Featuring an all-new flexible wingtip, a custom-designed acoustic platform, a 27-hour battery life with charging case, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency, Adaptive EQ, Apple's flagship spatial audio with head tracking plus its top-tier Apple H1 chip, the Beats Fit Pro are certainly worthy of further investigation.
According to the Cupertino giant, the latest Beats Fit Pro true wireless buds are its "most advanced earphones to date" and are pitched as a sort of hybrid "all-day fitness" proposition thanks to that new wingtip design. To that end, they promise three listening modes, auto play/pause, sweat- and water-resistance (IPX4) plus all the extra perks enabled by the inclusion of Apple's H1 chip – the same chip that's built into the company's premium offerings such as the AirPods Pro and is already renowned for enabling a flawless wireless performance and supremely quick pairing.
Under the bonnet, there's an all-new custom transducer to boast robust sound in a tiny form factor, plus an innovative vent system that promises to minimise treble distortion across the flexible diaphragm.
The three listening modes comprise Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) that continuously adapts in real time up to 200 times per second, Transparency mode with a push of the “b” button on either bud when you need to hear the world around you, and Adaptive EQ. Powered by Apple’s computational audio, in this mode, the inward-facing microphone in each earbud apparently 'listens' to the sound you are hearing and automatically tunes the low- and mid-frequencies to the shape of your ear for superior sound quality and a consistent listening experience.
You're also getting Apple's levelled-up spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, boasting an immersive experience for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos. Here, the gyroscopes and accelerometers in both Beats Fit Pro and your iPhone or iPad are used to track the motion of your head as well as your device and compare the motion data. The sound field is then remapped so it stays anchored to the device, even as your head moves.
The Beats Fit Pro battery claim is up to six hours of listening time per earbud with ANC deployed, but the pocket-sized carrying case (which charges via USB-C) promises 21 additional hours of battery life, totalling 27 hours of combined playback. However, when in Adaptive EQ mode, each earbud boasts seven hours of listening time and 30 hours with the case. And when you’re crunched for time, a quick five-minute Fast Fuel charge offers an hour of playback.
Also, Beats Fit Pro’s internal components are made from recycled plastic. The core packaging content comes from a zero-waste facility and the packaging is 88 per cent wood fibre-based – 84 per cent of which is post-consumer recycled material.
Beats Fit Pro actually launched in the US late last year and are available now for $200. They will be available for pre-order in the UK and Australia from 24th January, to begin shipping on 28th January, in four striking colours (Black, White, Sage Grey and Stone Purple) for £200 / AU$299, making them an interesting – and cheaper – alternative to the AirPods Pro on paper...
MORE:
Read our extensive catalogue of Beats reviews
See our pick of the best wireless earbuds 2022: budget and premium
After a set of AirPods? Check here for the best AirPods deals: cheapest UK AirPods prices in January 2022
