The $199.99 Beats Powerbeats Fit replace the four-year-old Beats Fit Pro in the company's lineup of fitness-focused earphones. Updates include clearer audio, improved noise cancellation, and a new design that keeps them securely in place whether you're cycling, lifting, or running. We also like their sweat-proof build, bass-forward sound profile, and tight integration with the iPhone. They're definitely worth considering, particularly if you want to choose from multiple colors and require a secure fit. However, for $50 more, the Apple AirPods Pro 3 offer longer battery life, better sound and noise cancellation, and a heart rate monitor for tracking workouts, making them our Editors' Choice winners for wireless earphones.

Design: Sweaty Gym Sessions Are No Problem

The Powerbeats Fit resemble the Beats Fit Pro, but have smaller buds that use a fit wing rather than an ear hook to secure to your ears. Beats has redesigned the wings, and they are intended to provide a better, more secure fit for most people. The buds are available in five colors: Gravel Gray, Hyper Purple, Jet Black, Power Pink, or Spark Orange. I tested the orange variant; I love the vibrant color, but those who prefer something more understated have options.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The Powerbeats Fit don't have stems. Whether that's good news or bad depends on your preferences; I prefer earbuds with stems. I find they often fit better, plus the stems can serve as a place to put controls so you're not shoving the buds into your ear each time you press a button. Nonetheless, I found the Powerbeats Fit quite comfortable. Earbuds with fit wings sometimes feel overly large and put pressure on the outer ear, but that isn’t the case here. Additionally, the wings help keep the earbuds securely in place, even during intense activities like running.

Each bud has a physical control button. Press once to play or pause audio, twice to skip forward, and three times to skip back. Holding down for two seconds will switch between active noise cancellation (ANC) and transparency modes. The press-and-hold control is the only one that can be customized. You can set it to include an “off” mode (along with cycling through ANC and transparency) as well as to activate Siri. Alternatively, you can opt for this gesture to control the volume, a setting that requires both earbuds, where the left bud decreases the volume and the right bud increases it. As long as you don't choose the volume control, you can set the left and right bud controls individually.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The Powerbeats Fit earbuds connect to your listening device through Bluetooth 5.3, with Apple's proprietary connectivity tech on top of that. They support the AAC and SBC codecs, but no high-resolution ones. The AirPods Pro 3 also skip high-fidelity codecs. Beats doesn't disclose the frequency range of the Powerbeats Fit buds, but says they're powered by 9.5mm drivers.

Thanks to the embedded Apple H1 chip, the Powerbeats support a range of Apple-specific features, including automatic switching between Apple devices (signed into the same iCloud account) and support for Siri voice actions. Additionally, they are compatible with Apple's Find My network. However, they don't support live translate as the AirPods Pro 3 do, nor can they monitor your heart rate, which seems like a missed opportunity considering their intended use during fitness activities.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

Both the earbuds and charging case have an IPX4 rating. Although it's a low rating, I'm glad the charging case is protected as well. The buds and case can handle sweat and rain, but not submersion, so leave them in the locker room if you're going swimming. By comparison, the AirPods Pro 3 have a stronger IP57 rating, which protects the buds from a quick dunk in water; the AirPods case, however, is not protected at all.

Beats updated the charging case compared with that of the Beats Fit Pro. It is now smaller, making it easier to slip into a pocket. The package includes three pairs of eartips in addition to those installed on the earbuds, but does not include a charger or cable.

Battery Life: About Average, But No Wireless Charging

Beats says you can expect six hours of continuous listening with ANC on, or a total of 24 hours including the charging case. With ANC and transparency off and the volume set to 50%, Beats says battery life extends to seven hours and a total of 30 hours with the case. When it's time to charge, you can plug into the USB-C port located on the back of the case. Five minutes of charging provides one hour of playback time.

The case does not support wireless charging, which is a big miss for $200 earbuds. Considering the $179 AirPods 4 With Active Noise Cancellation support wireless charging, I see no reason why the Powerbeats Fit don't.

In addition to including wireless charging, the AirPods Pro 3 provide eight hours of playback with ANC on, up to 10 hours in transparency mode, and the case can deliver two additional charges, for a total of 24 hours.

