We Tested Apple AirPods Pro and Beats Fit Pro to Find the Best Travel Earbuds
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The competition was fierce between the two pairs of traveler-loved earbuds, but a clear winner came out on top.
Travel + Leisure / Anna Popp
Although Beats is owned by Apple, the industry leader has done a stellar job of keeping the brands separate from one another, especially when it comes to the designs of their wireless headphones. To conduct an in-depth comparison of both Apple and Beats’ newest earbuds boasting active noise cancellation (ANC), we got our hands on the Apple AirPods Pro (second gen) and the Beats Fit Pro and spent several months using each pair of earbuds for activities like long-haul flights, intense gym workouts, and commuting to the office via train.
Both earbuds have knockout features that blew us away, but there were certainly some cons that we couldn’t ignore either. Besides the obvious physical design differences, the Beats have the H1 chip and the AirPods Pro have the newer H2 chip, so we paid close attention to factors like comfort, design, sound quality, noise cancellation, and battery life to find out which pair is truly best. Keep reading to see our comparisons and final verdict after months of rigorous testing.
Apple Airpods Pro (2nd Generation)
Beats Fit Pro Noise Canceling Earbuds
Set up and Pairing
One of the perks of being owned by Apple is that Beats inherited the same instantaneous pairing process as the AirPods. Both the Beats Fit Pro and AirPods Pro paired to my iPhone as soon as I pressed the pairing button located on the inside of the Beats case and the outside of the AirPods case. When I go into the settings on my phone, the “Anna’s AirPods Pro” and “Beats Fit Pro” buttons pop up toward the top to control the earbud settings. Both sets of earbuds come with a case, a charger, and several rubber ear tip sizes, but the AirPods have the edge with four size options compared to the Beats’ three. The Beats case is more of a square shape, and it’s slightly larger than the rectangular AirPods Pro case. Still, both are super compact and easy to toss in a purse or pocket.
The biggest issue I had with setting up the Beats Fit Pro is that getting the earbuds back into the case isn’t as intuitive as it is with the AirPods. It took me over a minute to figure out which way the earbuds fit into the magnetic earbud cradle, and although I thought it would get easier, I still get confused as to which way they go in, especially when I’m in a hurry to get them back into the case to go through TSA security or deplane.
Fit and Comfort
After switching out the rubber ear tips to get the right fit, I used the ear tip fit test in the settings app to ensure they were the right size to get the best sound quality and noise cancellation — both Beats and Apple offer this feature. The biggest difference in physical design between the earbuds is that the AirPods have stems facing downward from the ear and the Beats Fit Pro have rubber wings that rest in the helix. I used both sets of earbuds for the same high-intensity workout at the gym, and the Beats Fit Pro felt more secure for rigorous activity compared to the AirPods Pro. The flexible rubber wings can be tucked into other parts of the ear for a tighter fit, which is a helpful feature considering everyone has different ear shapes and sizes.
However, when it comes to comfort, the AirPods are my go-to for flights since I like to wear noise-canceling headphones to block out the airplane engine hum. After wearing the Beats Fit Pro for a five-hour flight, my ears were slightly sore around the canal. I’ve never experienced any discomfort with the AirPods Pro, even after using them for a long-haul flight, so the Apple earbuds edge slightly ahead of the Beats Fit Pro for comfort in my book.
Travel + Leisure / Anna Popp
Related:The 10 Best Noise-canceling Headphones of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
Design and Controls
Since the Beats Fit Pro have fewer features than the AirPods Pro, they were more intuitive to operate. I didn’t need instructions to use the buttons on the side of each earbud to switch from ANC to transparency, skip a song, pause a song, or end a phone call. Although the main part of the Beats earbuds are quite a bit bigger than the AirPods Pro, I love how easy it is to press the side buttons, so the larger feel of the earbuds in my ear is worth it. Both earbuds have the option to set up Personalized Space Audio through a facial recognition test that scans your ears to customize your listening experience, or you can manually switch from spatial audio to stereo audio depending on the type of surround sound you want.
