The Best Wireless Earbuds Actually Have Wires
The new Powerbeats Pro earbuds are a sign that newer isn’t always better
Our gadgets are thinning. Though they occupy more of our attention than ever, they ask for less physical space: Apple has cleaved 3.9 entire millimeters from the iPhone since its debut, and popular earbuds increasingly eschew wires.
To that end, Beats has now released, for $250, the Powerbeats Pro “totally wireless” earbuds. Marketed to athletes, they clip around your ears and hold firm. Their buds are technically the style that would go inside your ear canal, but the design of the exterior shell keeps them nestled just outside of it instead — which does mean, like the AirPods before them, they have some issues isolating sound. (Namely: They don’t, really.)
Beats sent me these new Powerbeats for review, and while I liked them overall, they reminded me that the best wireless earbuds I’ve used actually have one key thing: a wire.
This superior breed is the Beats X, an earlier product from the maker of Powerbeats Pros. They cost a more reasonable $100, and though they wirelessly connect to your phone using…
