Beats President Luke Wood: Powerbeats Pro is 'Culmination of the Full Integration' of Apple and Beats

In a recent interview with TechRadar, Beats president Luke Wood discussed how the company has changed under Apple's leadership, and the upcoming Powerbeats Pro headphones.

The new Powerbeats Pro
According to Wood, the Powerbeats Pro is "the culmination of the full integration of [Beats and Apple] working together from a technological standpoint." The company even took into consideration its reputation for creating bass-heavy products when building the Powerbeats Pro.

Wood said the company has "learned the tools of [its] trade" over the years and improved its products, particularly after being acquired by Apple.

“We thought we were pretty good until we got to Apple, and then we started learning what ‘good’ really was”, he admits between sips of green tea.

What was Apple doing that Beats wasn’t? “Apple had so much incredible discipline and rigor around product quality” Wood says.

When asked if a Beats product would ever add in biometric sensors for heart rate monitoring, Wood said he doesn't think that will happen: "We never want to labor customers with a bunch of useless, borderline avant-garde tech." He pointed out that many users already have smart watches with this ability, and having it in a headphone would be unnecessary.

Apple announced Powerbeats Pro earlier in the month, with a launch planned for May 2019. The $250 headphones are completely wireless and are sweat and water resistant, with earhooks and tips in four sizes that ensure they will stay put during workouts. Apple said the headphones feature up to nine hours of listening time, and they also come with a charging case like the AirPods.

Tags: Beats, Powerbeats Pro Guide

Top Rated Comments

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H3LL5P4WN

22 weeks ago

The company even took into consideration its reputation for creating bass-heavy products when building the Powerbeats Pro.

That's hard to read.

* Does that mean that Apple took it into consideration that Beats have traditionally sounded like a fart under a wet blanket, through a pillow?
* Does that mean that Apple decided, "these are not going to sound like a fart under a wet blanket, through a pillow?"

Rating: 9 Votes

genovelle

22 weeks ago

I’m glad the echo chamber of Apple haters who prefer to spend more time bashing Apple on Apple “Fan” sites than cheering the release of products they are fans of on sites for their fans, have no effect on Apple’s sales or products they make. It used to upset me, now I feel sorry for then. Unless they are being paid, which Samsung has been caught doing around the world.

Rating: 3 Votes

turbineseaplane

22 weeks ago

So these are totally geared towards fully sealed in-ear 'eh?
Hmm..

Does anyone else not like that when running?

I don't know what it is, but I feel like I end up "hearing and feeling" every single contact with the ground when using fully sealed in-ear for running..

Rating: 3 Votes

willentrekin

22 weeks ago

Lightning instead of USB C and no wireless charging is preventing me from buying these.

I don't get this sudden fixation on USB-C. I just bought the Sennheiser True Wireless earphones, and I think the only thing I'd change about them would be switching for a micro-USB port (or Lightning, but they're not Apple, so doubtful). They're literally the only device I own that uses the C, and I have phone, tablet, e-reader, watch, etc.

I will say that if you're looking for USB-C, though, they're perfect. I can't believe how good they sound.

Rating: 2 Votes

Craigriver

22 weeks ago

Integration? So, where is the "Find My Powerbeats Pro" feature?

Rating: 2 Votes

Iconoclysm

22 weeks ago

What a liar ... apple and quality where does this man live ... parallel universe?!

Hmm, do you have any idea what you're talking about?
[doublepost=1555950866][/doublepost]Lightning instead of USB C and no wireless charging is preventing me from buying these.

Rating: 2 Votes

MozMan68

22 weeks ago

Me either.

It's going to be so so so so long before it's even close to as ubiquitous as the other older USB connectors. In the meantime it's mainly frustrating.

As you said though - if you're someone who's "all in" on USB-C and replacing non-C stuff everywhere preemptively, it's great... for me I just don't replace things like cables and chargers unless they're actually in need of replacement. Hugely wasteful IMO to do otherwise.

I don't think you've experienced USB-C to its full potential then.

In my home office, a single USB-C cable connects my laptop to my docking station and:
* Charges my laptop
* Connects all standard USB peripherals from my docking station to my laptop (keyboard, mouse, iPod...yes, I still use one as a hard drive in my car)
* Transfers all video data from laptop to docking station supplying video up to two 4K monitors (I just use one big one though)
* ...and IMHO, it's really the best of both worlds; "non-handed" like the lightning connection while also being small enough to integrate into phones, headphone cases, etc.
* Transfers audio to headphone/speakers connected to docking station
* It's "universal"...companies (like Apple) just need to adopt it instead of lightening cable.

Rating: 2 Votes

anshuvorty

22 weeks ago

Obviously, this interview is part of a marketing campaign to hype up the Powerbeats Pro before it launches. That is all there is to it really.

Rating: 2 Votes

MozMan68

21 weeks ago

You really mean a SINGLE usb-c cable doing all of that? Or multiple usb-c cables, like we all use multiple cables for different things.

Just for jokes: perhaps all cars should adopt the same tires because it would be convenient to switch them around different cars.

A single USB-C cable connected to my laptop transfers all of that data and power...yes. Of course, I still utilize other cables to connect all of the peripherals to my docking station.

The point is, I walk up to my desk, plug the single USB-C cable into my laptop, everything is connected/powered. My desk has never been so clean...hah.

Rating: 1 Votes