There’s a Sequel to the Powerbeats Pro in the Works
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We wouldn’t blame you if you barely remember the Powerbeats Pro. After making a big splash five years ago as a sporty alternative to the AirPods, they slowly slid into obscurity as Beats seemingly moved on to other things.
Although a few rumors of Powerbeats Pro 2 surfaced in early 2020, they came to nothing. Instead, other than offering some new colors over the years, Beats left its premium workout headphones behind to pursue smaller in-ear versions like the Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Buds,Beats Studios Buds+, and more affordable models like the Beats Flex.
Despite being a division of Apple, Beats also gradually moved away from using the H1 chip found in the AirPods in favor of new custom silicon that could provide many (but not all) of the same features while delivering tighter compatibility with Android devices.
However, the new earbud styles never quite matched up to the Powerbeats Pro for extreme workouts. That’s probably why Beats kept them on the market even after discontinuing the standard Powerbeats, which were released in 2020 as an H1-equipped version of the Powerbeats3.
Thankfully, there’s some good news for fans of the Powerbeats Pro design. It seems the company hasn’t forgotten the five-year-old headphones, and a new version is finally on the horizon.
While we don’t know much about what to expect yet, Beats shared a teaser on its Instagram feed and on X with a very brief clip showing Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers wearing the familiar style with what appears to be a revamped design that still includes the much-loved ear hooks.
The video ends by identifying the buds as “Powerbeats Pro 2” and noting that they’ll be available in 2025.
There are no specs available, so at this point it’s hard to say if they’ll follow directly in the footsteps of the originals and adopt an AirPods chip like the H1 or H2. However, with Beats having moved away from those — the 2021 Beats Fit Pro were the last to feature an H1 — it’s more likely we’ll see a more powerful custom Beats chip similar to what’s in the Beats Studio Pro, a set of headphones that came out last year as a strong AirPods Max alternative.
While we don’t know what’s inside yet, the video clip shows that the Powerbeats Pro 2 will likely be smaller than the 2019 version, with thinner ear hooks and a smaller casing in the outer ear portion. The result is a more streamlined and modern design that makes for a less clunky appearance than their predecessors. The smaller size also suggests they could be lighter and more comfortable.
If Beats follows its recent trends, the Powerbeats Pro 2 will likely offer full compatibility with the Apple and Android ecosystems, including Find My support, fast pairing, and full battery status and location information. It also goes without saying that we can expect some serious sound quality improvements, including better Active Noise Cancellation.
Meanwhile, Apple is widely expected to unveil two new sets of fourth-generation AirPods alongside the iPhone 16 lineup during its Glowtime event on Monday, which makes the timing of this Powerbeats Pro 2 teaser kind of interesting. Of course, the new AirPods are expected to be in an entirely different category, likely sticking with the traditional design. However, the family will be split with a higher-end version that could add Active Noise Cancellation at a lower price than the AirPods Pro while also introducing a lower-cost “Lite” or “SE” model intended to replace the aging second-generation AirPods that were released only a few months before the original Powerbeats Pro came on the scene.
