Beats Fit Pro 2: Release date, price, and what we want from Beats’ next buds

The Beats Fit Pro are the best earbuds in the Beats stable. They fit well, come in a variety of colors, and have great active noise canceling (ANC). It’s no wonder we’re already champing at the bit for the Beats Fit Pro 2. We’ve gathered everything we know about the Beats Fit Pro 2 and what we want to see from the company’s next wireless earbuds.

Will there be a Beats Fit Pro 2 series?

While there’s no official word on the Beats Fit Pro 2, we expect the company to release the next-gen earbuds. Beats has shown no signs of slowing down with its earbud releases over the years and recently released the Studio Buds Plus. Beats is still clearly invested in the Fit Pro series. It launched new colors for the Fit Pro this year, adding Volt Yellow, Coral Pink, and Tidal Blue to the portfolio.

• Beats Powerbeats Pro: May 10, 2019
• Beats Studio Buds: June 24, 2021
• Beats Fit Pro: November 1, 2021
• Beats Studio Buds Plus: May 17, 2023

When it comes to wireless earbuds, Beats favors summer releases. That said, the company announced the original Fit Pro on November 1, 2021, mere months after the original Studio Buds. Seeing how the company released the Studio Buds Plus this past May, we can expect to see the Fit Pro 2 surface in the fall of 2023.

We also expect to see the Fit Pro 2 this year because there was a two-year gap between the Beats Powerbeats Pro and Fit Pro release dates. It’s been almost two years since the Fit Pro release date. If Beats plans to stay on a predictable cycle, this fall is the time to unveil the Fit Pro 2.

Here’s what we can surmise the Beat Fit Pro 2 will be like, based on current industry trends and what we know about Apple-subsidiary Beats.

Design

Upon their debut, the Beats Fit Pro straddled the line between the Studio Buds and Powerbeats Pro. The earbuds had active noise canceling like the Studio Buds, but a workout-friendly design like the Powerbeats Pro. Beats ditched the Powerbeats Pro’s ear hooks for ear wings. This move facilitated a more pocketable product than the comically large Powerbeats Pro. Suffice it to say, we expect the same thing here.

There’s no reason to believe that Beats will reinvent the design of the Fit Pro 2. The Beats Fit Pro are extraordinarily stable and come with interchangeable ear tips. If anything, the company may add an extra-small size of ear tips as Apple did with the AirPods Pro 2. The Fit Pro 2 will likely have the same clamshell carrying case with a USB-C charging port. We expect the earbuds to come in a few colors. While it would be cool to see a translucent Beats Fit Pro 2 to match the Studio Buds Plus, that’s unlikely.

The Beats Fit Pro are stellar workout earbuds with noise canceling. We expect the Fit Pro 2 to have even better ANC than the Fit Pro. If Beats can swing better noise canceling than the Fit Pro, the Fit Pro 2 will rival the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 — two of the best ANC buds around. Sound quality will likely still have that signature bass-heavy take. However, Beats could reduce the exaggeration to make the sound more palatable for general listening.

Like the Beats Fit Pro, the Fit Pro 2 should house Apple’s H2 chip. If so, you’ll get the same spatial audio with head tracking as the Fit Pro for impressive surround sound playback with compatible content. This chip will also enable things like “Hey Siri,” battery optimization, and automatic switching between iCloud devices.

The first-generation Fit Pro and Studio Buds stood out for their Android-friendly features. Recently, Beats cozied up even more with Android by adding Google Find My Device and Audio Switching on Android to the Studio Buds Plus. We wouldn’t be surprised to see these same features on the Beats Fit Pro 2, but it’s not guaranteed. The big difference here is that the Studio Buds series lacks Apple’s proprietary W1/H1 chips, which could make Android-friendly features easier to implement.

Matching Beats and Apple products before them, the Fit Pro 2 will likely support the SBC and AAC Bluetooth audio codecs. Good news for iPhone owners: AAC supplies reliable, high-quality audio to Apple devices. Historically its streaming quality has been volatile on Android, though. Without aptX, Android users will notice audio-visual lag when watching videos on the Fit Pro 2.

