Apple Powerbeats Pro launched at $249, India availability not announced

Apple-owned Beats by Dr Dre (Beats) on Wednesday introduced the Powerbeats Pro. The Powerbeats Pro are the first completely wireless earbuds from Beats. The Powerbeats Pro succeed the Powerbeats 3 wireless earphones, which were wireless but the earbuds were connected with a cord.

The new wireless earbuds come with a new earhook design, no cords, adjustable earplugs and better audio. They also sweat and water resistant.

Each earbud has up to 9 hours of listening time and more than 24 hours of combined playback with the magnetic closure case. With its fast charging technology called "Fast Fuel", Beats claims to provide 1.5 hours of playback after just 5 minutes of charging and up to 4.5 hours after 15 minutes of charging.

The Powerbeats Pro are powered by Apple's H1 chipset and come with Class 1 Bluetooth technology that offers extended range and "cross-body" performance. The presence of the H1 chipset also gives it "Hey Siri" functionality for voice-activated assistance

They also incorporate a speech-detecting accelerometer in each earbud and two beam-forming microphones per side. Beats claims this helps in targeting your voice better and filtering out external sounds such as wind and ambient noise.

The Powerbeats Pro are available in Black, Ivory, Moss and Navy colours and are priced at $249.95 (about ₹17,200).

Availability will begin in May from apple.com and Apple Stores in the US and in more than 20 additional countries and regions. India availability is not announced yet.