Beats just announced a successor to the Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds – and there’s good news and bad news
While Beats has been busy launching new Solo Buds and reintroducing speakers with the Pill, it appears the Apple-owned audio brand has also been focusing on updating another product… one that’s been in the works for five years at the time of this story’s publication. The iconic earhook-equipped Powerbeats Pro are making a return, at least according to a new teaser video posted to Beats by Dre’s Instagram.
As previewed by LA Dodgers baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are set to arrive in 2025 and will feature a refreshed, modern look. Not much else is known, other than that Ohtani can wear them while batting at home plate, and a caption reads that they were built “for him.”
Powerbeats Pro 2 … coming in 2025
In 2025, it will be six years since the Powerbeats Pro was launched in 2019.
In that time, Beats has continued to invest and release other earbuds, all of which sit directly in your ear – including the Fit Pro, Studio Buds Plus, and Solo Buds. The appeal of the Powerbeats Pro is the earhook, and for those who’ve been waiting for an upgrade, their faith has been rewarded. The earhook is fully present on the Powerbeats Pro 2, with more subtle, rounded edges in what I’d call a modern look.
From the teaser video, Ohtani’s Powerbeats Pro 2 appear to have a slightly thinner earhook, but it’s hard to say for sure. The bridge from the ear to the hook still has a slope, albeit a more pronounced one, but like the hook, it’s dramatically thinner.
Aside from this quick look at the Powerbeats Pro 2 on-ears, everything else is still up in the air, including what processor Beats is using inside, the driver they’ll use to produce audio, and whether they’ve managed to shrink the case. It’s safe to assume that the Lightning port will be swapped for USB-C, but chances are that it won’t be removing a port altogether, like the one on the Solo Buds.
The original Powerbeats Pro featured Apple’s H1 chip, a custom drive with support for Spatial Audio, and nine hours of playback time. In Ny Breaking’s review, the Powerbeats Pro even scored a four out of five, calling them a big step up from previous Beats earbuds and, at the time, “Apple’s most premium workout earbuds.” The latter have likely been surpassed by the AirPods Pro or Beats Fit Pro , but for the ear-hook fanatic, the Powerbeats are probably still the best choice.
Those specs are looking a bit dated now, and Beats could use this as an opportunity to make major improvements. It could opt to use its own proprietary silicon, like it does on other earbuds, or use one of Apple’s chips.
I think we’re all hoping that the carrying case/charging case combo will at least get smaller. But as someone who’s had the Powerbeats Pro for a while and still uses them occasionally, I’m eager to try the second generation, and I’m grateful that Beats isn’t pulling the plug on the earhooks; in fact, they’re making them cooler.
