Pondering The New Powerbeats Pro’s potential for hearing Accessibility
Apple-owned Beats released refreshed Powerbeats Pro this week. The earbuds, priced at $250 and described by Beats as “built for athletes,” are ideal for fitness and working out. Megastar athletes such as LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani, and Lionel Messi have been seen wearing them. The new Powerbeats Pro feature an H2 chip, a heart rate sensor, and come with a case Beats says is a third smaller than the previous version.
Chance Miller at 9to5 Mac posted a review worth your eyeballs.
The Powerbeats Pro’s most distinctive attribute, however, is its ear hooks. Whereas something like the Beats Studio Buds+—which I snagged at a discount on Amazon during last year’s Prime Day—fit more into one’s ears, the Powerbeats uses an ear hook that fits outside the ear for security. As I wrote on Mastodon, it occurred to me the aforementioned ear hooks means Powerbeats Pro bear a strong resemblance to many prescription hearing aids available from audiologists. Stylistically speaking, the Powerbeats Pro, what with colors like “hyper purple” and “electric orange,” are far more pleasing compared to the drab, staid appearance of prescription hearing aids.
It got me thinking about the hearing health features in AirPods Pro 2. The hearing aid feature, released as part of iOS 18.1 last October, is currently exclusive to AirPods Pro; obviously subsequent models will support it, but what of Powerbeats Pro? I know nothing about the underlying technical requirements specific to AirPods Pro such that the hearing test/hearing aid is exclusive to it, but it’s with pondering whether Apple could—or, perhaps better put, arguably should—propagate it its other earbuds. After all, the new Powerbeats Pro are powered by the H2 chip. This is where the ear hooks have more relevance. To wit, not only do the hooks make the earbuds reminiscent of conventional hearing aids, they act as an accessibility aid unto itself. It’s entirely plausible a disabled person—or anyone else, for that matter—may choose Powerbeats Pro over its cousin in AirPods due to them being a literal better fit, despite the fact they may not be fitness-inclined. More pointedly, it’s also entirely plausible the ear hooks on Powerbeats Pro make it more accessible for someone to get them in and out of someone’s ears. What I’m saying is, there’s an argument to be made that someone might want AirPods Pro for the hearing aid feature—but can’t buy them because they don’t fit or, in a nod to sensory conditions, they’re uncomfortable to wear. The Powerbeats Pro seemingly would be an attractive alternative, given Beats is an Apple subsidiary and are virtually identical to AirPods Pro in terms of their general function.
If anything, expanding the hearing aid feature would give Apple another feather to put in its cap when it comes to transforming the over-the-counter hearing aid market and, by extension, shattering the stigmas associated with hearing loss and wearing hearing aids. This is exactly the kind of thing that aligns with the company’s purported purpose to use its technologies as agents of change in making the world a better place. It’s also not insignificant that AirPods, as well as Beats, are entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist in ways hearing aids decidedly aren’t. Expanding the hearing aid feature’s literal accessibility (in the access sense of the word) would serve only to reinforce that notion.
