Less than one month after introducing new AirPods, Apple has revealed another new pair of totally wireless earphones.
The Beats Powerbeats Pro are launching in May at a price of $249.95. Color options will include Black, Ivory, Moss, and Navy. They'll be available in the U.S. and more than 20 other countries, including the U.K., Australia, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Spain, and Canada. Apple says that wider availability is coming this summer and fall.
When it comes to features, Apple says that sound quality "was the highest priority in the development of Powerbeats Pro." The earphones have an upgraded linear piston driver that uses a pressurized airflow to create acoustic response. Apple also touts that the Powerbeats Pro have "enhanced sound quality" with "lower distortion and great dynamic range across the entire frequency curve."
Powerbeats Pro also lets you answer phone calls, and there's a speech-detecting accelerometer in each earphone along with two beam-forming microphones to target your voice and filter out external sounds. The earphones have a fully functional, ambidextrous design with identical, physical volume and track controls on each earbud, helping you to control you music no matter which hand you have free or whether you're using just the left or right earbud.
Apple says that each of the Powerbeats Pro earphones can get up to nine hours of listening time and more than 24 hours of playback with the included charging case. When you put them in that case, you can get 1.5 hours of playback after five minutes of charging or 4.5 hours after 15 minutes. The earphones power on automatically when taken out of the case and power off when placed in the case. They also include accelerometers that can detect when they're idle and put them into sleep mode. The case charges using a Lightning cable.
Powerbeats Pro also includes "Hey Siri" compatibility, letting you activate Apple's digital assistant using just your voice. They've got the same Apple H1 chip as the new AirPods. The new Powerbeats Pro are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
While Apple did just launch new AirPods, the Powerbeats Pro are being touted as the more sport-friendly truly wireless earphones. They've got a sweat-resistant design and earhooks to help ensure that they stay in your ears during vigorous workouts. While they're a little pricier than AirPods, folks who take their workouts seriously may be willing to pay that premium for the Powerbeats Pro's workout-centric features.
