New to Powerbeats Pro? Here’s everything you need to know to master the totally wireless Beats
by Zac HallNew to Powerbeats Pro or planning to buy the new totally wireless Beats? The newest Beats earphones are all-new, delivering Apple AirPods features and improvements to original Beats Powerbeats design. Read on to learn how to master the brand new Powerbeats Pro totally wireless earphones.
How to charge Powerbeats Pro
Charge Case
Hopefully your Powerbeats Pro earphones arrive charged, but you’ll eventually need to recharge. The charging case charges with the bundled Lightning cable and the charging port on the back of the case, but you’ll need to supply your own charging brick or charge from a USB port on a computer.
This is the same charging cable that comes with iPhones so the same charger is compatible. Unlike newer iPhones and AirPods, there’s no wireless charging option for the charge case.
Earphones
Each earphone charges with the magnetic connector inside the charging case (as long as the charging case is charged). The left earphone charges on the left side and the right earphone charges on the right side with the ‘b’ logo facing outward on either side. Each earphone should snap into place magnetically. Unlike Powerbeats Wireless, there’s no charging port on the actual earbuds; you’ll need the charging case to power up.
You can check charge status on the iPhone or iPad by opening the case lid and placing the charging case within a couple of centimeters. The charging case also has an LED status light that will turn white for a few seconds when charging starts. The charging case light will turn red when the case battery drops to 40% which means it can’t fully charge both earphones until it’s recharged.
Battery Life + Charge Time
Powerbeats Pro are rated for up to 9 hours of playback or up to 6 hours of talk time in between charges with up to 24 hours of playback using the charge case on a single charge.
Beats says its Fast Fuel feature gives each earphone up to 1.5 hours of playback after five minutes of charging or up to 4.5 hours of playback after fifteen minutes of charging. Each earphone can fully charge in about 90 minutes, and the charge case with earphones inside should take about 2.5 hours to charge.
How to pair Powerbeats Pro
iOS
Beats Powerbeats Pro pair with iPhones and iPads just as easily as AirPods and other Beats headphones with Apple’s W1 and H1 chips. Keep both earphones in the charge case with the lid open, then place it near your iPhone or iPad running the latest version of iOS. Tap the connect option on your screen, then you’re all set.
iCloud
Another benefit of how Apple’s W1 and H1 chips work is automatic pairing on other iCloud devices. Pair Powerbeats Pro to your iPhone and they automatically pair to your iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch with the same iCloud account. This works in the other direction when unpairing too.
Android + Other
If your Powerbeats Pro are already paired to a device or you want to pair to any other device, press and hold the system button inside the case for a few seconds until the status light flashes white while both earphones are inside with the lid open. Now you can manually pair Powerbeats Pro to other devices from your device’s Bluetooth menu.
Android users can also download the Beats app to manage firmware updates and more. Beats for Android is available here.
Unpair
Unpairing Powerbeats Pro can be done from your device’s Bluetooth menu. If you unpair for one iCloud device, Powerbeats Pro will be forgotten from each iCloud device with the same account.
How to control Powerbeats Pro
Now you’re ready to really master your new wireless Powerbeats Pro. Each earbud has a dedicated action button (the ‘Beats logo b’ button, or MFB button), a volume rocker, magnetic charging connectors, a mic, adjustable earhook, and changeable ear tips. No need to assign some tasks to one side and other tasks to the other side.
Change tips
Beats includes four changeable ear tips with Powerbeats Pro. We’ll call these small, medium, large, and extra large. The medium tip is on by default, but you can remove it and replace it with a larger or smaller tip to improve your fit.
Each tip pulls off and slides back on to the speaker stem. The earhook is flexible so it easily bends up or down and sits in position around your ear without applying pressure.
Activate Siri + Other Voice Assistants
Powerbeats Pro work with voice-activated Siri just like second generation AirPods when paired with an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. If “Hey Siri” is toggled on, you can invoke the voice assistant by simply saying “Hey Siri” while wearing Powerbeats Pro.
You can also activate Siri (or voice assistants on other platforms) by holding either ‘b’ action button for a few seconds. Buttons on Powerbeats Pro are mirrored in placement and functionality; you can’t assign different actions to different sides, but you can access the same action from either earphone.
Play/Pause
Want to start or stop audio playback? Click the ‘b’ button to toggle play and pause. Powerbeats Pro will also auto-pause audio when you take out either earphone, and auto-resume when you put either earphone back on — just like AirPods. Audio plays in stereo when using both earbuds or mono when using either earbud individually.
Skip Forward/Back
Powerbeats Pro have the same wireless benefits as AirPods, but the physical buttons retain the classic audio controls as wired EarPods. For example, you can double click the ‘b’ button on either earphone to skip ahead to the next track when playing audio, or triple click either ‘b’ button to play the previous track.
Seek Forward/Back
You can also fast-forward or rewind the current track with Powerbeats Pro controls. Double click and hold either ‘b’ button to seek ahead, or triple click and hold either ‘b’ to seek backwards in the current track. (AirPods can map play/pause, skip forward, and skip back to double tap gestures on individual earbuds, but seek forward and seek back require voice commands and aren’t possible with physical control.)
Answer/End Call
Want to answer or hang up a phone call while wearing Powerbeats Pro? Click the ‘b’ button on either earphone once to answer an incoming call or end an active call. From the Bluetooth menu on your device, you can opt to use either the left or right mic by default, or automatically use either mic by default. Phone calls also support using both earbuds or individual earbuds
Change Volume
You can increase or decrease the current volume from either Powerbeats Pro earphone. Each earbud has a single volume rocker along the topside which feels like a single button, but it’s actually a two-sided button for increasing and decreasing the volume. Click forward on either earbud to increase the volume, or click backward on either earbud to decrease the volume. (Changing volume with AirPods requires voice control.)
Power On/Power Off
Like AirPods, Powerbeats Pro earphones have no power buttons. Powerbeats Pro turn on when you remove them from the charge case, and Powerbeats Pro turn off when they return to the case. Powerbeats Pro will preserve battery using sleep mode, however, when their sensors determine that they’re idle.
Beats Powerbeats Pro retail for $249.95 from Apple.com, Best Buy, and Amazon.
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