Beats Powerbeats Fit Review: Déjà Vu, In A Good Way

Beats devices person been nan much colorful, full-of-personality complements to Apple’s clean-and-minimal cogwheel ever since Apple bought nan institution backmost successful 2014. Beats earbuds and speakers are nan much elastic alternatives to things for illustration AirPods and HomePods, and nan caller Beats Powerbeats Fit support that contented alive. Some six months aft nan Powerbeats Pro 2 debuted earlier this year, Beats now has an updated type of nan Fit Pro to connection folks looking for galore of nan conveniences of an Apple instrumentality successful thing pinch somewhat much characteristic and versatility. Rather than reinventing nan wheel, Beats made mini changes connected nan Powerbeats Fit that yet make for a much polished type of its predecessor.

What’s new

If you’re acquainted pinch nan Beats Fit Pro, you’ll beryllium acquainted pinch nan Powerbeats Fit. Beats kept overmuch of what worked pinch its erstwhile $200 earbuds present (including nan price), making very insignificant changes to amended nan comfortableness and nan wide design. The caller buds person 20 percent much elastic wingtips and nan charging lawsuit is 17 percent much compact than that of nan Beats Fit Pro. More connected nan wingtips successful a moment, but first I person to commend Beats for making nan charging lawsuit consciousness ever truthful somewhat much premium this clip astir — and since it’s smaller than before, it’s little cumbersome to tuck successful your backmost pocket. The buds besides fresh snugly into nan charging lawsuit pinch a satisfying snap each time; they ever align decently to recharge, thing I cannot opportunity astir past pairs of nan AirPods Pro I’ve owned.

When it comes to nan wingtips connected nan Powerbeats Fit, they look to beryllium a hairsbreadth shorter than those connected nan Beats Fit Pro, and surely much malleable. I felt nan biggest quality successful elasticity astatine nan guidelines of nan wingtip wherever it meets nan earbud — those connected nan Powerbeats Fit person a spot much springiness than those connected its predecessor. These mini changes make it easy to popular nan Powerbeats Fit into your ears and really not fuss pinch nan wingtips astatine all. They’re coming conscionable to supply a much unafraid fresh during aggravated workouts, and they do conscionable that.

I wore them during spot training, 5K runs and leisurely walks and I didn’t person to set them astatine each erstwhile I popped them in. When Beats announced these caller buds, nan institution claimed its creation tweaks would besides make nan Powerbeats Fit much comfortable to deterioration each time long, not conscionable during workouts. I’ll admit that I didn’t find nan erstwhile Beats Fit Pro uncomfortable to deterioration erstwhile not astatine nan gym aliases connected nan trail. Yes, nan Powerbeats Fit are marginally much comfortable now and nan wingtips are much supple, but nan alteration is subtle. If you jibe pinch nan wingtip creation to statesman with, you’ll safely beryllium capable to usage nan Powerbeats Fit arsenic regular drivers successful summation to workout companions.

Notably, nan Powerbeats Fit travel pinch 1 other brace of eartips successful nan container (four alternatively of nan erstwhile three), truthful erstwhile you find nan eartips that are your champion fit, you’ll beryllium disconnected to nan races. There are besides 2 caller bold colors to take from, orangish and pink, successful summation to grey and black.

What’s nan same

Thankfully, Beats didn’t messiness pinch each of nan bully things astir nan Fit Pro erstwhile processing nan Powerbeats Fit. The caller buds person an IPX4 h2o guidance rating, which isn’t nan highest level of protection retired there, but much than capable to withstand your sweatiest training sessions. Onboard controls successful nan shape of beingness buttons stay nan same, though I didn’t accidentally trigger nan buttons connected nan Powerbeats Fit astir arsenic overmuch arsenic I did pinch nan Fit Pro. That mightiness beryllium because each nan mini changes Beats made successful nan creation paid disconnected — I didn’t fuss pinch nan caller buds successful my ears arsenic overmuch arsenic before, truthful I didn’t accidentally property nan buttons arsenic much.

The Powerbeats Fit besides person Apple’s H1 spot inside, which enables features for illustration hands-free Siri, automatic switching betwixt devices, Adaptive EQ, Audio Sharing and Personalized Spatial Audio pinch move caput tracking. Transparency mode returns present arsenic well, and it remains 1 of nan standout features of immoderate Apple-associated wireless earbuds. And if you do determine to deterioration nan Powerbeats Fit each time long, you’ll apt make moreover much usage of transparency mode arsenic you request to jump successful and retired of conversations happening astir you. In addition, you tin support way of nan caller earbuds successful Apple’s Find My app.

Beats didn’t measure immoderate improvements successful sound value connected nan Powerbeats Fit, and aft listening to them alongside nan Beats Fit Pro, I tin opportunity they sound almost identical. While listening to immoderate tracks pinch nan Powerbeats Fit, I noticed an almost imperceptible summation successful nan clarity of vocals, but that’s astir it. Bass remains punchy and strong, and nan buds get decently loud.

Active sound cancellation (ANC) is besides nan aforesaid connected nan caller buds: beardown capable to artifact retired ambient sound astir you and people’s voices. While moving outside, I still heard nan loudest disturbances for illustration passing trucks and oddly sonorous cackling of adjacent wildlife, but that’s arguably for nan best. If you’re exercising outside, beryllium it successful a parkland aliases connected metropolis streets, you should beryllium astatine slightest somewhat alert of your surroundings.

Battery life is accordant present arsenic well, pinch Beats promising up to 7 hours connected a azygous complaint (or six pinch ANC turned on) and up to 30 hours full erstwhile employing nan Powerbeats Fit charging case. Anecdotally, aft a week of utilizing nan Powerbeats Fit for an mean of 1 hr each day, nan charging lawsuit still had 75 percent artillery left. If you’re utilizing these each day, each day, you’ll evidently request to powerfulness it up much frequently. But if these are chiefly your workout companions, you could get a week aliases 2 earlier needing to plug them in.

Wrap-up

The Powerbeats Fit are a fitting update to nan Beats Fit Pro. The second was 1 of nan champion devices successful nan Beats lineup to statesman with, and nan latest exemplary only improves upon nan winning formula. They connection a coagulated equilibrium of a comfortable, unafraid design, bully sound value and ANC and useful further features astatine a decent price. The second is arguably conscionable arsenic important arsenic nan buds’ expertise to withstand a sweaty training session: folks looking for galore of nan conveniences recovered successful AirPods will find them present successful an replacement design, and successful a brace of buds that besides useful conscionable arsenic good pinch Android devices. If you’re consenting to salary more, you could ammunition retired $250 for either nan Powerbeats Pro 2 to get that afloat over-ear hook style, aliases AirPods Pro 3 — some of which person built-in bosom complaint search But that characteristic successful peculiar will beryllium much of a nice-to-have than a necessity for most.