With the new Beats Fit Pro, Apple is competing with its own AirPods Pro. Features like ANC, spatial audio, and cross-device usage are all on board.
With the Beats Fit Pro, there are now other earplugs specially adapted for the Apple ecosystem – and the model, which is aimed at sporty wearers, also gets along with Android smartphones. Time for a closer look.
Battery lasts longer than promised
There are three listening modes: Active Noise Cancellation (“ANC”), “Off” and “Transparency” (with noise transmission). According to Beats, the batteries in the earplugs last six hours with ANC, the battery in the charging case should give three more charges. In practice, the Fit Pro last even longer. And when the battery level is low, five minutes of charging is enough for almost an hour of listening – the information is largely realistic.
The charging option with USB-C is a compromise. Android users now practically all have this connection, iPhone users would have to have an extra cable with them. Wireless charging is not possible.
To connect, you open the box and the setup is offered on the iPhone display. It’s done with a tap of your finger. Android users must go to Bluetooth settings and select Beats Fit Pro.
As with other Apple headphones, the operating options on the iPhone are integrated into the system. On Android smartphones, the Studio Buds work best with the appropriate Beats app (Android 7 or higher).
Once the radio connection is established, it lasts. Easily 30 meters outdoors, in the apartment it is sometimes silent after almost 15 meters and three walls (old building).
Also Read: 7 Best Alternatives to AirPods and AirPods Pro
The plugs are also stuck during sports
Externally, the case of the Beats Fit Pro is reminiscent of a wedding ring box. Instead of just AirPods white, there are also the colors black, gray or purple. Inside are the earplugs with their distinctive “wingtips”. These are flexible rubber fins, they should hold the Fit Pro firmly in the ear.
Apart from the wingtips, they hardly differ optically from the cheaper Studio Pro (149 euros). But inside is, among other things, Apple’s H1 chip (for coupling, transmission and signal processing), as well as a sensor for wearer identification.
fit and comfort
The Beats Fit Pro can be adjusted to different ear sizes with silicone attachments and seal the ear canal. The silicone adapters are comparatively large.
The wearing comfort is generally good, the plugs sit firmly in the ear. This is also very practical when you consider that Beats is also specifically targeting athletes with the Fit Pro. You don’t want a plug to fall out of your ear while jogging.
However, there is a slightly noticeable stuffy ears effect and when worn for a long time, the wing tips press a little in the ear cup. There is loud wind noise when riding a bicycle.
service
No tapping, no swiping, no squeezing: Beats is about pushing buttons. This is much more pleasant than the touch operation of other earplugs. Left, for example, for Siri or Google Assistant, the right for Start/Stop/Next/Previous. Alternatively, you can turn the volume down or up. Unfortunately, you have to choose: either audio control or volume control.
Like Apple’s Airpods, the Fit Pro can switch seamlessly between different (Apple) devices, and they also listen for “Hey Siri” without having to press a button. If you really want to make a phone call while jogging: here you go.
Effective noise cancellation
Dominant bass, otherwise balanced, full and without noticeable weaknesses – just like the Beats Studio Buds. As with the cheaper model, it sounds a little bit better and clearer in a direct comparison with the paired iPhone than with the Android smartphone. In a direct comparison, however, the technically similar Airpods Pro sound a bit livelier.
The Beats Fit Pro dominate Apple’s 3D sound Spatial Audio thanks to the H1 chip. With this function, for example, the sound of films on the Apple TV can be displayed in relation to the head position of the listener. It works easily and reliably.
The active noise-cancellation (ANC) is quite a bummer. Once activated, you hardly notice anything of the environment. Doorbell, bicycle bell – if you want to hear that, you’d better choose the transparency mode. However, this transparency mode is far less sophisticated than the Airpods Pro.
Drawbacks for Android users
As mentioned, Siri is on board for Apple users – directly via voice command and without pressing a button. Android users need to hold down the left button and use it to activate their voice assistant.
There are a total of six microphones for use as a telephone headset, which also filter out background noise. In the everyday test, you can understand the person you are talking to on the phone very well and you can also be understood well yourself. If you lose the Beats Fit Pro, you can use Apple’s Find My app to track it down.
As an Android user, you unfortunately have to do without a few functions. Namely: Bluetooth multipoint, seamless switching between multiple devices in use, voice assistant without pressing a button, tracking function and 3D audio.
Alternative to the AirPods Pro
It should have all the functions of the Airpods, but please with a different form factor? That’s exactly what the Beats Fit Pro are. No chopstick, no white plastic. Otherwise, they largely have the same capabilities as Apple’s white earbuds and a little more battery life. In terms of sound, however, they must – quite subjectively – just take second place.
However, the form factor actually makes it interesting for use in sports. Nothing wobbles, nothing falls out of your ears. A practical side effect: Putting the mask on and taking it off is also no problem.
Beats wants to have almost 230 euros for the Fit Pro. For Apple users, it ultimately remains a matter of taste. Chopsticks or Wingtips? Android users have more choices. For example Libratone’s Air+ (from 200 euros), Jabra’s Elite 7 Active (around 180 euros), Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 (almost 150 euros) or the in-house Beats Studio Pro without wingtips (almost 150 euros).