Beats Fit Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds

The Beats Fit Pro are great wireless, noise-cancelling earbuds that offer some of the best bits of the Airpods Pro, and some great sports and fitness features, for an attractive price.

After Beats were bought by Apple in 2014, many people thought they would just end up merging the company into Apple and taking the best elements for Apple's own products. That hasn't been the case though, and Beats has maintained lines away from Apple. However, there is no doubt there is cross-pollination between the two brands, and this comes through especially clearly with the Beats Fit Pro.

These perform in a very similar way to the Airpods Pro, not just in terms of functionality with Apple products, but in how they sound. Given that the Airpods Pro have become my go-to cycling earbuds, I see this as no bad thing.

Sound quality and transparency

Although these don't compare to some of the high-end earbuds, they sound great and are more than adequate for everyday use. I mainly rode listening to spoken word and even when going full pelt, with London traffic around me and transparency mode on, I never struggled to hear.

That transparency mode is (thankfully) similar to the Airpods Pro's, and works well. As you would expect there is a degree of wind noise as wind rushes past the external microphones, but it isn't overwhelming and I never found I couldn't hear what I was listening to.

When I did use these for music they sound strikingly similar to the Airpods Pro, with deep bass, clear uppers and a strong midrange. I didn't ever want something more powerful.

The active noise cancelling also works well, managing to drown out all but the loudest sounds. If you're really into your earbuds you can get better noise cancelling at higher prices, but for 99% of us the Fit Pro's is more than enough.

Connectivity

The Beats Fit pro excel at connectivity – at least with Apple products. They still offer the same sound quality on other devices, but the ease of use is not even close.

One element I really like is the way you can switch easily between Apple devices. I can have these connected to my Macbook, for instance, and they will automatically switch to my iPhone if I answer a call, or to my iPad if I start watching a film. It means that they are, by some distance, more convenient than any other earbuds I have used (aside from the Airpods Pro, inevitably).

Connecting these to an Apple device is just a case of having the earbuds in the case, then opening the case near a phone, which then prompts you to connect. This then automatically pairs them with all of my other Apple devices. It is a seamless process, though only if you have lots of Apple products... still, with other brands all you need do is put the case into pairing mode and find them through your device's Bluetooth menu.

I had no dropped connections throughout the review period, which given several hours of use per day is particularly impressive. It is not uncommon for earbuds to drop a connection.

Case for the prosecution

The case itself is the only part I wasn't really impressed with. It seems big compared to others I have used, and the material feels a little scratchy and not as high quality. It also lacks wireless charging – not the end of the world, but it would be a nice to have.

The case has a useful LED to indicate battery level, although if you leave the case open near your phone it (the phone) will display both case and earbud levels.

Controls

Operating the earbuds on the go is pretty simple. A single press on either ear stops or starts whatever you're listening to, double press skips forward, a triple press skips back, and long pressing on the left earbud switches between transparency and noise cancelling modes.

This works well, although I sometimes found myself accidentally skipping tracks or modes while adjusting them in my ears, which was a little annoying.

The Beats Fit Pros beat the Airpods Pro for security – especially during activity – thanks to silicone wing tips, which help anchor these into the ear very well. I used them for a lot of general riding, some intensive runs and workouts and even for awkward drilling during DIY, and nothing dislodged them. In fact, the only time I needed to adjust them was after catching them with a helmet strap or by putting on a hat.

The IPX4 water resistance is effective; I used these for some very sweaty activities and some wet February rides, without any incident.

Battery life

Beats claim a life of six hours per charge for the buds and 18 hours for the case. This is pretty good, and tops the Airpods Pro buds by 1.5 hours. It isn't quite up to the the Beoplay EQs though, as they offer 7.5 hours and 20 hours in the case.

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Charging them in the case is a cinch by just nestling them easily in place, and the case is charged via USB. It can go from empty to 100% in a couple of hours, and there's a five-minute quick charge which gives you one hour of listening time. This has been a lifesaver on long days, where I can just stick them in the case and know I'll get another hour out of them very quickly.

Value

At £199.99 these are a good price, especially as they offer much the same functionality, a better fit, better battery life and very similar performance the Apple Airpods Pro at £239.

You could also look at the Jabra Elite 75t which can still be found for £149.99 and offer similar battery life, though they don't have anything close to the same connectivity and features and appear to have been superseded.

Overall

I think these are a great pair of earbuds that offer amazing connectivity (if you're using Apple devices), impressive battery life, and a secure fit with minimal wind noise. Okay, if you're outside the Apple ecosystem you won't get the most from them and the case could be a higher quality, but really these are small downsides against a great set of earbuds.

Verdict

Great earbuds that sound good, fit securely and have a long battery life