeats Pro held up and worked well after every single test. Here's what we did:

- Test 1 - Simulated a drop in a kitchen sink with heavy splashes of water.
- Test 2 - Set the Powerbeats Pro in the shower for several minutes to simulate heavy rain.
- Test 3 - Dropped the Powerbeats Pro in the toilet, submerging them briefly.
- Test 4 - Dunked the Powerbeats Pro in a bowl of water for one minute.
- Test 5 - Dunked the PowerBeats Pro in a bowl of water for five minutes.
- Test 6 - Dunked the Powerbeats Pro in a bowl of water for 20 minutes.

After each water test, the sound coming from the Powerbeats Pro was muffled when we tested them, but once we got the water out, the earbuds were back to sounding normal.

powerbeatsprosink.jpg

The Powerbeats Pro survived all of our water tests. Nothing changed with the sound profile, the buttons continued to work, and charging was also fine. This suggests that the Powerbeats Pro do indeed have superior water resistance to the Powerbeats 3 and should hold up well to sweat.

powerbeatsprotoilet.jpg

We do not recommend showering with the Powerbeats Pro, using them in the rain, swimming with them, or otherwise exposing them to excessive moisture. Even when things are decently water resistant, the water resistance can wear down over time so it's going to be best to keep the Powerbeats Pro as dry as possible.

powerbeatsprowaterdunk.jpg

While the Powerbeats Pro did well in our tests, we've only continually exposed them to water and moisture for a couple of hours. We still don't know how they'll hold up to sweat over time, but right now, things are looking positive.

Article Link: Powerbeats Pro Water Resistance Test: Find Out What Happens if You Drop Apple's Newest Earbuds in the Toilet
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/17/powerbeats-pro-water-resistance-test/
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I thought about giving the Powerbeats Pro a try for running, but I want to know that they'd hold up over time with sweat, rain, etc. I'm not willing to gamble $250.

I ran with a pair of earbuds that came with an iPod Shuffle for four years through every type of condition, even putting them through the washing machine a few times. Talk about durability!
 
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Lol, the toilet test was pretty funny, but thank you for this! I just bought a pair of powerbeats pro and was worried about how they would stand up to my level of sweat. It looks like they're pretty durable so that gives me a little more peace of mind. I had powerbeats 3 before and they were horrible! So far the pro's have been really good and withstood my daily 20 mile bike rides so I'm a satisfied buyer so far.
 
pj-uk said:
Why put them in a toilet when a bowl of water would do? :confused:
Click to expand...

The optimal word there is 'dropped'. They dropped them from ear height, which would provide a more intense incursion of water than just dipping them in a bowl on the counter. Might also be a testament to their build quality if they bounced around a little bit before plopping in the water.
 
pj-uk said:
Why put them in a toilet when a bowl of water would do? :confused:
Click to expand...

Exactly. And beyond that, why not do the toilet test last? They claim it was the third of six different tests! I'd have made the toilet test #6 and tossed them after that rather than continue to test them.
 
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All of Apple’s claims of water resistance are false advertising.

My iPhone X went submerged for a couple of seconds in 20 cm of water; it was sold to me with the claim of being fine with 30 minutes under 1.5 m of water.

It instantly broke, water was literally everywhere from camera to CPU, and I had to pay €650 even if I was under warranty. Bad, disappointing experience overall.
 
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I had a period of sickness a few years ago. While being sick one day, my EarPods dropped in the toilet.. Had to be gotten out with a spoon. Had to be rinsed off. Dried them with a hair dryer, put them away for an hour. Turned them on. Fried. This is real progress. Insulate your sound drivers from dying when you sweat. I went through four different brands in that search a few years ago, and it was hard to find a pair that had it that didn't cost audiophile money. Most of the ones on the market died in two weeks for me.

So, it's not cheap but it lasts a long while. It's cheap per use. $5.00 set lasting a week is too expensive.
 
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Swift said:
I had a period of sickness a few years ago. While being sick one day, my EarPods dropped in the toilet.. Had to be gotten out with a spoon. Had to be rinsed off. Dried them with a hair dryer, put them away for an hour. Turned them on. Fried. This is real progress. Insulate your sound drivers from dying when you sweat. I went through four different brands in that search a few years ago, and it was hard to find a pair that had it that didn't cost audiophile money. Most of the ones on the market died in two weeks for me.

So, it's not cheap but it lasts a long while. It's cheap per use. $5.00 set lasting a week is too expensive.
Click to expand...

you should've just stuck them in the microwave for 10 seconds!
 
djcerla said:
All of Apple’s claims of water resistance are false advertising.

My iPhone X went submerged for a couple of seconds in 20 cm of water; it was sold to me with the claim of being fine with 30 minutes under 1.5 m of water.

It instantly broke, water was literally everywhere from camera to CPU, and I had to pay €650 even if I was under warranty. Bad, disappointing experience overall.
Click to expand...
It’s not false advertising. The seals could have been bad from the start or dried out or misaligned due to a drop. You never know.
 
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All things considered, these are impressively durable, more specifically the water resistance holds up beyond anything I would have expected.
 
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The idiotic reply / post are getting so old, over and over again... This was another Great, informative test that has helped people make good decisions about Product Purchases... I have decided to return AirPods I bought last week and buy these Powerbeats. I love the AirPods but I just know fact that I am going to loose these little things... Thanks MacRumors !
 
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