Apple’s revamped compact exercise Beats earbuds stick to a successful formulation, whereas slimming down and enhancing consolation.
The brand new Powerbeats Match are the direct successors to 2022’s fashionable Beats Fit Pro, costing £200 (€230/$200/A$330). They sit alongside the not too long ago redesigned Powerbeats Pro 2 as Apple’s health options of the AirPods.
The Match take Beats’ customary earbud design and add a versatile silicone stabiliser wing that curves round the within your concha, reasonably than round the outdoors of your ear like the Professional 2. The consequence is a much more compact and discreet earbud – significantly in case you go for a subtler color than spark orange – and one which’s extra comfy to put on with glasses.
As soon as twisted into place, the earbuds stayed firmly in my ears no matter how vigorously I shook my head or how moist I received working in the rain. The brand new wing is a bit of extra comfy for prolonged intervals than their predecessors, however I nonetheless discovered it put uncomfortable stress on the within my left ear after an hour or so.
A single button on every earbud takes care of playback and noise cancelling controls, or might be set to alter quantity on a press and maintain. Name high quality is excellent – significantly for earbuds with out stalks – sounding comparatively pure and clear even when talking softly in quiet environments and solely permitting a bit of background noise via on busy streets.
The battery in the earbuds lasts a great six hours of playback with noise cancelling and might be charged thrice in the case for a complete of 24 hours use before needing to be related to energy by USB-C.
The earbuds have Apple’s older H1 chip for managing connectivity, which implies a seamless connection to the iPhone and different Apple gear with spatial audio, music sharing and Siri. However the Beats app on Android affords a lot of the similar superior options, together with immediate pairing, customisation, updates and battery widgets, making them cross-compatible and supreme for individuals who use each platforms.
Specs
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Connectivity: Bluetooth 5, SBC, AAC, H1 chip
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Battery life: six hours ANC playback (24 hours with case)
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Water resistance: buds and case IPX4 (splash resistant)
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Earbud dimensions: 27.4 x 21.5 x 20.4mm
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Earbud weight: 5.8g every
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Charging case dimensions: 62.5 x 55.4 x 27.5mm
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Charging case weight: 49.8g
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Case charging: USB-C
Sound and noise cancelling
The Beats sound much better than your common exercise buds and are adequate to be common listening earphones. They produce pretty balanced sound with loads of powered in the low finish when required, good separation of tones and respectable element in the mids and highs. They are fairly related to the Powerbeats Professional 2 and do an excellent job with punchier rock, pop, hip-hop or digital tracks, however fall in need of the AirPods Pro 3.
Not like most exercise buds the Beats have lively noise cancellation, which works fairly nicely to dampen the drone of street noise or the commute. It could actually’t deal with the troublesome larger tones, akin to clicks, faucets and background chatter in addition to the Powerbeats Professional or the best-in-class AirPods Professional 3, but it surely does the job most of the time.
The earbuds even have a great and natural-sounding transparency mode, which helps with consciousness whereas out working. However like the Powerbeats Professional 2 it isn’t fairly pretty much as good as not having something in your ears, so is nonetheless finest utilized in safer environments akin to parks.
Sustainability
Apple does not present an anticipated lifespan for the batteries, however they need to final in extra of 500 full-charge cycles with at the least 80% of their unique capability.
The earbuds are not repairable however Apple will provide individual replacements for lost or damaged parts, together with a £69 battery service. It does not publish environmental influence experiences for equipment akin to headphones. The corporate affords trade-in and free recycling schemes, together with for non-Apple merchandise.
Value
The Beats Powerbeats Match value £199.95 (€229.95/$199.99/A$329.95).
For comparability, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 value £250, the Beats Studio Buds+ value £180, the Beats Solo Buds value £80 and the AirPods Pro 3 value £219.
Verdict
The Beats Powerbeats Match are a minor revamp on the already nice Beats Fit Pro bringing them into line with the remainder of Apple’s earbuds.
They aren’t as comfy or achieved on the audio or noise-cancelling fronts as the AirPods Pro 3. Nor are they fairly as nice for working as the Powerbeats Pro 2 with their quantity rocker buttons. However the Match are simpler to stay with on the commute with out the massive over-ear hooks and extra comfy to put on with glasses with out sacrificing the safe match.
That makes them nice exercise buds that may pull double-duty as common earbuds with adequate noise cancelling and nice sound. Plus they’ve most of the fancy options of AirPods with Apple gear and full compatibility with Android thanks to the Beats app. Not many earbuds can declare that privilege.
Execs: safe match, good sound, strong noise cancelling and transparency modes, respectable battery life, good case, good name high quality, spatial audio, cross-platform compatibility with enhanced options for iPhone and Android.
Cons: costly for exercise buds, no multipoint connectivity, ear hook might be uncomfortable after some time, battery can’t get replaced making them in the end disposable.
Disclaimer: This article is sourced from external platforms. OverBeta has not independently verified the information. Readers are advised to verify details before relying on them.
