Apple's Beats brand today officially announced the new Powerbeats Pro Wireless Earphones, which, like the AirPods, are wire-free and come with a charging case, but feature up to nine hours of listening time.
The Powerbeats Pro are going to cost $250, and Apple says they are coming in May. According to Apple, the Powerbeats Pro deliver "powerful, balanced sound with dynamic range and noise isolation for a premium listening experience."
The Powerbeats Pro, like the current Powerbeats, are sweat and water resistant and include the Powerbeats earhooks along with tips in four sizes for keeping them securely in place during workouts.
"Powerbeats Pro is a harmonious blend of premium sound, fit and functionality. Powerbeats are already the #1 fitness headphones in the world and they are now untethered, with all the benefits of the Apple H1 chip," said Luke Wood, president of Beats. "No longer do you have to choose between performance and practicality--it delivers the best on both fronts."
To get an ideal fit for most people, Apple tested more than 20 configurations to arrive at an "ergonomically angled housing" designed to nest "comfortably in the concha bowl of the ear with an off-axis nozzle." Apple says Powerbeats Pro are 23 percent smaller and 17 percent lighter than the Powerbeats 3.
There are physical controls on each earbud, with a dedicated volume buttons for adjusting the volume, and a button for answering and declining phone calls and changing the track that's currently playing. Like the AirPods, the Powerbeats Pro automatically detect when they're in your ears and can play/pause music accordingly.
The Powerbeats Pro come in their own clamshell-style charging case, which adds over 24 hours of combined playback with the nine hours of listening time that you get from each earbud. There's a 5-minute Fast Fuel feature that provides up to 1.5 hours of playback in five minutes.
Apple says the Powerbeats Pro use "Class 1 Bluetooth technology" for extended range and fewer dropouts, and the H1 chip that's in the second-generation AirPods is also in the Powerbeats Pro.
Apple is making the Powerbeats Pro available in four colors: Black, Ivory, Moss, and Navy. The Powerbeats Pro launch in May in US and more than 20 additional countries and regions, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