Although there was a $50 price drop from the Beats Powerbeats Pro to the Beats Fit Pro, it would surprise us to see the Fit Pro 2 followed this trend. Unfortunately, Beats raised the price of its Studio Buds series by $20, going from the Studio Buds ($149) to the Studio Buds Plus ($169). That’s a 13% price hike. If Beats follows suit for the Fit Pro 2, we can expect them to cost between $219 to $229.

The Beats Fit Pro are arguably the best Beats earbuds to date, with a great fit and standout noise canceling. As my high school English teacher said, there’s always room for improvement. Below are the top features we want from the Fit Pro 2.

Adaptive transparency mode

The Beats Fit Pro have Apple’s Transparency mode. This is a solid safety feature that lets you simultaneously hear your music and surroundings. It would tickle us pink to see the Fit Pro 2 with Adaptive Transparency.

The difference between Transparency and Adaptive Transparency is that the former simply relays external noise through your earbuds. The latter does the same and reduces the volume of unpredictable, loud sounds. This leads to a more pleasant listening experience. You can still hear street noise, but car horns aren’t blaringly loud.

A dust-resistant build

The Beats Fit Pro are some of my favorite workout earbuds to date. While the IPX4 water-resistant rating of the Fit Pro is good for most athletes, a dust-resistant build would seal the deal for the Fit Pro 2. More and more earbuds come with dust-resistant ratings these days. This reassurance can make a world of difference for us rock climbers. If you practice any sport with chalk or like to run on the beach, a dust-resistant IP rating can save your buds from irreversible damage.

Billed as workout earbuds, it’s no wonder the Beats Fit Pro have a bass-heavy sound profile. This isn’t bad, given that most athletes prefer more “oomph” while exercising. That said, a less dramatic difference between the sub-bass and midrange responses would make for a more versatile sound that would allow vocals to sound clearer.

Ideally, the Beats Fit Pro 2 will have a frequency response curve that more closely follows the SoundGuys Target Curve (pink) in the chart above. This would allow bass to stand out without being twice as loud as important vocal and instrumental content.

Custom EQ in the mobile app

I doubt we’ll see a custom equalizer in the Beats app for Android, but its presence would mark a huge step forward for Apple and Beats. Much of the competition (e.g., Sony, Bose, and Google) is fine providing custom equalizers for their flagship earbuds, but Apple is holding out.

With a custom EQ in the Beats and iOS Settings apps, listeners could fine-tune the sound to align with their preferences and match their media. For instance, when watching an action movie, a sub-bass response like the Fit Pro’s is a bit too loud. It can often result in explosions that are too boomy and dialogue that’s difficult to hear. A custom EQ would make it easy to decrease the sub-bass and let vocals stand out more.

We should see better microphone quality from the Beats Fit Pro 2, compared to the Fit Pro. This is an easy area of improvement. We saw a significant increase in microphone quality from the Studio Buds to the Studio Buds Plus — particularly when blocking out background noise.

Listen to our Beats Fit Pro mic demos to get an idea of baseline mic performance from the Fit Pro 2. I found the Fit Pro worked well for conference calls, but when I tried to take a call outside, the person on the other end could hear a lot of background noise.

Longer battery life and wireless charging

Improved battery life on the Fit Pro 2 won’t be a selling point because the Fit Pro already have an above-average battery. With the Fit Pro, you can enjoy up to six hours of ANC listening with an extra 18 hours from the case. Yet, if the Fit Pro 2 can inch closer to the nine-hour battery life of the Powerbeats Pro, they will stand taller among other flagship earbuds.

If Beats wants to continue to capture the workout earbud market, it needs to add wireless charging to the Fit Pro 2 features. Wireless charging is a given with many flagship earbuds. Heck, earbuds that cost closer to $100 come with this feature. If Beats plans to charge $199 or more, there’s no excuse for omitting wireless charging. MagSafe charging would be extra-nice.

A more compact case is a bit of a moonshot, especially if Beats improves the battery life. Shrinking the Fit Pro 2 case to be closer to the AirPods Pro 2 would make the Fit Pro 2 about as portable as the Jabra Elite 7 Active ($99.99 at Amazon), a top competitor.

When I tested the Fit Pro, I loved most things about the buds except the bulky case. The case fits well enough into a small pocket, but it will ruin the silhouette of your pants.

That wraps up what we hope to see from the Beats Fit Pro 2. Let us know what you want to see!