Apple launches new £130 Powerbeats with 15-hour battery life and Hey Siri support
After months of rumours and leaks about the Powerbeats 4, Apple has officially released its next-generation earphones
Since references to a new range of Powerbeats were discovered in Apple code last year, there have been rumours, leaks and even reports of retailers jumping the gun and putting them on sale early.
So it’s no surprise that Apple-owned Beats has finally, and officially, taken the covers off.
Instead of being called Powerbeats 4, as multiple rumours had suggested, the new earphones are simply called Powerbeats and have the same earbud design of the Powerbeats Pro.
Apple Powerbeats
Compared to Powerbeats 3, the new Powerbeats come with a 15-hour battery life (up from 12 hours), they offer support for hands-free “Hey Siri”, and cost £129.95.
This is significantly cheaper than what the Powerbeats 3 cost at launch – £30 cheaper in fact, making them the cheapest Powerbeats ever released.
Given the new naming structure, we’d expect previous models of Powerbeats to be gradually discontinued leaving just the standard Powerbeats and the premium Powerbeats Pro on sale but this is purely speculative at this point.
Other features of the new Powerbeats include:
- 15 hour battery life on full charge
- Five-minute Fast Fuel charging gives you one hour of playback
- IPX4 rating sweat and water resistant
- Playback controls on the earbuds
- Dual beamforming microphones
- H1 chip to speed up pairing, switching between iCloud devices and hands-free “Hey Siri”
- Class 1 Bluetooth
- Four sizes of eartips
The Powerbeats officially go on sale 18 March and come in black, white and red.
It’s been three years since Apple unveiled its Powerbeats 3 earphones – and a year since the Powerbeats Pro hit shelves in December.