Beats Fit Pro vs Beats Powerbeats Pro: What’s the difference?

Like most electronics makers, Apple tends to nudge people towards its latest, greatest, and most expensive products. At the moment however you’re liable to be confused if you’re shopping for Beats earbuds, since the older Powerbeats Pro can potentially be more expensive than the newer Fit Pro, depending on where you’re shopping. So weighing the Fit Pro vs the Powerbeats Pro, what’s the difference, and which one should you actually buy?

The first thing you’ll notice is that everything about the Powerbeats Pro (above) is gigantic. Whereas the Fit Pro’s sizing is fairly standard, the Powerbeats case is so huge that some people have a hard time sliding it into a pocket. The buds themselves, meanwhile, are at least twice as big as most rivals. Some people may even feel overly conspicuous wearing them, but they’re popular enough now that most people shouldn’t bat an eye, especially not in the context they’re intended for.

Speaking of which, that context is fitness. Both the Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro are intended for running and weightlifting, as evidenced by the fins on the Fit Pro, and the earhooks on the Powerbeats. Those hooks give the Powerbeats the most secure grip available anywhere — they absolutely will not fall off, no matter how much you shake your head. There’s a slight risk of this with the Fit Pro (below), but its fins are surprisingly capable of locking the buds in place, especially if you choose the tightest available tip size. It’s a more secure fit than the AirPods Pro.

It’s worth cautioning that both products only have an IPX4 water resistance rating. That should be fine for most people, but if you regularly engage in hour-plus workouts or sweat profusely, you should probably look for something with a higher IP rating, such as Jabra’s Elite 8 Active. Any kind of water resistance will degrade over time, and we’ve had both Fit Pro and Powerbeats Pro units break prematurely, albeit after many months of grueling weightlifting programs.

Both products are solid or even excellent for non-fitness activities. Note that while they support Android, Windows, and other platforms, you’ll only get the most out of them if you pair with an iPhone or iPad. That’s because of Apple’s H1 chip, which enables things like rapid pairing, Find My support, button-free Siri access, and automatic switching between devices signed into the same Apple ID, including Macs and Apple Watches. Neither model supports multipoint Bluetooth, so if you’re not using Apple gear, you’re limited to pairing with one device at a time.

The Fit Pro wins in terms of audio tech. While both it and the Powerbeats Pro sound good — assuming you like Beats’ signature bass-heavy tuning — only the Fit Pro has support for ANC (active noise cancellation) and spatial audio, namely Dolby Atmos. ANC here incorporates a Transparency mode, and if you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, spatial audio includes optional head tracking that makes it sound like sources are locked in place, no matter which way you turn. That’s best with movies and TV shows, so you should probably leave head tracking off otherwise.

ANC can potentially make a huge difference. While the Powerbeats holds its own in quiet or moderately noisy environments, it’s less than ideal in situations like air travel or (ironically) loud gyms, especially gyms with rap or metal soundtracks and a lot of people dropping heavy barbells and dumbbells. With ANC active, the Fit Pro can make music, podcasts, and other media far clearer, even if you’ll still hear traces of ambient noise.

In terms of battery life, the products are closer than they initially seem. While the Powerbeats Pro buds should last longer, up to 9 hours, that’s mostly because they don’t have ANC. On the Fit Pro, if you switch off ANC and spatial audio, its buds can reach at least 7 hours and possibly more. You should get around 6 hours with ANC active.

The Fit Pro inches ahead in a couple of respects. Its case supplies an extra 18 hours (assuming ANC is on), whereas the Powerbeats case taps out at 15, despite its enormous size and missing noise cancellation. The Fit Pro case also relies on USB-C charging versus the Powerbeats’ Lightning. The former is more convenient given the ubiquity of USB-C, and the fact that even iPhones are now transitioning away from Lightning. Several years into the future, it could be harder to track down a Lightning cable if you’ve lost your original or want a backup.

Thankfully, both models support Beats’ 5-minute Fast Fuel technology. That’s enough to get 1 hour of playback from the Fit Pro, and 1.5 hours from the Powerbeats.

As we’ve mentioned, it’s a little mysterious to us why the Powerbeats Pro is typically selling for more than the Fit Pro, even from third-party vendors, which are more likely to offer discounts than Apple. The Powerbeats is a 2019 product, while the Fit Pro is a 2021 model with significant advancements. Rarity doesn’t appear to have anything to do with it, given that Apple is still selling the Powerbeats as new.

Either way, avoid buying from an Apple Store. Elsewhere you can find a refurbished Fit Pro for as little as $100, which is a steal.

The Fit Pro is sold in seven colors — black, white, pink, yellow, blue, purple, or gray — while the Powerbeats Pro is only in black, blue, or ivory (somewhere between white and beige). We’re ignoring discontinued colors and special editions.

For 95% of people, if not 99%, the answer should be the Fit Pro. It’s both cheaper and more technically advanced. Its active noise cancellation can have a dramatic impact, and in most circumstances, we have no idea why someone would spend more on otherwise similar earbuds without it.

There are only two valid reasons to buy the Powerbeats Pro at this point, the first being its earhooks. They’re so effective at keeping the buds in place that you should be able to manage things like upside-down hanging crunches without fear. If that level of grip is mandatory for you — whether because you’re that athletic, or you’re worried about losing expensive earbuds — the Powerbeats is as good as it gets.

The other reason is runtime, since with 9-hour batteries, the Powerbeats can last an entire workday or cross-country flight without a recharge. The Fit Pro can make it most of the way, but you’ll want to use its charging case for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

That said, we still rather get the Fit Pro for work, travel, or most exercises. ANC shuts out so many distractions that it’s hard to imagine abandoning the feature.