AirPods Pro vs Powerbeats Pro Buyer's Guide

 Apple delighted us with an updated version of the AirPods named the AirPods Pro at the end of October 2019, featuring Active Noise Cancellation, superior sound quality, and an all-new design.

Following the Beats-branded Powerbeats Pro earbuds that Apple launched back in April 2019, Apple's AirPods Pro is the second pair of headphones with the "Pro" moniker. We will go over all the variations between the 'AirPods Pro' and the Powerbeats Pro in this guide.

AirPods Pro Design vs. PowerBeats Pro Design

The 'AirPods Pro' is intended for casual use, while the 'Powerbeats Pro' is primarily targeted at those who use them for workouts such as running, walking, and gym trips.

Style wise, the AirPods Pro looks similar to the AirPods 2 but with a much shorter stem and a modified body design that includes flexible silicone ear tips, a first for the AirPods series. The silicone ear tips clip right onto the base of the AirPods Pro, enabling Active Noise Cancellation technology and a comfortable fit.

To ensure a secure fit in most ears, Apple engineered the silicone tips of the AirPods Pro, with the design aimed at conforming to the contours of each individual ear for a superior seal.

AirPods Pro was also equipped with what Apple calls a "innovative vent system" designed to equalise pressure within the ear to reduce discomfort typical in other in-ear designs.

Apple claims that AirPods Pro can make you feel like there is nothing in your ears, and we have found that AirPods Pro is more comfortable than the Powerbeats Pro, particularly over long periods of use in testing.

Like the AirPods Pro, the Powerbeats Pro also uses silicone ear tips, but they are built for fitness, with earhooks that fit over the ears to keep them in place.

Powerbeats Pro comes with four tip sizes, instead of three, giving each user a personalised fit as well. During physical exercise, Powerbeats Pro is intended to remain in the face, and Apple claims it tried over 20 versions before deciding on the latest version that suits most people.

In charging cases, both AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro come in. The AirPods Pro charging case is bigger than the AirPods 2 charging case, but for the Powerbeats Pro, which is massive, it is still quite a lot smaller than the case.

The case of the Powerbeats Pro clamshell-style is even larger since the earhooks must be incorporated, making it almost unpocketable. The case of the 'AirPods Pro' fits easily in a pocket.

Active Noise Cancellation

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is one of the main features of the AirPods Pro, and this marks the first time that Apple has implemented earbuds with ANC technology. In over-ear Beats headphones, but not earbuds, like the Powerbeats Pro, the role has been used previously.

The Powerbeats Pro has silicone ear tips and offers properties for noise reduction, but noise isolation is not nearly as effective as Active Noise Cancellation.

Two microphones and Apple's software algorithms are used by ANC to adjust sound to the ears of each user. One microphone is outward-facing and built to detect external sound to allow ambient noise to be analysed and cancelled by the AirPods Pro, whereas a second inward-facing microphone listens to sounds in the ear to fine tune the cancellation of noise.

‌AirPods Pro‌ with Active Noise Cancellation can drown out a lot more sound than the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ with simple noise isolation.

AirPods Pro also has a transparency mode designed to adjust the algorithms for Active Noise Cancellation so that you can continue to hear what is going on around you, helpful for circumstances such as driving, listening for traffic, and more.

There is no Powerbeats Pro feature to block ambient sounds, which is something to be mindful of because with the volume turned up high enough the Powerbeats Pro will drown out outside music.

Sound Differences

Apple claimed that sound was a priority when announcing the 'Powerbeats Pro'. The Powerbeats Pro is built to provide strong, balanced audio with pure sound reproduction, enhanced clarity, and enhanced dynamic range.

Superior sound is also a selling point of the AirPods Pro, and an Adaptive EQ feature is available for the AirPods Pro.

Adaptive EQ tunes the low and medium frequencies of music for what Apple claims is a rich and immersive listening experience that plays to the form of each person's ear.

In order to create pure, clear sound, the AirPods Pro features a custom high dynamic range amplifier along with a custom high-excursion low-distortion speaker driver that optimises audio quality and eliminates background noise.

We did not find a major difference in sound quality between the 'Powerbeats Pro' and the 'AirPods Pro' in our research, as both provide pretty good sound. Although the AirPods Pro sound more neutral to our ears, the Powerbeats Pro are a little warmer and slightly more bass heavy.

There is less bass in AirPods Pro, but the sound profile allows all instruments to be clearly and distinctly heard.

