Powerbeats Pro 2 review – ticks all the boxes for earphone users – and some extras

The new Powerbeats Pro 2 earphones from Beats tick all the boxes for even the most demanding users from athletes to music fans and everyone in between.

The second version of the earphones have several added features and improvements that make them far better than their predecessor.

On the design side, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have a new ergonomic shape which enhance both the comfort and acoustics.

The new and improved ear hook might be smaller but it still provides the ultimate stability so they stay in place no matter what you’re doing whether it’s exercising, playing sport, taking a walk or heading out for a run. They have an IPX4 rating so they can handle sweat and water.

One of the biggest complaints we hear about wireless earphones is that they drop out.

That’s not going to be a problem with the Powerbeats Pro 2 which offer a good fit thanks to the design and the five ear tips that are included in the box.

For those new to the Powerbeats Pro earphones, it does take a few attempts to put them on comfortably once you navigate the earhook and lining up the acoustic tip in your ear.

One thing we noticed was it was hard not to press the button on the inside and outside while putting them on.

But after a little while you will know exactly where to grip them and slip them on effortlessly.

In terms of audio quality, the Powerbeats Pro 2 certainly deliver thanks to a custom design dual layer transducer.

Inside is a rigid polymer which helps to live a precise response and maximum power.

The flexible diaphragm helps deliver the nuances of the acoustic tuning along with active noise cancellation and transparency mode.

And when combined with the upgraded amplifier, users will also have better frequency response and output.

For us, we found the Powerbeats Pro 2 sound quality to be exceptional.

We heard so much detail on what seemed like a much wider soundscape.

Add to that a delightful amount of bass which rounds out a truly pleasing audio experience that helps connect you emotionally to your music.

The earphones have full customizable controls to manage your music and calls along with the listening mode and heart rate monitoring.

This means you don’t have to touch your device at any time even to control the volume.

There are volume rockers on top of each earbud to give you complete control.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 Now includes personalised spatial audio which is compatible with Apple Spatial Audio on Apple Music and Dolby Atmos so you can be fully immersed in 360-degree sound.

The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) takes note of both the ambient noise and your personal fit to find the right level of noise cancellation to match your environment.

This is done using a hybrid system of outward facing feedforward mics and inward facing feedback mics.

An important feature with these earphones, which are more than likely to be used by people exercising, is transparency mode which allows you to stay fully aware of your surroundings.

Another remarkable improvement is voice clarity when making and receiving phone calls.

This is an important feature to us and to many other people as we like to stay always connected and often that’s when we’re wearing our earphones.

In the case of the Powerbeats Pro 2, there is a dedicated feedforward ANC microphone with beam forming technology to help pinpoint your voice to make it more intelligible while suppressing background noises.

We made a few calls on the Powerbeats Pro 2, even in busy and noisy areas, and had no trouble hearing the person we were talking to and they had no issue hearing us quite clearly.

For the first time, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have a heart rate monitor on board which can be used with compatible fitness apps like Nike Run Club and Peloton.

The phones can also connect to compatible gym equipment to take advantage of the accurate heart rate monitoring.

The setup process is a little more streamlined on iPhones (Apple does own Beats after all) while Android users have to get things started through the Beats app before linking to a compatible fitness app.

Your heart rate is determined via sensors in each of the earbuds which receive reflected light from the red blood cells which are modulated by the blood flow before that data is run through an algorithm to deliver an accurate measurement which is more accurate than the heart rate delivered from your wrist with a smartwatch.

Pairing the Powerbeats Pro 2 to your iPhone is really simple thanks to the onboard Apple H2 chip.

These same H2 chip also provides uncompressed sound in real time so you’re enjoying ultra-low latency when listening to music and watching movies and shows on your apple devices.

We paired the Powerbeats Pro 2 to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra using the Beats app which also provided access to the settings so we could choose our listening mode, rename the earphones and update the firmware.

Battery life is one of the main strengths of the product with up to 10 hours of listening on a single charge, eight hours when using ANC or transparency mode.

And there’s a further 36 hours in the case. The case can also be charged wirelessly with compatible Qi charges or via USB-C cable connected to a power source.

There’s also a Fast Fuel feature for those times when you’re completely out of power or forgot to put the earphones back in the case. Simply place them back in the case for just five minutes and that will offer one and a hours of audio playback

There are a lot more native features for Apple users (Apple owns Beats remember?) including iCloud pairing to hear the earphones across all your devices, audio sharing, Find My and personalised Spatial Audio.

But Android users can still enjoy the lion share of those features as well as the design and audio quality.

Customers who pair the Powerbeats Pro 2 like we did still have one touch pairing, easy switching between listening modes and a way to locate the earphones through the Beats app.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 are available now in four stand-out colours – Jet Black, Quick Sand, Hyper Purple, and Electric Orange. They are priced at $399.95.

VERDICT

The Powerbeats Pro 2 have all the features you’re looking for in a pair of earphones – comfort, stability, excellent audio quality, ANC, great battery – and now they include heart rate monitoring. Move over big name audio brands, the new Powerbeats Pro 2 are now playing in the same ballpark.