I have had my Powerbeats Pro for about a week now and after a bit of a rocky start and an adjustment period, I find them to be almost perfect headphones. When I first put them on, I was wildly disappointed. They were uncomfortable and sounded tinny with no bass at all. I genuinely believed I would be returning them and getting second gen Air Pods instead. But, given how excited I was for the Powerebeats Pro to come out and the cost, I decided to put in a little effort and give them a chance. It wasn't until about 3 or 4 days in that I decided to keep them.
So, if you are like me and think your new Powerbeats Pro sound like garbage when you first put them on and you wonder if all the positive reviewers are high, experiment with all the tips before dismissing the headphones as crap. In-ear buds need a good seal to sound good. I have freakishly small ears so I always start with the smallest tip available when trying out new headphones which usually works for me. Not this time. It sounded awful and I was briefly outraged that I had paid $250 for garbage. It was counter-intuitive, but I finally tried the biggest tips instead which gave me a good seal and let me wear the headphones without having to go as deep into my ears which made them more comfortable too. Once I found the right fit with a good seal, I discovered that yes, in fact, these things do actually have some nice ear-thumping bass. I think the bass is better than original Air Pods but also not overwhelming as Beats products have a reputation for being. It's satisfyingly skull shaking without being distorted and is balanced out nicely by clear highs. I'm not an audiophile by any means, but I won't listen to any old crap either. I like a little bass and good clarity and the Powerbeats Pro deliver.
My biggest issue with these is comfort. As I mentioned, I have freakishly small ears and while I have been using Air Pods for a couple years, I was doing so with discomfort. I put up with a little paind because of the convenience of function. I love the automatic connection, the ability to use one bud at a time and charging on the go in the case. So, when I first read about the Powerbeats Pro, I was expecting something that would have the convenience of Air Pods with better comfort and something that wouldn't fall out of my ears all the time. Generally, I do okay with headphones that have different sizes of silicone tips so I was expecting the Powerbeats Pro to be a comfort upgrade. Initially, they actually hurt my ears more than Air Pods, especially my right ear. I fully blame this on my freakishly small ears. I'm one of those people who often finds "one size fits all" to be laughably ridiculous. Again, I was determined to love these things so I tinkered a bit to find an acceptable level of discomfort. The largest tip allows me to get a good seal without having to put them in so deep, relieving some pressure and cutting down on pain. When I first tried them, I could only last about 20 minutes before the pain forced me to take them out. After adjusting to find a good angle and replacing the silicone tips with Comply Sport tips, I'm a lot more comfortable and can last 2 or 3 hours before I feel discomfort. Even then, I would call it discomfort and not outright pain. It's discomfort I can live with and not any worse than what I experience with Air Pods. Also, my discomfort is only in my right ear instead of both like I get with Air Pods. Since I go with one bud a lot of the time, I'll just use the left one. No biggie. I can't blame the manufacturer for my tiny ears which is why I'm not taking away a star.
On the plus side, the fit is very secure. I have worked out in them several times and they don't budge. I never could work out in Air Pods because they fell out all the time. I can also wear these while laying down which I couldn't do in Air Pods without them falling out periodically. Also, the connection is great. Original Air Pods used to randomly lose connection or not connect when they were supposed to. The chip upgrade in the Powerbeats Pro seems to have resolved this little annoyance. They connect faster and after a week, I haven't experienced a drop or glitch once.
The Powerbeats Pro do come with a tradeoff when it comes to the size of the case. If you are used to carrying around Air Pods in your pocket in their tiny case, forget about it with Powerbeats Pro. The case is significantly larger. It goes in a bag or purse without taking up a ton of room but it's too big to fit comfortably in a pocket. The extra battery life for Powerbeats is nice though. I frequently use one bud at a time and used to drain an Air Pod and have to switch ears regularly. I'm using the Powerbeats Pro the same way and haven't drained a bud yet. I'm okay with the bigger case since the better battery life makes me feel secure about leaving the case at home when I need to go bagless.
