Macworld - USA (2020-02)

FEBRUARY 2020 MACWORLD 99

bother me after an hour or two.
Any earbud enthusiast will
tell you, a good seal means
better sound (especially bass),
so the Powerbeats Pro design
delivers much better sound
quality than AirPods, though
they aren’t necessarily the
best-sounding true wireless
earbuds you can buy. If you’re
familiar with the Powerbeats 3,
you’ll have a good idea of the
acoustics you can expect. Beats
made the Powerbeats Pro a little
smaller and lighter, and they use
a different driver technology, but the overall
sound quality is quite similar.
The tight seal means you’ll hear a lot
less of the world around you, which makes
them perfect for noisy environments
where you want to block out sound (buses,
trains, planes) and worse for noisy
environments where you need to hear to
be safe (city streets).
The controls will be familiar to
Powerbeats users, too. Instead of tapping
as you would on AirPods, there are physical
controls mirrored on each side: a volume
rocker, and a single multi-function button.
Tap once to play/pause, twice to skip
forward, three times to skip back, or hold it
down to trigger Siri. Touch-sensitive tapping
probably isn’t the best interface for a pair of
earbuds made for athletic endeavor. The

buttons are easy to locate and use, though,

with just the right amount of resistance.

Each earbud can detect when it is removed

from your ears and automatically pause or

resume music, just as AirPods do.

They’re also available in four colors,

unlike AirPods: black, ivory, moss, and

navy. Only the black model is currently

available, the others are coming soon. It’s

odd (and a little disappointing) that the

classic Beats red is nowhere to be found.

AIRPODS ON THE INSIDE

Inside, the Powerbeats Pro feature the

same H1 chip and sensors as the second-

generation AirPods, so it has almost all the

same features. You pair them to your

iPhone by just opening the charge case

near it, and check the battery levels the

Powerbeats Pro are a lot larger than AirPods, but still light

and comfortable enough for extended wear.