MARCH 2020 MACWORLD 107Shorter stems
make them more
comfortable and
less goofy-
looking. Silicone
tips create a seal
in your ear that
improves the
sound quality,
blocks outside
sound, and keeps
them in place. It’s
a lot easier to go
running with
AirPods Pro than
regular AirPods.
They’re so comfortable and stay in
place so well that you just put them in and
forget about them. Plus, they’re sweat
resistant.
They’re not the best-sounding wireless
earbuds you can buy for $250, but they do
sound a lot better than regular AirPods.
And they have active noise cancelling.
Again, not the best I’ve heard, but it does a
very solid job of diminishing noisy
environments. It’s a great feature you will
absolutely use all the time.
Plus, the new controls where you
squeeze the stem instead of tapping are a
little more reliable and make you less
prone to knocking your own earbuds out.
Despite the higher price, the AirPods
Pro are clearly the best of the three and
the earbuds that most iPhone users would
be happiest with.POWERBEATS PRO: FOR
INTENSE ACTIVITY AND LONG
BATTERY LIFE
While most users would be happiest with
AirPods Pro, there are still a few reasons
why you might want to pick the
Powerbeats Pro instead.
They cost $250, just like the AirPods
Pro, but they have no active noise
cancelling, and the charging case is too
big to fit in your pocket (and doesn’t have
wireless charging).
But the ear hooks keep these ‘buds
firmly in place, even with really rough-and-
tumble activities. Whatever exercise you’reThe AirPods Pro are clearly the best of the three.