For the longest time, we considered the Beats Fit Pro to be the best gym earbuds around. However, with the arrival of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in February, Beats’ last-gen earbuds have become somewhat dated and a lot harder to recommend at full price. That’s especially true today, given the Powerbeats Pro 2 are now on sale at Amazon, Walmart, and B&H Photo in multiple colors for an all-time low of $199.95 ($50 off).
The Pro 2 are, by all accounts, some of the best wireless earbuds you can get. They still tout the signature ear hook design found on previous models, though the hooks themselves are noticeably smaller this time around (as is the wireless charging case). The comfortable earbuds also feature active noise cancellation and a natural-sounding transparency mode — both absent from the first-gen model from 2019 —so you can stay in sync with what’s going on around you while exercising.
As for other hallmarks, the fitness-focused Pro 2 sport IPX4 water resistance, easy-to-use physical buttons, and native support for both Android and Apple features — including head-tracking spatial audio, automatic device switching, and Find My integration for iPhone users. They also offer heart rate monitoring thanks to built-in sensors in each earbud; however, sadly, they can’t play music and broadcast heart rate to gym equipment at the same time when paired with an iOS device, which makes the Pro 2 a better heart rate monitoring alternative for Android users than iPhone users.
Thankfully, if bass-heavy sound is what you’re after and not necessarily the ability to track your heart rate, rest assured that this pair of Beats delivers great sound with enough low-end oomph to make the latest tracks from Kendrick Lamar and Saba shine. They can’t rival the latest AirPods Pro or Sony’s XM5, but that’s not really the point, is it?