While there’s a bit of a learning curve for navigating the features on the AirPods Pro, it’s a fair trade for the customizable and convenient controls. Similarly to the Beats Fit Pro, the settings app makes it easy to see and adjust the controls of the earbuds like the Personalized Spacial Audio and ear tip test features. It’s simple to manually adjust the ANC and transparency controls in settings, or you can set the buttons on the stem to adjust the noise cancellation to ANC, transparency, or off when you hold down the stem button. I’m a big fan of the ability to adjust the sound level by swiping a finger up and down either stem, which is a feature the Beats don’t have. Additionally, the AirPods Pro have an adaptive transparency setting that automatically turns the ANC on and off depending on your surroundings.
Travel + Leisure / Anna Popp
Active Noise Cancellation and Sound Quality
I use earbuds to listen to music, podcasts, movies, and take phone calls while I’m running errands, commuting, and working out. The sound quality for music and podcasts with the AirPods Pro is crisp, balanced, and noticeably better than the Beats Fit Pro. The Beats Fit Pro have the same spatial audio settings as the AirPods Pro, but the sound quality is a bit duller and feels more concentrated, whereas with the AirPods it feels like you’re right in the middle of a concert or on a movie set. However, for phone calls, the Beats Fit Pro do a much better job of blocking outside noises from reaching the other end of the line. Half of the phone calls I take on my AirPods Pro end with the person on the other end of the line saying, “I can’t hear you very well,” which can be super frustrating. I’ve never had any complaints when I use the Beats for phone calls.
When it comes to ANC, both sets of earbuds were impressive for drowning out loud noises like babies crying, the subway screeching, and the airplane engine humming. I listen to music halfway between the softest and loudest levels, and I can’t hear myself singing along to songs with the AirPods Pro in (which is probably a good thing, honestly). The Beats Fit Pro will block out most loud noises, but I do find that I have to turn up the music a few more notches to get better sound quality and ANC. The AirPods Pro still have a slight edge over the Beats Fit Pro because of the slightly better ANC and the adaptive transparency setting to block out loud noises but keep ambient noises in the background.
Related:The 22 Best Travel Tech Essentials of 2023
Battery Life and Charging
The battery life for both sets of earbuds is similar, with about six hours of life with ANC turned on, although the AirPods Pro have a five-and-a-half-hour life with ANC and spacial audio turned on. With the charging cases, both earbuds have an additional 24 hours of battery life for a total of about 30 hours. I usually charge the earbuds every 10 days to two weeks, and I’ve noticed the Beats Fit Pro battery usually runs out a bit faster, but both quickly and conveniently only take an hour or two to be fully charged.
The AirPods Pro have MagSafe charging abilities along with a port for a lightning cable and the Beats Fit Pro can only be charged with a USB-C cord. I prefer the magnetic charging since it’s super convenient to toss the earbuds on the charger, but I also don’t mind having to plug in the Beats either. If I’m rushing out the door, I love that both sets of earbuds can get an additional hour of playtime with a quick 5-minute charge. With impressive battery life and speedy charging, I think it’s a draw since both earbuds are nearly identical in this category.
Travel + Leisure / Anna Popp
The Conclusion
This was a competitive test between the two sets of earbuds from trusted tech brands (well, technically one brand) with the same price tag. The Beats Fit Pro wins for stability in the ear and for taking phone calls, making them an excellent option for working out at the gym or listening to calls in the office. However, the AirPods Pro (gen 2) boasts impressive sound quality and comfort for hours on end. After several months of testing both earbuds, it’s clear that the AirPods Pro are the most versatile pair of earbuds and are better designed for traveling. We still think you can’t go wrong with the sporty Beats Fit Pro — but the ultra-comfortable fit, superior sound quality, and plethora of customizable settings make the latest generation of the AirPods Pro a must-have for any trip.
Why Trust Travel + Leisure
Anna Popp is a Commerce Writer at Travel + Leisure, where she participates in almost every test and writes most of the team’s tested articles. Anna tried the AirPods Pro and the Beats Fit Pro for several months by using them on a variety of cross-country and long-haul flights to compare the earbuds. She also used them at the gym, in the office, and for running errands to make in-depth comparisons for recommending the winning pair of earbuds.
Related:The 12 Best Wireless Headphones of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
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