The Beats Fit Pro is another headset in Beats’ stable of Android and iPhone-friendly earphones. With the buds’ funky wing tips, you might have trouble getting them to fit properly, but Beats preempts this with an intuitive ear tip fit test. You get other premium features out of these earbuds like active noise canceling (ANC), onboard button controls, and automatic ear detection.

Let’s dig into all there is to love about these oddly shaped Beats, and all that might hold you back from buying a pair.

Editor’s note: this review was updated on August 22, 2023 to add user-submitted FAQ.

The Beats Fit Pro includes a funny-looking pair of earbuds with tapered, angled wing tips and rounded housings. Despite the odd profile, the Fit Pro is very comfortable to wear at least for fairly short periods of time. After you twist and “lock” the earbuds in place, make sure to push the attached wing tip under your antihelix for a solid hold.

A lowercase “b” decorates the outside of each earbud and serves as a button for you to control media and calls (more on that later). The underbelly of each bud houses a couple magnets, and a skin detection sensor to facilitate automatic ear detection. This works just the same as the AirPods (3rd generation) sensor and yields a more responsive auto-play/pause experience.

Each earbud has an angled nozzle you can attach any one of three ear tips to. Finding the right ear tip will provide a secure, comfortable fit and yield the best possible sound quality. While the Beats Fit Pro fits securely in my ears, I get uncomfortable after the 90-minute mark, because the housing’s contours place pressure against my outer ears.

A lowercase “b” marks the clamshell-style charging case’s fiddly lid. When you open the case, you may notice there’s plenty of lateral play with the lid, while it hasn’t presented an issue during our review, it’s something to observe over time. Remarkably, Beats outfitted the case with a USB-C input, rather than Apple’s Lightning input. Magnets keep the case shut, but there’s a 50-50 chance it will pop open and eject the earbuds if you drop it on the ground.

Unlike the Apple AirPods (3rd generation) and Apple AirPods Pro, you interact with a button on each Beats Fit Pro bud to control playback and incoming calls. By default, the press-and-hold command toggles through listening modes, but you can change this within the Beats app or iOS Settings app so it adjusts the volume instead.

Is the Beats Fit Pro good for working out?

Yes, the Fit Pro earbuds have an IPX4 water-resistance rating and an ergonomic shape to keep them in place no matter your workout regimen. When worn properly, the Beats Fit Pro stays in place when I fall off an indoor bouldering wall or bike over neglected potholes. The Beats Fit Pro lacks a dust-resistant rating, so chalk up your hands while using the earbuds at your own risk.

If you have an Android phone, you should download the Beats app. This app offers a clear interface that allows you to perform adjustments previously relegated to the Apple ecosystem. You can toggle listening modes, dictate the press-and-hold command, see earbud and case battery life at a glance, and update the firmware within the app. There’s even an ear tip fit test, as well as the option to toggle automatic ear detection on and off.

Upon opening the Beats Fit Pro packaging, Beats prompts Android owners to download the Beats app for a streamlined pairing process. When you press the pairing button on the case after downloading the app, a pop-up card appears on your phone and prompts you to confirm a connection between the two devices.

With the Beats Fit Pro, you can choose from two Bluetooth codecs: SBC and AAC. Coincidentally, these are the only two codecs that iPhones support. This is where Beats’ egalitarian approach to Android and iOS wavers a bit, since AAC’s performance can vary across Android hardware. Offering aptX would have made it a truly OS-agnostic pair of earbuds, but we can cross our fingers for that down the line.

The Beats Fit Pro uses Bluetooth 5.0, so it won’t support LE Audio and the LC3 codec when it becomes available. However, the Beats Fit Pro stays connected to either iOS and Android devices faithfully whether I’m working inside or biking outside.

Officially, the Beats Fit Pro can last up to 6 hours with ANC on, and you get an extra three charge cycles (18 hours) from the case for a combined battery life of 24 hours. Our standardized battery test showed this to be pretty accurate, yielding a result of 6 hours, 22 minutes with ANC on. When you place the earbuds in the case for just 5 minutes, you’re rewarded with 60 minutes of playback, a feature I’m often grateful for.

There’s only one way to recharge the case, and that’s with a USB-C cable. Beats provides a comically short USB-C-to-USB-C cable, so you may want to opt for another one if you have it around the house. There’s no wireless charging with the Fit Pro case, and you don’t get battery optimization on iOS.

The Beats Fit Pro noise canceling quiets some bass and midrange frequencies, but not to the same degree as Bose headphones might. Beats uses adaptive ANC, so it calibrates the intensity in real time. The Beats Fit Pro does enough to hush the sound of the train outside my window—but not so much when I’m on the train.

