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HengenJL

macrumors 6502a
May 27, 2007
703
317
Rochester, NY
Highly subjective question. I've tried regular Airpods and they just do not stay in my ears at all, the Airpods Pro maybe different with the different eartips. However I own a pair of the PowerBeats Pro and they fit exceptionally well and sound amazing to my ears.
 

N0ddie

macrumors 6502
Oct 23, 2011
416
98
Glasgow
I have the Airpods Pro and my wife has the PB Pro. She prefers the PB Pro and I prefer the Airpods Pro. It is indeed a very subjective question.
 

lmcrael

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2014
84
41
I own both, I use both for different situations. My everyday headphones at work, around the house and out and about are the AirPods Pro. I’ve tried to do this with the Powerbeats, but they are just big enough to be annoying to use as my primary daily set. I only use them working out and doing physical activity at home like cutting grass and other outdoor activities. I enjoy the Powerbeats more, but the convenience of the AirPods is unbeatable. If they ever add nice cancelation to the Powerbeats, they would be perfect! Hope this helps.
 

EdMan

macrumors 6502a
Oct 17, 2011
650
342
Michigan
I agree with the above statements. I have both and use them exclusive of one another. It's hard to beat the Powerbeats for working out. The Airpods are much more convenient for daily use and throwing in a pocket. The case is too big with the Powerbeats and the hooks make them difficult to throw on quickly.
 

jterp7

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2011
1,292
161
i own the pbp and I found that although the mids were superior in the original firmware app (haha) when trying them in store, I also noticed that you just dont get the same bass response in the app. That said I probably need to retest with the latest firmware since it improved the FR a ton (apparently trading ANC as a tradeoff)
 

metalsiren

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2017
908
1,627
I own both, I use both for different situations. My everyday headphones at work, around the house and out and about are the AirPods Pro. I’ve tried to do this with the Powerbeats, but they are just big enough to be annoying to use as my primary daily set. I only use them working out and doing physical activity at home like cutting grass and other outdoor activities. I enjoy the Powerbeats more, but the convenience of the AirPods is unbeatable. If they ever add nice cancelation to the Powerbeats, they would be perfect! Hope this helps.

I also do the exact same thing, and I also wish the power beats would add ANC
 

ATC

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2008
1,185
433
Canada
It's hard to answer which is better overall as that would depend on the individual's preferences and priorities.

I have both and this is my experience:

Sound Quality - PBP (especially sound stage and bass response)
Secure fit during workouts - PBP (not even close)
Controls - PBP (physical buttons are so much better than squeeze gestures + volume controls on PBPs)
Convenience - APP (smaller case, smaller pods that are easier to put on and take off)
ANC - APP of course (PBP doesn't have ANC but their passive noise isolation is decent)
Comfort - Equal (at first I found the PBPs uncomfortable but after adjusting the hooks, which I didn't know you could, they're very comfortable now)
Battery Life - PBP (although once you factor in the charges from the case, they're equal)
Wireless charging - APP (PBPs's case doesn't support it unfortunately)
 
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John-F

macrumors 6502
Oct 7, 2011
303
1,000
I have the AirPods Pro and the older PowerBeats 2. Before getting the AirPods Pro I asked a lot of people in the gym wearing both the AirPods and the AirPods Pro if there was any issue with them staying in the ear during workouts. No one who I spoke with had any issues, and I also find the AirPods Pro are fine for working out. I'm sure it varies from person to person, but I wonder if some people just feel more secure with the PowerBeats design even if the AirPods Pro would work fine.
 

EdMan

macrumors 6502a
Oct 17, 2011
650
342
Michigan
Well I have to take my PBP's back into Apple again, this time for the left ear pod. They replaced my right one last month which for some reason stopped working. Now my left one's charge keeps depleting. Every time I go to use them the left ear pod is below 20%.
 

drasl

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2014
58
42
For me the sound quality of the PBP is better than the Airpods Pro but the case of the PBP is too big for daily commutes.

The ANC of the Airpods Pro is pretty good but almost useless if you plan to walk or run with them since they transfer so much of vibrations to the ear that the PBP actually beat them in blocking annoying sounds.

I love having a volume button on the PBP and the tacktile controls beat the squeezing of the APP
 
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BODYBUILDERPAUL

Suspended
Feb 9, 2009
1,773
1,438
Barcelona
Huge fan of the AirPods Pro. I see around 90% of the headphone wearers at my gym with the original AirPods and two guys have Powerbeats Pro.

