Apple at some point in the past week or so discontinued the Powerbeats Pro, around five and a half years after the wireless earbuds launched.
Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks for a secure fit. Key features of the original Powerbeats Pro include the H1 chip that debuted in the AirPods 2, IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance, up to nine hours of battery life, and silicone ear tips with four size options.
In a short teaser video last month, Apple revealed that it will be launching new Powerbeats Pro 2 next year. The earbuds look similar to the original Powerbeats Pro, but they have a more vertical, slimmer design. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris later discovered iOS 18 code revealing that the Powerbeats Pro 2 will feature heart rate monitoring during workouts, and gain support for Active Noise Cancellation, Spatial Audio, and Adaptive Audio.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images in iOS 18 code
The leaked iOS 18 code also revealed new orange, purple, black, and beige color options for the Powerbeats Pro 2 and their charging case.
Based on other recent Beats headphones, other potential upgrades for the Powerbeats Pro 2 include improved sound quality, longer battery life, a USB-C charging case, and improved cross-platform compatibility with Android features like Find My Device.
Apple did not reveal a specific release date in 2025 for the Powerbeats Pro 2.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
Can't come soon enough. Here's for hoping at the March/Spring event and not June or October. As have had since day one, and even though wanted USB-C and hated that so often they didn't charge, but for those of us who use them and not the many other modern Apple/Beats options, they are the only ones that don't fall off. So thankful that user base is large enough they didn't drop the line entirely even if it's small enough that they felt comfortable letting it sit for 5 years even with known hardware issues. Hoping a wireless charging case and transparency mode and Siri without Hey Siri, but time will tell.
Too bad Apple is skipping Christmas 2024. I've had my Powerbeats Pro since 2019 and they've been great except for the extra effort it takes to make sure they are seated in the case for charging and the huge (relatively speaking) case size. It's a poor design that made it through the product development cycle. Hope the new ones are available early 2025.
That's the first thing I thought of. Very bad timing on Apple's part. While I'm sure it's won't be noticeable to Apple's bottom line, I'd sure as heck he happy to have that missing profit in my bank account. ?
Bought them when they were new in 2019 or so. Always had problem with charging because the closing lid always made the Powerbeats slide away from the charging contacts. And when using I was always dead. Bad product.
In the same boat. I've learned to be very careful putting them into the charger, then double checking my phone to make sure one of them still isn't connected.
I love these to death though and will jump on the next generation right away. AirPods do not stay in my ears at all when running, but these fit great with the ear hooks. The case is also my last device that requires a Lightning charger, so I can't wait for an upgrade.
Bought them when they were new in 2019 or so. Always had problem with charging because the closing lid always made the Powerbeats slide away from the charging contacts. And when using I was always dead. Bad product.
Same story here. It's really difficult to reliably make contact with the charging contacts, and I frequently open the case and find one of them to be low on battery or completely dead. I otherwise love this product and hope that the next version has improved charging.
Can’t wait for the Powerbeats Pro 2. I resurrected my original pair of Powerbeats Pro earlier this week and have been loving them. A modern update with ANC and that keeps the same battery life will be a no-brainer day 1 purchase for me. Wish the AirPods Pro lasted as long as these.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images in iOS 18 code