To get the best possible active noise canceling performance, you need to get a good fit. While frequent SoundGuys visitors may be familiar with this concept of isolation, the layperson may not be—that’s where the ear tip fit test comes into play. This gives you feedback on your selected ear tips, ensuring that you choose the best ones for your ear canals. Once you create a good seal with the ear tips, you’ll notice incidental sounds become much quieter and your music sounds better. This is a very good thing as it allows you to enjoy your music without the temptation of increasing the volume to dangerous levels.

The Beats Fit Pro favors bass notes, but to a bearable degree. You get plenty of bass emphasis, which is typical of workout earbuds. Beats keeps the treble emphasis pretty consumer-friendly, so you can still hear flutes, violins, and hi-hats amid bassier segments. This kind of frequency response does best with pop, hip-hop, and rap music, and it’s no coincidence that these are the most popular workout music genres.

Lows, mids, and highs

With the Beats Fit Pro, the bassline in the song Los Ageless by St. Vincent sounds louder than it does with something like the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. This is great for exercise but can be a bit much when listening casually at home. The lyrics, “How could anybody have you?” become difficult to hear at around 2:05 above the kick drum, right-channel synth, and ambient background noise. However, lack of clarity like this is no stranger to Beats headphones, and bass emphasis is not egregious here like it is with some of its other headsets.

Can you use the Beats Fit Pro for phone calls?

The Beats Fit Pro is an okay pair of earbuds for phone calls, but it leaves plenty of room for improvement. Callers on the other end of the line will hear pretty much everything going on around you. Still, if you have a handful of personal calls to get through or more lax conference calls, the Fit Pro will serve you just fine.

Beats Fit Pro microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

The Beats Fit Pro is another step in the right direction for Beats and Apple: it fits well, has a pleasant bass-boosted sound. If you get a good set and avoid the ANC issues that we’ve run into, you’ll get a headset that works as well on Android as it does on iOS (save for spatial audio). Automatic play/pause that works this well is quite impressive, and the fast charging is handy for forgetful athletes. Anyone who wants a stylish pair of compact earbuds will be perfectly happy with this pair of Beats.

Still, all isn’t perfect with the Fit Pro. You’ll have to set aside $199 USD for these earphones, which is more expensive than the AirPods Pro in some instances, and certainly more expensive than competing workout earbuds. Oh, and the noise canceling issue is big, though it doesn’t appear to happen universally. Ultimately, the Beats Fit Pro is here to serve those who alternate between iOS and Android devices, and is another way for Beats to diversify its target demographic.

The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and Beats Fit Pro have very similar noise canceling, but the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) costs significantly more; you can get Apple’s buds for $199 at Amazon. When you spend that extra cash, you get a more pleasant, consistent frequency response; a more comfortable fit; swipe controls; and an IPX4 rating for the buds and case. Unlike the Fit Pro’s case, the new AirPods Pro’s case has a built-in speaker and lanyard loop. The case also debuts Apple’s U1 chip, which lets you locate it precisely through the Find My app.

The Beats Fit Pro and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) also diverge regarding sound quality, with the Fit Pro having an appropriately more bass-heavy response than the AirPods Pro (2nd generation). Both sets of earphones use Apple’s Adaptive EQ technology which automatically adjusts the low and midrange frequencies for consistent audio quality no matter your environment.

When you update your iPhone to iOS 16 or later, you can set up personalized Spatial Audio on the Beats Fit Pro just as you can with the latest AirPods Pro. Both sets of earbuds are very good, and Apple and Beats products typically go on promotion for less than their original retail price throughout the year. If you must get a pair of Beats or Apple earbuds, we recommend waiting for a sale.

iPhone owners who aren’t quite sold on the Beats Fit Pro should invest in the AirPods Pro (1st generation) instead, which costs on the product’s website. The first-gen AirPods Pro has many of the same features as the Beats Fit Pro like spatial audio, an IPX4 rating, ear tip fit test, and onboard controls. Unlike the Fit Pro, you get a stemmed earbud, and the AirPods Pro doesn’t have an app that works with Android.

Alternatively, the Beats Powerbeats Pro has a workout-friendly design with ear hooks that secure around the back of each ear and costs $159 at Amazon. Battery life is much more impressive with the Powerbeats Pro, clocking in at 10 hours, 52 minutes. You forgo the fancy software features and USB-C input with these larger Beats, though.

The next obvious option for Beats fans who want something a bit smaller is the Beats Studio Buds. This pair of buds retails for $99 at Amazon. You miss out on some things like spatial audio and stabilizing wing tips, but on the whole, the Fit Pro is much like the Studio Buds with a slightly different shape. It’s a good compromise between Beats and the AirPods Pro.

If you want a pair of dedicated workout earbuds that work just as well on Android as it does on iOS, look into the Bose Sport Earbuds. The Bose Sport Earbuds uses the Bose Music app, where you can adjust the controls, choose your source device, and more. The earbuds are very comfortable, have the same IPX4 rating as the Fit Pro buds, and cost $165 at Amazon.