Me - I don't use them for the gym as I workout and manage to talk to people there and be in the environment.

Got to say, isn't it tragic that humans are becoming so inward that they go to a gym and put on headphones and don't spend a few minutes smiling and talking to people around them! I remember a few years ago when people would have really decent conversations at the gym and form friendships - now the majority seemed closed off with their headphones!
 

Surf Monkey

Suspended
Oct 3, 2010
6,249
5,384
Portland, OR
Since I can’t get AirPods Pro to correctly seat in my ears while I can with the Powerbeats pro, the answer in my case couldn’t be more clear. Powerbeats Pro. AirPods Pro are literally useless if the eartips won’t seal in your ears.
 

Schranke

macrumors 6502a
Apr 3, 2010
974
1,072
Copenhagen, Denmark
Huge fan of the AirPods Pro. I see around 90% of the headphone wearers at my gym with the original AirPods and two guys have Powerbeats Pro.

Me - I don't use them for the gym as I workout and manage to talk to people there and be in the environment.

Got to say, isn't it tragic that humans are becoming so inward that they go to a gym and put on headphones and don't spend a few minutes smiling and talking to people around them! I remember a few years ago when people would have really decent conversations at the gym and form friendships - now the majority seemed closed off with their headphones!
I will say it really depends on the gym and what type of training you are doing. The AirPods Pro is a godsend at my gym (crossfit). Allowing me to kill the heavy bass music which blare out of the speakers often (first to be in our open gym controls the music) and substitute it with my own. Also makes it possible to do long stretches of cardio while listening to a podcast or audiobook. Got the AirPods Pro specific for this reason, and the ANC has made it so that I do not have to set the volume nearly as high to hear anything.

It is still possible to have great conversations and form friendships, but sometimes you just need to get in and get your work done.
Classes is a great way to get to know people in out gym instead.
 

Donnation

Suspended
Nov 2, 2014
1,686
2,083
Me - I don't use them for the gym as I workout and manage to talk to people there and be in the environment.

Got to say, isn't it tragic that humans are becoming so inward that they go to a gym and put on headphones and don't spend a few minutes smiling and talking to people around them! I remember a few years ago when people would have really decent conversations at the gym and form friendships - now the majority seemed closed off with their headphones!

Weird, I'm totally opposite. I'm busy and don't want to spend an extra 30 minutes in the gym because I struck up a conversation with someone and couldn't get on with my workout. The gym to me isn't a place to socialize, there are a million other places you can do that. I just want to get after it and get on with the rest of my day. If someone asks me for help with something I'm more than happy to assist, but other than that I generally don't want to be bothered. Outside of the gym I'd consider myself a very social person, but like most people, I'm busy and only have a limited amount of time in the gym to get my workout in.

I think that's the exact reason people wear headphones because they are using this time at the gym as their own time, and want to focus on what they are doing.
 
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ipponrg

macrumors 68020
Oct 15, 2008
2,309
2,087
Weird, I'm totally opposite. I'm busy and don't want to spend an extra 30 minutes in the gym because I struck up a conversation with someone and couldn't get on with my workout. The gym to me isn't a place to socialize, there are a million other places you can do that. I just want to get after it and get on with the rest of my day. If someone asks me for help with something I'm more than happy to assist, but other than that I generally don't want to be bothered. Outside of the gym I'd consider myself a very social person, but like most people, I'm busy and only have a limited amount of time in the gym to get my workout in.

Although I use different wireless buds, count me in as one of those that does not want to be distracted from my workouts. I have enough social interaction outside of the gym.

Also what annoys me is when people play music over the loud speakers that I don’t want to hear. It ruins my workouts
 

marine0816

macrumors 6502a
Mar 11, 2011
700
632
USA
I had to rock both since the AirPod pros kept falling out during running.. Powerbeats pro are better but the AirPods Pro are sometimes more convenient.

I know having both is not economically possible for many. But if I had to pick one it would be the Powerbeats. The fact that they stay in my ear and I don’t have to worry about losing them, is all the benefit I need..
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,021
2,897
I use Powerbeats Pro for running as they're brilliant - they stay in my ears and refuse to move which is just what I need. For pretty much everything else, I prefer AirPods Pro.

Like @marine0816 says though, there's some advantages to their design and larger case.
 
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