So in summary, these are the best sounding buds I have used. They are super convenient, easy to connect and won't fall out of your ears. If you have normal human sized ears, they will probably be comfortable and the battery life is great. You have to deal with a bigger case but the positive improvements over Air Pods make the size trade-off worth it. If you don't hear the bass, try different tips and twist them around a bit before you give up. Hopefully you won't have to work as hard at it as I did to find your happy place with Powerbeats Pro but the effort has been worth it. These are really great headphones and worth the price.
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- 24/7 priority access to Apple experts by chat or phone
- Mail-in or carry-in repairs
- Express Replacement Service
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- 24/7 priority access to Apple experts by chat or phone
- Mail-in or carry-in repairs
- Express Replacement Service
- Hardware coverage for your headphones, battery, and included charging cable
- Unlimited incidents of accidental damage protection, each subject to a service fee of $29, plus applicable tax
- Get direct access to Apple experts for questions on a wide range of topics, including using Siri and Bluetooth connectivity
- AppleCare products must be purchased with an applicable Apple device. Terms & Conditions will be delivered via email post-enrollment and can be downloaded through your Digital Items Page (Your Account-->Games and Software)
- AppleCare+ will automatically be enrolled at the time of your Apple device’s shipment, and Proof of Coverage will be emailed within 3 days after your device ships
- AppleCare+ for Headphones - Beats (2 Years)
- Unlimited repairs for accidental damage
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Compare Beats products
| Price | From: $179.95 | From: $99.95 | From: $179.95 | From: $49.95 |
| Ratings | (15,240) | (48,493) | (65,418) | (44,699) |
| Fit | In-Ear | In-Ear | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Noise Canceling |
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N/A | N/A |
| Sweat+Water Resistant |
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| Battery Life | Up to 6 hours with ANC/Transparency On (24 hours with charging case); Up to 7 hours in Adaptive EQ with ANC/Transparency Off (30 hours with charging case) | Up to 5 hours with ANC/Transparency On (15 hours with charging case); Up to 8 hours with ANC/Transparency Off (24 hours with charging case) | Up to 9 hours (24 hours with charging case) | Up to 12 hours |
| Fast Fuel Charging |
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| Bluetooth® Wireless Connectivity* |
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| Headphone Chip | Apple H1 Chip | Beats Custom Bluetooth Chip | Apple H1 Chip | Apple W1 Chip |
| AndroidTM Compatible |
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| Built-in mic and controls |
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Customer reviews
Finally the headphones I’ve always dreamed about!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2019
I pre-ordered these headphones before reading any reviews because I have been so desperate to find good headphones to run with. In my nearly 30 years of existence, I’ve never been satisfied with a pair of headphones. I probably have the weirdest shapes ears ever because nothing fits them. Either they slide out or hurt, or both.Day 1- FINALLY THEY’RE HERE!!! 😍 I charged them while finishing my work day up (I think they came pretty much charged because they were at 100% within 5-10 minutes) then eagerly headed to the park for a test run. The temp has reached the 90’s here in Mississippi so it was inevitable that they would be receiving a sweat test! After 3 miles (41 minutes, let me mention I’m a beginner runner) I realized I never had to adjust them or push them back into my ear, not ONCE! I’m thinking this is too good to be true! I had forgotten I even had them on, other than the fact that I had a clean crisp bass playing in my ears. I also own a pair of Studio beats, and honestly these ear buds sounds almost as good... which is pretty awesome to not have to wear something so bulky but still have the noise cancellation and sound quality.Overall, it’s only been one day but my first impression is absolutely amazed.Side note, these were shipped in a box big enough to fit a baby heifer and it looked like it had been thrown off a mountain. I could almost remove the tiny product box through an opening of the baby heifer shipping box. Not sure if Amazon or UPS is to blame for that, but it definitely wasn’t the headphones fault.
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2019
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