Physical Buttons

The AirPods Pro has a Force Sensor on the stem, a special control system compared to the PowerBeats Pro and AirPods 2.

Press-based movements are assisted by the Force Sensor, so you can press once to play or pause music, press twice to skip a track forward, press three times to skip backward, or press and hold to switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode.

The Powerbeats Pro is quite a bit larger than the AirPods Pro and thus has the physical button space. There are buttons for volume change, song track modification, and approval or rejection of an incoming call.

There is no on-device option for the 'AirPods Pro' to change the volume, and that is something that needs to be done using a wired device.

Water Resistance

AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro also feature IPX4 water resistance, which ensures that from either direction they can stand up to water splashing against the enclosure, but when immersed in water they can still fail.

The AirPods Pro and the Powerbeats Pro will withstand sweat exposure with an IPX4 water resistance ranking, but rain, swimming pools, and other unnecessary moisture should be avoided.

Apple warranties do not cover exposure to water or sweat, which is something to be careful of.

Powerbeats Pro Colors vs. AirPods Pro Colors

Despite rumors suggesting the ‌AirPods Pro‌ would come in multiple colors, Apple only released them in white.

Black, Ivory (an off white shade), Navy, and Moss (an olive green) Powerbeats Pro come in. A white charging case is also available for AirPods Pro, while all PowerBeats Pro models ship with a black charging case.

Price Difference

Powerbeats Pro are priced at $249, as are AirPods Pro, but offers that reduce the price of Powerbeats Pro by $50. can also be found.

Processor, Sensors, and ‌Siri‌ Support

AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro both use the H1 chip from Apple, providing easy configuration, fast system switching, low latency, and "Hey Siri" hands-free support.

All the same sensors and features that come with the H1 chip are available for Powerbeats Pro and AirPods Pro, including ear detection that plays/pauses music properly based on location.

In the AirPods Pro, the H1 chip has a special design since it was made to be in the form of the AirPods Pro earbud, with the design dictating the configuration of the inner part instead of the other way around.

Phone Calls

AirPods Pro features a speech-detecting accelerometer and beamforming microphones designed to philtre out noise when you make a phone call or a request for a Siri, and there is also a similar feature for Powerbeats Pro.

Both earbuds have dual beamforming microphones, with the microphones on either side located in the Powerbeats Pro to compensate for the lack of a stem like the AirPods Pro.

With little difference between them, calls on both the AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro are crisp, simple and sound fantastic.

Battery Life

The key field where the 'Powerbeats Pro' has a major advantage over the 'AirPods Pro' is battery life.

Each earbud provides nine hours of listening time, a complete four and a half hours longer than the pledge of 'AirPods Pro'.

When Active Noise Cancellation is turned on, AirPods Pro provides 4.5 hours of battery life or five hours of battery life when it is turned off.

Both the AirPods Pro and the Powerbeats Pro have battery cases that extend battery life to more than 24 hours, but with the Powerbeats Pro, you can get a much longer listening time.

Live Listen

For using the earbuds as a directional microphone, both Powerbeats Pro and AirPods Pro support the Live Listen feature.

Charging

Using the included USB-C to Lightning cable or a Qi-based wireless adapter, the AirPods Pro and the AirPods Pro Wireless Charging Case can be charged.

The case of 'Powerbeats Pro' does not accept wireless charging based on Qi and must be charged with a Lightning cable.

The Fast Fuel feature of the Powerbeats Pro adds 1.5 hours of music reproduction after five minutes of charging and 4.5 hours of reproduction after 15 minutes of charging.

The AirPods Pro also has a quick charging function that provides five minutes of approximately an hour of listening or talking time after charging.

Comparison Chart

A comparison chart at a glance offers a simple summary of the variations between the AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro.

Bottom Line

With the same $249 price point, due to the Active Noise Cancellation feature, the 'AirPods Pro' is superior to the 'Powerbeats Pro'.

The AirPods Pro edge the Powerbeats Pro out for casual, daily use but the Powerbeats Pro win out for athletes and those who need the comfortable fit of earhooks and the much longer battery life.

Fit is subjective, because certain individuals may prefer the fit of the Powerbeats Pro over the AirPods Pro or may not care about the cancellation of active noise.

The AirPods Pro are smaller and easier to carry and offer wireless charging, while more colours are available for the Powerbeats Pro.

Ultimately, deciding between AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro will come down to the fit you like and the feature set you want.