BeatsPowerbeats Pro 2 Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds - Noise Cancelling, Heart Rate Monitor, IPX4, Up to 45H Battery & Charging Case, Works with Apple & Android - Jet Black

PROS:Better, more custom fit in the ears (at least for me) than the original Powerbeats Pro.Much more secure fit than the Fit Pro. More comfortable than either.Can easily wear for hours without any discomfort, so a perfect accessory for ultra-endurance sports.Design, material and build quality are all excellent. They look and feel like a high quality product.Transparency function works well—so well that it’s possible to listen to music AND be safe and connected to your immediate surroundings, like on city multi-use paths, and in dodgy neighborhoods where you’d want to be in yellow alert while moving around.The lighter, less bulky feel is great compared to the original Powerbeats Pro.Sound quality is excellent ON PHONE CALLS and for other vocal-heavy use.The case is significantly smaller than the massive original Powerbeats Pro case.The case is more robust than the case for the Fit Pro.There’s a toggle to turn off the gimmicky heart rate monitor 😊.CONS:The sound quality for music is more tinny and overall worse than the sound quality of the Fit Pro. Bass response is more subdued and there’s an overall midrange bias. For $250 ear buds, this is disappointing.Some reviewers have said that the sound is also worse than the sound on the original Powerbeats Pro. For me, the sound between the Powerbeats Pro and Pro 2 units is comparable—less rich on BOTH than on the Fit Pro.The pulse monitor seems gimmicky and superfluous. Is there any athlete on the planet doing aerobic sports who isn’t already monitoring heartbeat and using a device that is more accurate and effective than these ear buds? And other than athletes doing aerobic sports, who else has any interest in knowing their heartbeat while listening to music?Noise cancellation seems a bit worse than on the Fit Pro.THE BOTTOM LINE?I love that these things stay in my ears no matter what I’m doing—in that sense they’re unique among the most well-regarded ear buds on the market.I also love that they’re really comfortable.And I love that the feature set includes most of what Apple includes on its best ear buds.For me, those factors trump everything else (even though I wish that the sound were richer and more immersive).If the same is true for you, and you’re tired of having your ear buds pop out at inconvenient times, you may want to give the Powerbeats Pro 2 a look.

Let me preface this review by saying I preordered these and have only had them for four days now. Typically I would wait longer to review a product, but saw the lousy reviews and felt compelled to tell a different story. I have no idea why these got 1 star. I know some technology has cult followings....an example might be Apple vs Android. I don't know, I don't get it.So you know where I'm coming from I used the Apple AirPod Pro v1 before upgrading to these new Powerbeats Pro 2s. The AirPod Pro v1s were good until they were not. I had them replaced under warranty once due to a crackling noise that seem to plague those. It came back and the warranty had long expired. So for me it was either simply upgrade to the AirPod Pro v2 or look elsewhere. I decided to look elsewhere and consulted a gym friend who had the Powerbeat Pro v1s. He raves about them. I started looking online and the timing was perfect! I saw that I could preorder the newer version. So I quickly pulled the trigger after doing some research. I saw the AirPod Pro v2 go on sale but that was not enough to entice me to stick with them.On a side note: My gym buddy also upgraded from the previous version and is happy with his purchase.One of the reasons I was ready to move away from the AirPod Pros was the fit. When working out they would always come loose and slip out. The Powerbeats seem to have addressed that problem with the ear loop and man, do they fit and feel great on the ear.....you don't even know that you have them on.They sound great! They sound just as good or better than the AirPod Pros when they were working properly and this is no surprise as they are built on the same technology as the AirPod Pro 2s. The bottom line is they are both Apple products.I haven't used all the features since they are so new. For example, the heart monitor is cool but I have an Apple Ultra Watch that I work out in that tracks my heart. As I understand it the watch takes precedence when you are wearing both.So again, this might be an early review but I felt compelled to share my positive experience. I'll try to come back and update it as I continue to work out in them. If you are on the fence go check out some of the "professional" reviews from the various tech sights that review these products. They all give them pretty high marks.Fit and feel = A++Sound Quality = A+Battery life = A+*I do not do reviews for a living and I paid full price for the earbuds.