Recenzja: Powerbeats Pro 2 spełniają wszystkie wymagania: monitorowanie tętna, smuklejsza konstrukcja, chip H2 i wiele więcej

cyberfeed.pl 5 godzin temu

When Powerbeats Pro were first released in 2019, we described them as “the eventual athletics earphones.” They set a fresh standard for workout-focused headphones with a truly wireless design, an ultra-secure ear-hook fit, and awesome durability.

Now, Beats has officially unveiled Powerbeats Pro 2 — and they’re better in all way. Plus, they have a first-of-its-kind fitness feature: built-in heart rate monitoring.

I’ve been utilizing Powerbeats Pro 2 for the past 2 weeks, and here’s everything you request to know.

Powerbeats Pro 2 highlights

Apple H2 chip with ANC, Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio and more
Case is 33% smaller with USB-C and Qi charging
Built-in heart rate monitoring features
Battery life: Up to 45 hours with the case
Colors: Jet Black, fast Sand, Hyper Purple, and electrical Orange
IPX4 sweat and water resistant
Price: $249.99
Availability: Order starting today for arrival on February 13

Powerbeats Pro 2 plan and fit

The fresh Powerbeats Pro hold actual to the much-loved plan language set by the first generation, while simultaneously making respective major improvements. The first thing you’ll announcement is that Powerbeats Pro 2 are importantly slimmer than their predecessors. The buds themselves are slimmer, while the ear hooks feature a much more compact design.

At first glance, I was afraid that the smaller and more angular plan of the Powerbeats Pro 2 earhooks would make them little comfortable. After investigating them for hours upon hours for 2 weeks, I’m happy to confirm that’s not the case. Beats besides says Powerbeats Pro 2 are 20% lighter — something I noticed right off the bat.

Not only are they comfortable, but Powerbeats Pro 2 are by far the most snug-fitting and safe earbuds I’ve always used. The earhooks and in-ear tips do an incredible occupation at anchoring the buds to my ears. In my first fewer days with Powerbeats Pro 2, it took me a fewer tries to get that perfect fit, but since uncovering that sweet spot, I’ve had no complaints.

There’s a lot to be said for the peace of head provided by the Powerbeats Pro 2 design. AirPods Pro fit me well, but they’ve fallen out of my ears multiple times erstwhile I’m sweating or walking in the rain. With Powerbeats Pro 2, my head is at ease knowing they won’t fall out of my ears

Powerbeats Pro 2 are importantly slimmer, but Beats hasn’t compromised on the built-in controls. Both buds feature a multi-function button on the ‘b’ logo that allows you to change listening modes, play/pause music, and more. You can customize the different button actions in the Settings app on your iPhone. There’s besides a tactile volume rocker on each earbud. I’ve found the volume rocker to be a tad bit finicky to usage while I’m on the move, but it’s good to have it as an option erstwhile needed.

Powerbeats Pro 2 case

The smaller plan of the Powerbeats Pro 2 besides enabled Beats to dramatically shrink the size of the charging case. The fresh case is 33% smaller than its predecessor, which addresses 1 of the most common complaints about the first Powerbeats Pro. Beats emphasizes that quite a few engineering work went into making the fresh case as tiny as it is.

“It was a actual labour of love to get the charging case down to this size. Our teams conducted virtually thousands of experiments to guarantee that the ear hook positioning, usability and bud presentation was aligned in the smallest possible form origin for the charging case,” Matthew Costello, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering, told 9to5Mac.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 case is inactive bigger than the cases for AirPods 4, AirPods Pro, and another Beats earbuds, but that’s to be expected given the earhook design. Given the popularity of the first Powerbeats Pro, that’s a tradeoff many people are willing to make. Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve found the smaller and lighter charging case to be 1 of the most notable quality-of-life upgrades with Powerbeats Pro 2.

In addition to the smaller footprint, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 case besides packs 2 key upgrades. First, it switches from Lightning to USB-C for charging. More exciting, however, is that the Powerbeats Pro 2 case is Beats’ first-ever case to have support for wireless charging. I’ve complained about this limitation in beautiful much all of my Beats reviews over the years, and I’m thrilled that it’s yet been addressed.

From L-R: Beats Solo Buds, Beats Studio Buds+, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2, Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Pro 2, Powerbeats Pro 1

Connectivity features

I’m happy to study that the Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product since the Beats Fit Pro in 2019 to usage an Apple audio chip.

The last respective releases from Beats, specified as the Studio Buds Plus and Solo 4 headphones, have been powered by a customized Beats chip alternatively than an Apple-designed chip like what’s utilized in AirPods. For Beats, this has enabled better cross-platform support for Android users, but it’s besides come at the cost of respective popular features for Apple fans. For example, the Studio Buds Plus deficiency support for automatic in-ear detection, iCloud pairing, automatic device switching, personalized spatial audio, and more.

