Beats Upgrades Fit Earbuds With Improved Durability, Smaller Case

Beats, the Apple-owned audio brand, unveiled new Powerbeats Fit earbuds on Tuesday, giving consumers another in-house alternative to the popular AirPods line.

The Powerbeats Fit are a lightly upgraded replacement for the Beats Fit Pro earbuds released in 2021, bringing minor durability and comfort improvements. At $200, the Powerbeats Fit sit between the $179 AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation, which have an open-ear design, and the $249 AirPods Pro 3 introduced earlier this month. The Powerbeats Fit can be preordered now in four colors and will be available Thursday.

Beats’ earbuds have traditionally been aimed at athletes and fitness-minded consumers. But with Apple’s own AirPods Pro 3 now offering an exercise focus and improved durability, there’s less of a clear distinction between the two product lines. Still, Beats earbuds have unique designs that could never be mistaken for Apple’s signature white AirPods, and they were designed specifically to stay in place during workouts.

The new earbuds’ overall design is very similar to the older Beats Fit Pro, but the company reworked the non-removeable “wingtip” to improve comfort and durability. Some Beats Fit owners reported problems with the original wingtip, which was prone to failure over time.

The Powerbeats Fit case is also now 17% smaller than before and shares the same IPX4 water and sweat resistance as the individual earbuds, meaning they can handle splashes but not submersion. The buds themselves are the same size as the model they replace. Sound quality and active noise cancellation performance are also more or less the same.

Battery life is similarly unchanged, with the Powerbeats Fit rated to last for a maximum of seven hours on a charge with active noise cancelation turned off, and as long as 30 hours with help from the charging case. The Powerbeats Pro 2 win out in endurance: They can go as long as 10 hours on their own, or 45 hours with the case.

For consumers comparing Beats’ various models, the Fit earbuds offer a more discreet look than the $250 Powerbeats Pro 2, which have a conspicuous over-the-ear hook design and a bulkier charging case.

Still, there are tradeoffs in choosing the sleeker offering. While the latest Powerbeats Pro earphones gained a useful heart-rate tracking feature, the Fit doesn’t include any such functionality. That means consumers who are interested in monitoring that metric will need to also wear smartwatch or other fitness tracker.

The Powerbeats Fit continue to be powered by Apple’s older H1 chip, whereas most of the company’s other wireless audio products have since moved to the more advanced H2. The dated processor still supports a number of features that are exclusive to Apple devices, such as hands-free “Hey Siri” voice commands, audio sharing and automatic switching between Apple products.