Specialist review of the Beats Powerbeats Pro

When you open the box of the Powerbeats Pro, you immediately see the charging case. It's slightly different from the charging cases of other fully wireless earbuds, this one is slightly larger and more robust. Yet, the design looks sleek thanks to the spherical finish and the matte black color. The earbuds themselves also look neat. Here, you can immediately see the main difference with the Powerbeats 3: this new model is completely wireless.

The Powerbeats Pro are designed for athletes, in such a way that you can do anything with it. Running in the rain isn't a problem thanks to the water-resistant design, while the close fit allows you to lift even the heaviest weights in the gym. I was never a fan of earhooks, but I had nothing to complain about with these earplugs. Only the extra sizes of ear plugs weren't ideal, since the smallest size was too small and the bigger size a little too large.

In addition to wearing comfort, the starting point of wireless products such as the Powerbeats Pro is a stable connection. Without a stable connection, you're nowhere. That's why Beats has implemented Apple's H1 chip. This chip ensures that you're quickly connected to all of your iCloud devices and that the connection is stable. Even with an Android device, which I use a lot myself, there are hardly any problems.

With a good connection between your smartphone and the earbuds, you can play your favorite songs. Especially if you listen to music with a lot of bass, the Powerbeats Pro won't disappoint you. The bass is deep, clear, and not too noticeable. This ensures a good balance between the different pitches, which benefits the overall sound quality. The only downside is that the sound leak if the volume is high, so the earbuds less suitable for the office.

The fully wireless design ensures that the battery life is shorter than that of its predecessor. Is this bad? No, because the earbuds last 9 hours on a full charge. When you compare this with other fully wireless earbuds, it's quite long. Additionally, the earbuds are charged within 5 minutes, after which you can use them for 90 minutes. This way, you can exercise for extra long without running out of battery,

Remove the earplugs from your ears and the music will immediately pause. It's a smart feature that can be found in increasingly more earbuds, including the Powerbeats Pro. With many of the earplugs that I tested, this often didn't work, but with these Beats it works flawlessly. Remove 1 earplug or both from your ear and, within 2 seconds, the music will pause. It's a feature that's only nice if it works well, which it does with the Powerbeats Pro.