Beats Fit Pro review: Apple’s workout-ready AirPods Pro rivals

A new, cheaper different to the AirPods Professional is right here – and it's also from Apple. The Beats Match Professional have most of the identical options however price £40 much less, are extra workout-friendly than their cousins and work with Android, too.

Priced at £199 ($199.99/A$299.95) they provide the identical noise-cancelling because the AirPods Professional and options resembling spatial audio digital encompass sound.

The Match Professional basically add a versatile silicone stabiliser “wing” to the highest of final yr’s Studio Buds. When you twist the wing into the highest of your ear they keep put even with probably the most vigorous of train, or you'll be able to put on them with out the wing tucked in for extra sedate listening.

beats fit pro
It took little bit of trial and error to get the wing into an excellent place however as soon as twisted far sufficient around the earbuds had been comfy for listening periods of two hours or extra. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The highest of the earbud protrudes just a little out of your ear and has a single multi-purpose “b” button which you press as soon as, twice, thrice or press and maintain to skip tracks, change sound modes or modify the quantity. The music pauses once you take away an earbud too.

The earbuds clip magnetically right into a flip-top case for charging and storage, which is sort of a mini model of the enormous Powerbeats Professional case. It's a bit greater than the very best available on the market however nonetheless nearly suits within the cash pocket of a pair of denims.

The earbuds last as long as six hours of playback with noise-cancelling energetic between prices, which is 2 hours wanting the very best rivals however a minimum of an hour longer than the Studio Buds and AirPods Professional.

beats fit pro
The case prices by way of USB-C in 90 minutes and may recharge the earbuds totally 3 times however doesn't help wi-fi charging. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Specs

  • Connectivity:Bluetooth 5.0, SBC, AAC, H1 chip

  • Battery life: six hours ANC playback (24 hours with case)

  • Water resistance: IPX4 (splash resistant)

  • Earbud dimensions: 30x 24 x 19mm

  • Earbud weight: 5.6g every

  • Charging case dimensions: 62 x 62 x 28.5mm

  • Charging case weight: 55.1g

  • Case charging: USB-C

Nice sound and noise cancelling

beats fit pro review
The earbuds have a traditional silicone tip that creates an excellent seal and provides some isolation, whereas the energetic noise-cancelling has no influence on the sound high quality. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The Match Professional sound actually good, notably for fitness-focused earbuds. They've a well-balanced and totally rounded sound that fits a wide range of genres. They will produce deep notes with a thump when wanted however the bass is stored from overriding the great treble and excessive notes. Vocals are wonderful, instrument separation is nice and so they deal with advanced tracks effectively.

They sound just like Apple’s AirPods Professional, and barely higher than the Studio Buds, however can’t fairly match the very best-sounding earbuds from Sony.

It's a related story for the noise-cancelling. The Match Professional match the efficacy of the AirPods Professional, efficiently lowering low rumbles, vehicles and followers, whereas combating higher-pitched noise such because the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. The ambient consciousness mode is among the extra natural-sounding of these obtainable, good for listening out for bulletins or a fast dialog.

Spatial audio

Beats Fit Pro review
The sensors on the skin of the earbud detect when they're in your ear whereas accelerometers observe the motion of your head. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Along with customary stereo sound, the Match Professional have Apple’s spatial audio digital encompass sound expertise, because of their H1 chip. It makes the audio sound as whether it is coming from a group of audio system round you moderately than directed straight down your ear canal, giving it a higher ambiance.

When used with Apple gadgets, the earbuds observe the motion of your head and modify the sound in order that it's all the time centred on the display in entrance of you. It really works notably effectively for motion pictures and TV exhibits with a Dolby sound observe but in addition works with music, too. It’s all very intelligent.

Not like Apple’s AirPods, the Match Professional help some components of spatial audio on Android, however not the top monitoring and different superior options.

Apple and Android

Beats Fit Pro review
The Beats app for Android (proper) has a lot of the identical options as that obtainable on an iPhone (left). Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The identical story exists for different options on Apple versus Android. The Match Professional help the identical immediate pairing, seamless switching between gadgets, immediate “Hey Siri” entry to the voice assistant, battery standing notifications and audio sharing with Apple gear because the AirPods.

They're customary Bluetooth 5.0 earbuds and can join simply tremendous to most gadgets, together with Home windows PCs. However not like Apple’s different earbuds, the Beats help a few of the extra superior options on Android together with immediate pairing, battery standing, customisable controls, firmware updates and the ear tip match check utilizing the Beats app.

Observations

beats fit pro review
The push-button controls are customisable within the settings or Beats app, whereas the helpful battery standing notifications can be found on each platforms. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian
  • In the event you use a mixture of Apple and Android gear, the Beats app on Android won't be able to “discover” the earbuds except you flip off Bluetooth on close by iPhones or iPads.

  • Name high quality was actually good for such compact earbuds: my voice sounded clear and pure with solely just a little background noise leaking via in loud environments.

Sustainability

Apple expects the batteries to final greater than 500 full cost cycles whereas sustaining a minimum of 80% of their authentic capability however they don't seem to be replaceable.

Whereas some minor bits of the earbuds are repairable, they scored a zero out of 10 on iFixit’s repairability scale. Apple provides a “battery service” for £76.44 or replacements costing £96.44 every. The earbuds and case are produced from recycled plastic and uncommon earth components however Apple doesn't publish environmental influence stories for equipment resembling headphones. The corporate provides trade-in and free recycling schemes, together with for non-Apple merchandise.

Worth

The Beats Match Professional price £199 ($199.99/A$299.95).

For comparability, the AirPods Professional price £239, the AirPods 3 price £169, the Beats Studio Buds price £130, the Jabra Elite 7 Professional price £199 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 price £99.

Verdict

The Beats Match Professional supply a slice of the earbud magic present in Apple’s AirPods Professional in a sportier, cheaper kind.

They sound good, have efficient noise-cancelling and stable battery life. The spatial audio digital encompass sound system is admittedly nice with Apple gear and a few of the sensible options can be found on Android, too.

They're small and don’t have stalks. The wing design retains them locked in place however can take some fiddling to get comfy. The charging case is a bit bigger than I would really like however nonetheless pocketable.

They're bettered on sound, noise-cancelling and battery life by the easiest. And, sadly, the battery can't be changed, in the end making them disposable and shedding a star.

However in order for you a set of all-purpose earbuds for iPhone or Android that may silence the commute, do justice to motion pictures in your cellphone and keep put when it’s time to pound the pavement, there aren’t many higher than the Beats Match Professional.

Professionals: nice sound and noise-cancelling, respectable battery and case, nice connectivity, good controls, superior options with Apple gadgets together with spatial audio, some particular options with Android, rock-solid match for train or commute, respectable name high quality

Cons: generally is a fiddle to get comfy, charging case bigger than rivals, no wi-fi charging, solely IPX4 sweat resistance, can't be repaired, costly.

beats fit pro review
A five-minute fast cost within the case is sufficient for as much as an hour of playback. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

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