100 MACWORLD FEBRUARY 2020
PLAYLIST REVIEW: POWERBEATS PROsame way. You can trigger Siri with a
hands-free “Hey, Siri” instead of tapping,
and it works just as well as it does on the
new AirPods. The H1 chip provides a
rock-solid Bluetooth connection. I didn’t
experience any pausing or skipping, even
on a crowded commuter train where there
must have been at least 20 other
bluetooth devices in the area.
I had no problem triggering Siri, even
on a busy street. Just don’t wait for the
music to fade as Siri acknowledges that
it’s listening. Say “Hey, Siri,” and then
immediately follow it up with your
command, without pausing.
You charge the Powerbeats Pro the
same way you do AirPods, with a
Lightning cable. They even come with
a slick black USB-A Lightning cable.
(Wouldn’t it be great if black iPhones
did?) The earbuds charge pretty
quickly—just 15 minutes will give you
almost a half-charge, and
a full charge takes about
90 minutes or so. The
case holds another 24
hours of charge, just like
the AirPods case. There’s
no option for a wireless
charging case, though.
Though the base
technology is the same as
that in the AirPods, you
can’t expect AirPods
battery life. You can expect double. The
Powerbeats Pro are rated for a
phenomenal 9 hours of music playback
and 6 hours of phone talk time. I didn’t
listen to music for 9 hours in one sitting,
but it did take several multi-hour sessions
before the earbuds ran out of juice. They’ll
easily make it through a long flight without
having to go back in the case.You pair and check battery on the Powerbeats Pro just as you
would with AirPods. It’s like magic.
Four eartips should be enough to give anyone a
comfortable fit. And dig the black Lightning cable!