Apple is launching its first earphones that can measure pulse. For months, there has been speculation that the iPhone maker could soon upgrade its AirPods with this feature – but now it is the new Powerbeats Pro 2 that are the first to get the feature.

This fits a product line that is geared towards sports. It’s not the first company to add this feature, and Apple is competing against several rivals that already equip their earphones with heart rate monitors.

The first Powerbeats Pro came out in 2019. The new generation retained the distinctive ear clip – but it was refined. According to Apple, the earphones have also become a fifth smaller and lighter, while battery life has been extended.

The clamp is an additional safeguard to prevent the Powerbeats Pro from slipping out of your ears. And they really do sit rock-solid in them.

No matter whether you are jogging, jumping or sprinting – even longer periods of activity can’t loosen their hold. This also means that you don’t experience the drawback of many earphones with rubber tips, where you feel a dull vibration with every step.

A secure fit

One side effect of the strong hold is that it takes some practice to correctly place the new Powerbeats Pro in your ears – at least without triggering playback (and turning it off again, and starting again…).

It’s also worth running the fit check in the settings, at least in the beginning. Because even small gaps audibly reduce the quality of the active noise cancellation. To ensure a tight fit, Apple is including five sizes of rubber tips for the ear canal this time.

As befits a new generation after more than five years, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have an improved amplifier and a newly developed mini-speaker with a diameter of 9.5 millimetres. The result is powerful bass with precise high notes. In addition, the new earphones support 3D audio in Dolby Atmos format.

Unlike the new Beats Solo model, for example, the Powerbeats Pro 2 have Apple’s H2 chip and not the in-house semiconductor system – because of the high computing requirements, the company says. This means that they integrate seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem. For use on Android smartphones, you are heavily dependent on the Beats app.

As sports earphones, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are protected against sweat and water with an IPX4 rating. Each of the two earphones has physical buttons for volume control in addition to the usual multifunction button. The idea behind this is to make operation as easy as possible, even with sweaty fingers or gloves.

One charge should last for 10 hours of music playback. With the quick charge function, five minutes in the case should provide up to an hour and a half of battery life.

How does the pulse measurement work?

First of all, if you’re using an Apple Watch Sport anyway, you can skip this part for now. That’s because when the pulse is measured simultaneously at the wrist and in the ear, Apple currently prefers the measurement taken by the watch.

However, the company assures that there are no accuracy issues with the Powerbeats Pro. The smaller sensors and the calculation algorithms also benefit from years of experience with the watch.

When used with an iPhone, the heart rate measurement automatically turns on when you start a workout in one of several supported apps from developers such as Nike and Peloton. During the activity, you can ask Siri, the voice assistant, for your current heart rate. On Android, you have to start the measurement on the earphones or via the Beats app.

The new Powerbeats Pro come in four colours: diamond black, quicksand, hyper purple and fluorescent orange. The price is $250 in the US or €300 in the EU.