App Experience: Seamless iPhone Integration

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If you use an iPhone, you don't need a standalone app for the Beats Powerbeats Fit. Instead, as you would with AirPods, you adjust the earbuds directly from your iPhone's Settings menu or Control Center. You can toggle between different noise modes, customize certain controls, run an ear tip fit test, and access personalized spatial audio. And, just like with the AirPods Pro 3, there's no manual EQ. Instead, you get EQ presets and an adaptive EQ that can automatically adjust the audio tuning according to your ear shape. However, it's designed primarily to maintain a consistent sound across different users, rather than allowing you to manually adjust the audio to your personal preferences.

(Credit: Beats/PCMag)

Beats headphones are compatible with Android devices as well. That means you can download and use the Beats mobile app if you like, which lets you customize and tweak the buds. The Beats app provides access to similar control as those built into iOS, but it’s a little more colorful, matching the background to the color of your earbuds, which I find quite appealing.

Noise Cancellation: Good for the Price

The Powerbeats' noise cancellation is good for this price class, but not as effective as the best wireless earbuds on the market. It is able to reduce most of the low-end rumble from a plane, although it does allow some mid- and high-frequency sounds to come through. Some of this can be mitigated by turning up the volume. On a bus, the Beats' ANC wipes out much of the engine's grinding but again leaves higher-frequency noises, such as the doors opening and closing, to poke through inconsistently. In a busy cafe, it dials down a lot of background chatter, but closer conversations still tend to pass through fairly easily.

Overall, the noise cancellation is better than that of the older Fit Pro and matches what other $200 earphones can achieve. It falls short of the AirPods Pro 3, which provide class-leading noise cancellation. Additionally, without the AirPods' newer H2 chip, the Powerbeats Fit don’t have an adaptive ANC mode.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The transparency mode is usable, but also not as impressive as the AirPods Pro 3. It's relatively natural, but there is some background hiss, and it can't reproduce some of the higher frequencies that help make audio sound more natural.

Sound: Emphasis on Bass

The Powerbeats Fit aren't designed to be neutral-sounding earbuds. Instead, they're for those who want a pair of workout buds that can help motivate them while they exercise. It's unsurprising, then, that they emphasize bass and pull back on the mids somewhat. Despite the focus on bass, I wouldn't label it as excessive.

On a track like The Knife's "Silent Shout," which relies on sub-bass content to complement elements like the bass synth and kick drum, the heavy bass provides a nice, rounded kick drum that helps drive the track without overshadowing the lead synth or percussion. Instruments like the synth are pulled back somewhat, but are still present enough to be noticeable, while the percussion, such as the shaker, has enough crisp detail to add dynamics to the track.

Kendrick Lamar's “Loyalty” also relies heavily on sub-bass, and on this track, the bass boost feels a little too much at times. The buds do a great job of ensuring that the bass line is heavy and consistent, and they even reproduce the lowest low note, which very few buds can do. Further, the percussion sounds pleasantly crisp, although I think Lamar and Rihanna's vocals sound a little thin and are somewhat overshadowed by the bass.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

"Drover" by Bill Callahan sounds clean, through and through. This track doesn't have naturally elevated bass, so the buds' bass response creates a driving, round kick drum, while giving Callahan's signature baritone vocal plenty of body and richness—without overdoing it. The acoustic guitar is somewhat thin compared with what you'd find from neutral headphones, but it doesn't detract significantly from the listening experience and still sounds crisp and percussive. Additionally, the cymbals are detailed and present, which helps round things out.

I quite like how orchestral music, such as the opening scene to John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sounds through the earbuds. It isn't exactly neutral, but it gives the strings some extra body, which is a pleasant effect. The vocal soloist cuts through the mix well, too, and while the soundstage isn't huge, it is broad enough to give each section some breathing room.

The spatial audio here is quite impressive. It's subtle without being over the top, and on content that supports it, it uses the actual Dolby Atmos mix instead of just spatializing stereo content. Even spatialized stereo content sounds pretty good. While I generally keep it off when listening to music, I like to use it when watching movies and TV shows, especially when everyone else in the house is sleeping.

The microphones sound fine when used for tasks such as voice calls. When recording through the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, my voice has some body but not much high-end crispness, and some background hiss is present. It's perfectly fine for voice calls, and I can hear the words I speak clearly.