With the Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats has gone back to its roots and opted for an Apple-designed chip. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are powered by Apple’s H2 chip, the same chip utilized by the latest-generation AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. This means you get the full suite of Apple-focused audio features, including:

One-Touch pairing
Audio Sharing: Share audio for music or movies with another set of compatible Beats headphones or AirPods
Find My: find your lost headphones on a map based on the last known connected location
Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking
iCloud pairing: Instantly pair with all device in your iCloud account
Siri integration: simply say “Hey Siri” or “Siri” to activate Apple’s voice assistant
Ultra-low latency: Lossless Audio with indiscernible audio latency for Apple imagination Pro
In-ear detection to automatically play and pause music
Ear-tip fit test available in the Settings app on iPhone

I can’t underscore how pleased I am to see Powerbeats Pro 2 usage Apple’s H2 chip, offering nearly the same slate of features as AirPods Pro 2 for Apple users. In my testing, all of these features have been stone solid. Powerbeats Pro 2 are fast to pair and connect to my devices, automatic device switching is fast and reliable, and imagination Pro integration is simply a good touch.

“This product would not have been possible to accomplish without leveraging the amazing technology and teams of Apple,” Costello told me erstwhile asked about utilizing the H2 chip in Powerbeats Pro 2.

Sound quality

Powerbeats Pro 2 offer Active sound Cancellation and Transparency Mode as listening modes. The erstwhile is meant to block out all the sound around you, while the second lets you hear the sound around you.

Here’s what Beats says about the sound architecture of Powerbeats Pro 2:

Powerbeats Pro 2 features a redesigned acoustic architecture and Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking to deliver powerful, immersive sound, with clear highs, rich mid-range tones and deep bass.

To guarantee the best listening experience erstwhile training, Beats leveraged Apple’s best-performing Active sound Cancelling technology and added Transparency mode to let athletes to hear the planet around them. Adaptive EQ tunes sound in real time based on how Powerbeats Pro 2 fits in the user’s ear. An inward facing microphone monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.

I’m not an audiophile, but I have tested quite a few AirPods and Beats headphones over the years. Powerbeats Pro 2 have a very bass-driven sound profile, more so than any another fresh Beats product I’ve tested.

It’s up to you to decide whether this bass-heavy soundstage is good or bad. I tend to like it most of the time, but there are cases where I think a more balanced approach would sound better (think piano-led ballads like “The Scientist” by Coldplay).

I’ve been very impressed with Active sound Cancellation on the Powerbeats Pro 2. It might just be the best ANC experience I’ve had with a pair of earbuds. Yes, even better than AirPods Pro 2. I think this can be attributed to the incredibly safe and precise in-ear fit of Powerbeats Pro 2. While the AirPods Pro 2 besides feature an in-ear design, the addition of the earhook on the Powerbeats Pro 2 gives another layer of safety to make certain that fit is as snug as possible.

Powerbeats Pro 2 besides come with 5 sizes of ear tips in the box (XS, S, M, L, XL), compared to the 4 sizes you get with AirPods Pro 2.

Battery life

You might think that the smaller Powerbeats Pro 2 form origin means battery life has taken a hit. rather the opposite, actually.

45 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active sound Cancellation and Transparency Mode turned off)
- 10 hours of playback per bud per charge
36 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active sound Cancellation or Transparency Mode turned on)
- 8 hours of playback per bud per charge

For comparison’s sake, the first Powerbeats Pro provided up to 9 hours of listening time per bud and up to 24 hours of battery life with the charging case.

The fresh Powerbeats Pro 2 besides offer Fast Fuel support, which gives up to 90 minutes of playback with a fast five-minute charge. I’m inactive waiting on Apple to copy that feature for AirPods.

I’ve always found Beats to be actual to its word erstwhile it comes to battery life claims, and the Powerbeats Pro are no different.

Heart rate monitoring

All of the aforementioned features and improvements make Powerbeats Pro 2 an incredibly compelling product, but Beats has 1 more thing: Powerbeats Pro 2 feature built-in heart rate monitoring.

Each Powerbeats Pro 2 earbud has a built-in heart rate monitor comprised of 4 components. First, there’s an LED sensor that emits green LED light at a rate of over 100 pulses per second. This light is emitted through the skin and hits your red blood cells. The photodiode then receives the reflected light from the red blood cells that is modulated by the red blood flow. There’s an optical lens that helps direct and separate the transmitted and received light, along with an accelerometer to guarantee accuracy and consistency in data collection.

Beats adds that the Powerbeats Pro 2’s heart rate sensor technology is derived from Apple’s work on the Apple Watch.

So how does the heart rate monitoring feature on Powerbeats Pro 2 actually work?

On iPhone, Beats has teamed up with any of the key fitness apps to integrate heart rate data from Powerbeats Pro 2:

Peloton
Nike Run Club
Runna
Ladder
Slopes
Open
YaoYao

While those are the apps that Beats is touting as its partners, the Powerbeats Pro 2 should integrate with any app that supports accessing and recording data from the wellness app utilizing Apple’s HealthKit API.

