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- Secure, comfortable fit
- Strong noise cancellation
- Excellent battery life
- ANC affects sound quality
- Only IPX4 water resistance
- Pricey for their breed
Our review of the original Beats Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds was one of the first I read after joining Expert Reviews in 2019. Almost six years later, their long-awaited successors, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, are finally here.
We’ve tested numerous Beats headphones in the meantime, and the Apple-owned brand’s output has been rather hit and miss. The neckband variant of the Powerbeats and the Beats Fit Pro were great options for gymgoers and earned Recommended awards. The Beats Solo 4, on the other hand, felt too expensive for what they offered.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 fall somewhere in the middle: they didn’t blow me away but they are a notable step up from the original Powerbeats Pro, and among the most appealing earbuds with earhooks. Admittedly, there aren’t many big-name brands making this style of headphones, so competition is scarce, but Beats has a very solid, if rather expensive, product here.
Beats Powerbeats Pro 2: What do you get for the money?
The Powerbeats Pro 2 will set you back £249. That’s typically punchy Apple pricing, and similarly styled alternatives such as the Skullcandy Push Active (£70) and Anker Soundcore Sport X20 (£90) cost significantly less.
You’ve also got earhook options like the JBL Soundgear Sense, Huawei FreeArc and Shokz OpenFit available for half the price of the Powerbeats Pro 2, but these use an open-ear design that lets in ambient sound.
Of the buds that use earhooks and seal your ear canals with silicone tips, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are the most comprehensively specified and premiumly finished I’ve come across.
There are four colours available: Jet Black, Quick Sand, Hyper Purple and the Electric Orange I’m testing here. While the general design is similar to the first generation and the IPX4 sweat and water resistance rating remains unchanged, the 2025 model is more elegant than the original.
The buds are slimmer, as are the sections that connect them to the nickel-titanium alloy-reinforced earhooks. Each earbud weighs 8.7g, compared with the 11g the 2019 model weighed, and the charging case is more compact, too. It’s still relatively chunky – they always are for headphones with earhooks — but at 34 x 66 x 75mm (WDH), it won’t take up too much space in your gym bag.
Controls come in physical button form. Rockers on the sections joining the buds to the earhooks handle volume adjustment, with the left increasing it and the right decreasing it. Meanwhile, the depressible B logos on the outside of the buds look after play/pause, engaging noise control (noise cancellation/transparency) and activating Siri. There’s automatic pausing when you take a bud out, and automatic resumption when you put it in again.
Hands-free Siri is available to those with an iPhone, and thanks to the H2 chip, Apple users can also enjoy the benefits of personalised Spatial Audio with head tracking, one-touch pairing, automatic device switching, audio sharing and Find My functionality. Android users miss out on personalised spatial audio, and Siri, of course, but the Beats app provides access to a decent range of functionality.
Regardless of which smartphone ecosystem you’re part of, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Powerbeats Pro 2’s ability to measure your heart rate in real time using optical sensors. However, this is handled slightly differently on iOS and Android.
On iPhone, measurements begin automatically as soon as the buds are in your ears (assuming you have allowed monitoring in your settings). You can then access your data in the Health app or via one of the compatible third-party fitness apps, which include Nike Run Club and Runna. On Android phones, you’ve got to manually start monitoring via the Beats app. You can also pair the earbuds with gym equipment to track your workouts that way.
Battery life is plenty long enough to keep any exercise fiend happy. The buds are good for around 10 hours of use, while the charging case provides a further 35 hours. The case can be topped up either via USB-C (Beats doesn’t include a charging cable, though) or a wireless charging pad.
What do they do well?
The best thing about the Powerbeats Pro 2 is their design. They’re up there with the top earbuds I’ve tested where comfort is concerned, and their earhooks provide an unmatched level of stability and security.
I found them a little fiddly to put on the first few times (those with glasses may struggle more than I did), but once I’d got the technique down, this became a non-issue. They’re also the most stylish example of their breed, whichever of the attractive colourways you go for.
I was also impressed with their noise-cancelling capabilities. They take a big chunk out of low-end frequencies, and I rarely felt the need to crank my music up loud in noisy environments. 50% volume proved adequate in most cases, while 70% volume was loud enough for the Powerbeats Pro 2 to make themselves heard on a crowded Tube. I would note that they’re not especially effective at blocking out higher frequencies – the rustling of crisp packets, tapping of keyboards and the like – but that’s typical of all noise-cancelling headphones.
