As expected, the guys at iFixit took a look at the circuit boards of the new Powerbeats Pro.
The new Powerbeats Pro are the successors to the Powerbeats 3 generation. The biggest difference to their predecessors: they are no longer wired. Like the AirPods, they are stored in a charging case. According to the description, the Powerbeats Pro should have a running time of a full nine hours. According to Apple, the Powerbeats Pro deliver "powerful, balanced sound with dynamic range and noise isolation for a first-class listening experience". The Powerbeats Pro are sweat and water resistant and contain the Powerbeats ear hooks in four sizes. There are physical controls on each earpiece - these buttons are used to adjust the volume and answer phone calls. They also have acceleration sensors like the AirPods - so the Powerbeats Pro can detect whether the user has the earpiece in their ear or not - the music is played or paused accordingly.
Hey Siri also there
The Powerbeats Pro come in their own charging case, similar to the AirPods. The case provides a total of 24 hours of battery life. There's also a quick-charge function, which should provide up to 1.5 hours of battery life in five minutes. At the heart of the new Beats is the same H1 chip found in the AirPods 2—the "Hey Siri" function is, of course, also included. The repair experts at iFixit published a teardown video of the Powerbeats Pro on Thursday, highlighting the components and construction of the headset—which share some similarities with Apple's latest AirPods model.
Many components tightly packed
Opening the Beats was easy with a knife. The first thing you notice is that Apple has packed a lot of components into the small case. The logic board is divided into three sections, all connected by a flex cable. A coin cell battery and the audio driver are also attached. The components for the volume control and the multifunction "b" button, as well as infrared sensors, are also visible on the motherboard.
Lots of glue for protection?
The driver unit is accessible from the inside of the headset, so disassembly must be undertaken in several steps. Although it has not been confirmed, iFixit said the driver appears to be similar to the component in the AirPods. The batteries in each headset are almost twice the size of the AirPods at 200 mWh. In contrast, the Powerbeats Pro's charging case is smaller at 1.3Wh than the AirPods' - this one ships with 1.5Wh. As with previous Apple headsets, there is plenty of glue used in the Powerbeats Pro, but iFixit believes the glue in this case could help achieve the IPX4 rating advertised by Apple.
The Powerbeats Pro can be purchased in black from Apple directly, from authorized Apple dealers and Amazon for 249.95 euros. (Image: Apple)
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