Everything is managed through Apple’s wellness app. For example, you request to guarantee that the Peloton app has approval to read heart rate data from the wellness app. Then, erstwhile you start a workout in the Peloton app, your Powerbeats Pro 2 will evidence your heart rate during that workout. The data is saved to the Peloton app and the wellness app.

One thing that’s missing for iPhone users, however, is integration with Apple Fitness+. You can usage Apple Fitness+ without an Apple Watch, but the service doesn’t have the ability to get into heart rate data from devices another than an Apple Watch for its on-screen metrics. However, if you wear your Powerbeats Pro 2 during an Apple Fitness+ workout, you can view your heart rate data in the wellness app and on the post-workout summary screen in the Fitness app.

Additionally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 will take continuously take background measurements of your heart rate erstwhile you’re wearing them. This data can be found in the wellness app.

This brings me to my next point: if you already have an Apple Watch, you likely won’t find much usage for the heart rate sensors in the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can’t connect the Powerbeats Pro 2 as a “health device” to your Apple Watch and usage the earbuds as the heart rate origin alternatively of the watch.

If you don’t have an Apple Watch, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 give you an excellent way to monitor your heart rate during workouts. In my testing, accuracy seems to be on par with the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor. If you want to work out without anything attached to your body another than headphones, the Powerbeats Pro 2 let you do just that while inactive getting that valuable heart rate data.

Other Powerbeats Pro 2 tidbits

Powerbeats Pro 2 incorporate upgraded digital voice microphones and a voice accelerometer while besides leveraging advanced computational audio.
Support for Voice Isolation with beam-forming microphone technology and targeted voice uplink with wind-noise mitigation system.
Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product to deliver Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency for Apple’s imagination Pro, for an unprecedented sound experience
Powerbeats Pro 2 packaging is made from 100% plant-based material sourced from recycled fibre and sustainable forests.

9to5Mac’s Take

What fascinates me most about the Powerbeats Pro 2 is the clear collaboration between Apple and Beats. Apple, of course, owns Beats and we’ve seen Beats usage Apple’s audio chips in the past. But for Beats to specifically call out the work with Apple on the H2 chip and heart rate monitoring features is simply a notable sign of the evolving relation between the 2 companies. Customers benefit most from this kind of collaboration, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a prime example of that.

The Powerbeats brand has been a staple in the Beats product lineup since 2010, but the Powerbeats Pro in 2019 truly took things up a notch. An Apple-backed chip plan with stellar battery life, durability, and the iconic earhook form origin made Powerbeats Pro stand out among the increasingly-crowded planet of truly wireless earbuds.

Powerbeats Pro 2 are the perfect iteration of the product line. They keep the fan-favorite plan while simultaneously making key improvements to the form factor, like the slimmer earbuds and smaller charging case. Battery life is stellar and performance is excellent thanks to the H2 chip. The safe fit is inactive unmatched.

If you set aside the heart rate monitoring features, those upgrades alone would make for an excellent “Powerbeats Pro 2” revision.

I personally don’t think I’ll find myself utilizing the Powerbeats Pro 2’s heart rate monitoring features very often. I wear an Apple Watch all day, all day, and as far as I can tell, there aren’t any situations where it would make more sense to usage Powerbeats Pro 2 for heart tracking alternatively of my watch.

But in our Apple blog bubble, it’s easy to presume everyone has an Apple Watch. In the real world, that’s not the case. There’s undoubtedly a crowd of people that will find it incredibly useful to have heart rate monitoring features built into their earbuds. For certain types of workouts, it’s not always feasible or comfortable to wear an Apple Watch. For those people and those situations, Powerbeats Pro 2 offer an excellent experience.

I do, however, want Beats and Apple had taken the Apple Watch into consideration erstwhile developing these heart rate sensors for Powerbeats Pro 2. For example, ideally you would be able to pair the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds to your Apple Watch and usage their heart rate data alternatively of the watch’s. The Apple Watch supports third-party heart rate monitors, like the popular Polar H10 Chest Strap. The Powerbeats Pro 2 just don’t support that integration.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 are clearly designed and marketed towards fitness enthusiasts. Even if you don’t think you fall into that category, however, I urge giving them a shot if you’re in the marketplace for a fresh pair of earphones. Again, the peace of head offered by having truly wireless earbuds that you know won’t fall out of your ears can’t be overstated.

Finally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 release is the latest part of evidence that Beats is firing on all cylinders right now. They represent the company’s most ambitious product yet, combining a crucial form origin revamp and first-of-its-kind heart rate monitoring technology. Plus, Beats continues to give us the form factors, colors, and features that Apple’s AirPods are missing.

Powerbeats Pro 2 are available to order present from Apple’s website for $249, with in-store availability starting on Thursday.