Apple announces first pair of wire-free Beats

Hot off the heels of its AirPod refresh, Apple has announced its first pair of wire-free Beats headphones: the Powerbeats Pro. Much like AirPods, the Powerbeats Pro setup is made up of two independent buds and charging case to keep them juiced up. They even have the same H1 chip introduced with the second generation AirPods a fortnight ago.

This chip allows the Beats to seamlessly pair and sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, and allows hands-free access to Siri. While these features are clearly designed for those deep in the Apple ecosystem, Powerbeats Pro will still work with Android smartphones (and other non-Apple devices) - you'll just miss out on a few features. You will also have to keep a Lightning cable around to recharge the buds (there's no wireless charging on the case).

Apple claims Powerbeats Pro will last up to nine hours per charge, which is a nice improvement on the five or so hours you get from a pair of AirPods. When combined with the charging case, you should get over 24 hours of playback. The Powerbeats Pro should also have a more secure fit and offer improved noise isolation thanks to the in-ear style design.

Powerbeats Pro will be available from May for $349. You'll be able to get them in a choice of Black, Ivory, Moss, or Navy.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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