The transparency mode is equally effective. With it engaged, I was able to hear what was going on in the office almost as clearly as I could without the buds in my ears. That’s all you can really ask of a mode designed for ambient awareness.
The other headline features are effectively implemented, too. Spatial Audio successfully expanded the Powerbeats Pro 2’s soundstage, and proved especially engaging while listening to Dolby Atmos mixes. The various components of Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight had a lot more space to breathe with spatial audio engaged and I got a stronger sense of three-dimensionality to the track. Head tracking worked excellently, moving audio cues around smoothly in response to the movements of my head, though I preferred the Fixed spatial audio option as I move my head around a lot and found the shifting soundstage rather distracting.
I can’t say I’m hugely into the analysis of heart-rate data, but I appreciate what the Powerbeats Pro 2 bring to the table in this regard. Fitness fanatics with access to the supported third-party apps will likely get the most out of the Powerbeats Pro 2 but there’s still value in seeing how your heart responds to different types of workout, even if you’re just occasionally checking in on Apple’s Health app.
Battery life is another strong suit. Ten hours in-ear is well above average for earbuds, and total battery life of 45 hours is very impressive. I’ve been testing the Powerbeats Pro 2 over the course of a couple of months now, and have only had to top the case up once.
What could be improved?
The Powerbeats Pro 2’s audio performance is a bit of a mixed bag. I enjoyed how they sounded with noise cancellation and spatial audio switched on, but their sound quality fell short of my favourite earbuds, the Technics EAH-AZ100, which only cost £10 more (£259).
There’s a decent balance and rhythmic expression to how they tackle most genres. The starkly contrasting sections of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody were all handled capably – from the delicate vocals of the intro right through the frantic rock section to the sentimental coda.
When necessary, they can get down and reasonably dirty, too. Their bass response was rich enough to do justice to the low-end components of ATB’s 9PM (Till I Come), and the filthy bassline on Watch The Skank by Zero and Tempa T had a satisfying resonance.
However, the earbuds’ sonic characteristics change for the worse if you’re not using ANC. The mid-range sounds a lot thinner, and the overall experience is a lot less cohesive and satisfying as a result.
This wouldn’t be such an issue if there were ways to customise your audio experience but such options are non-existent. This has long been the way with Apple and Beats headphones. Most other manufacturers give you some way to tweak how their headphones sound and being able to boost up the mid-range a few notches would make a pretty big difference here, so the absence of a customisable EQ stings.
While the Powerbeats Pro 2 are well enough equipped to handle a sweaty workout or sudden downpour, I’m surprised Beats hasn’t improved their water resistance rating. IPX4 certifies them splashproof but not waterproof. As such, they’re not safe for immersion in water, so you’ll want to avoid running them under a tap to clean them after exercise.
Just days after writing in my JBL Flip 7 review that I couldn’t remember the last time I unboxed a product that didn’t come with a charging cable, that issue crops up again here. It’s one I’m conflicted on: I’m all for sustainability, and most people will have countless compatible charging cables at home, but my cynical side feels that Beats’ omission of a USB-C cable is one made to cut costs rather than save the planet. It’s certainly not a dealbreaker but some may be frustrated to open the box and not find a cable.
My final sticking point is the price. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are much more expensive than any other earhooked earbuds. Beats knows that a hefty price tag won’t deter its legion of fans, and ultimately the high price of entry is something that’s got to be accepted if you want the most fully featured earbuds with earhooks on the market.
Should you buy the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2?
The Powerbeats Pro 2 cater very nicely for a specific but relatively small group of consumers: active types who find standard wireless earbuds don’t fit securely enough in their ears. I have a couple of friends who fall into that category, but most people don’t require earhooks and there are better-sounding options without them for the money.
You can also find similarly priced buds with superior noise cancellation – the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are my go-to – and most premium buds match the Powerbeats Pro 2 for water resistance while offering more ways to personalise your experience.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 do have a few things in their favour, however. Heart-rate monitoring is a useful and unique selling point, their ANC is more than adequate while exercising and their sound (even when ANC is turned off) is better than the open-ear air-conduction alternatives from JBL, Huawei and Shokz. They also look a lot smarter.
So, if you’re hooked on earhooks and have a big budget, the Powerbeats Pro 2 justify the outlay without being an essential purchase. They’re not the best-value alternative out there but offer build quality and a range of features that elevates them above their cheaper rivals.
