Apple owns Beats, and on several models the two lines run the same silicon. Apple's own specification pages list the Apple H2 chip in AirPods Pro 3, in AirPods 4, and in Powerbeats Pro 2. So the chip is usually not the thing that separates them. What separates them is how the earbud physically stays in your ear, and how much of the feature set survives on an Android phone. And "Beats" is not one answer either: the Powerbeats Fit page lists the older H1 chip, not H2.
Last checked: August 24, 2026. Apple and Beats both move model lines, so read the dates below as carefully as the features.
Where these specs come from, and what we could not read
Every number in this article comes from Apple's own published pages, read on August 24, 2026: the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 specification pages on apple.com, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 and Powerbeats Fit product pages on beatsbydre.com. Beats is an Apple company, so those Beats pages are a first-party source rather than a retailer listing.
Two pages would not load for us. The Beats Studio Pro and Beats Studio Buds + product pages both returned an HTTP 404 on the day of writing. That may be a site restructure rather than a discontinuation, but it means we will not tell you which chip those two models use. Third-party reviews say one thing, Apple's own page says nothing we could read, and on this site the manufacturer's page wins or the claim does not get made.
The chip is a model-level fact, not a brand-level one
This is the part almost every "Beats vs AirPods" page gets structurally wrong. It compares two brands, when the specification pages describe a range that crosses the brands.
| Model | Chip, as published | How it stays in | Listening per charge, as published | Total with case | Water and dust rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirPods Pro 3 | Apple H2 | Silicone ear tip, sealed | Up to 8 hours with ANC on | Up to 24 hours with ANC on | IP57 |
| AirPods 4 | H2 | No ear tip, contoured bud | Up to 5 hours | Up to 30 hours | IP54 |
| AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation | H2 | No ear tip, contoured bud | Up to 4 hours with ANC on | Up to 20 hours with ANC on | IP54 |
| Powerbeats Pro 2 | Apple H2 | Earhook over the ear | Up to 10 hours of bud playback | Up to 45 hours | IPX4 |
| Powerbeats Fit | Apple H1 | Wingtip tucked under the ear ridge | Up to 7 hours of bud playback | Up to 30 hours | IPX4 |
One warning about that battery column, and it matters. Apple states its AirPods hours with the listening mode named, for example "with Active Noise Cancellation enabled". The Beats pages state "continuous bud playback" without naming the mode on the pages we read. Those are not stated under identical conditions, so treat the hours as each maker's own claim about its own product rather than as a race one of them wins.
What the H2 chip is credited with on both sides
Where the H2 appears, the same platform features appear with it. Apple's AirPods Pro 3 page lists Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode and Adaptive Audio. The Powerbeats Pro 2 page lists Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency mode, plus "Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking", and on Apple devices "one-touch pairing, automatic switching, Audio Sharing, hands-free Siri and Find My".
Read those two lists side by side and the honest conclusion is that a Powerbeats Pro 2 is not a downgraded AirPod on the software side. It is the same chip carrying most of the same ecosystem behavior into a different body. If you assumed Beats meant "Apple's cheaper thing that misses the good features", the published pages do not support that.
Where Beats genuinely differs: the Android half
This is the clearest real separation in the two lines, and it is not about sound.
Both Beats pages we read advertise a Beats app for Android. The Powerbeats Pro 2 page says that app "unlocks one-touch pairing, the heart rate monitoring feature, customizable controls, battery status widgets and Locate My Beats". The Powerbeats Fit page lists one-touch pairing, customizable controls, battery status, Locate My Beats and a Fit Test on Android.
Apple publishes no equivalent AirPods app for Android. So if the phone in your pocket is not an iPhone, or if the household runs both, Beats is the line Apple actually built an Android path for. That is a hardware-buying fact rather than a preference, and it is the single question we would ask first.
Where Beats genuinely differs: how it stays in your ear
The second real separation is mechanical. Powerbeats Pro 2 uses "nickel-titanium alloy-reinforced earhooks" that Beats describes as "20% lighter than the original". Powerbeats Fit uses a wingtip that Beats says is "nearly 20% more flexible", fitted by inserting the bud and tucking the wingtip under the ridge of the upper ear. AirPods Pro 3 seals the canal with a silicone tip. AirPods 4 does neither: Apple describes "internal architecture and a refined contour" that "provide a natural and secure fit for more people than ever", with no ear tip at all.
Those are four different retention strategies, and which one holds in your ear is not something a specification page can predict and not something we can tell you. Ears differ. The percentages above are the makers' own claims about their own redesigns, not measurements anyone published for your ear.
Heart rate: the gap that closed
For a while the fitness argument had a clean answer, because Powerbeats Pro 2 shipped with heart rate sensors and no AirPod had them. That is no longer the split. The Powerbeats Pro 2 page lists "heart rate monitoring sensors for real-time performance data during workouts". Apple's AirPods Pro 3 specification page also lists a heart rate sensor among its sensors, and even publishes a separate battery figure for it: up to 6.5 hours "during workouts with heart rate sensing".
So the current question is not "which line has heart rate", it is "which body do you want the sensor in during a workout", earhook or sealed tip. AirPods 4 lists no heart rate sensor on its specification page.
Apple's AirPods Pro 3 page also lists hearing features, including a Hearing Test, a Hearing Aid feature it describes as FDA authorized, and Hearing Protection. We report that as Apple's published feature list and nothing more. This article is not hearing advice, and anything that sounds like a hearing problem belongs with a clinician rather than a spec sheet.
What none of these pages can tell you
Here is the part the comparison posts skip. We have not listened to any of these. This site does not own a measurement rig, and this article is a specification and feature comparison, not a review. The story of why this site exists is exactly that: gear that looks great online and disappoints in real life.
So no page here will tell you which of these sounds better, whether the noise cancellation feels stronger, or whether the earhook is comfortable after an hour. Those are listening judgments. For measured comparisons, outlets like RTINGS and SoundGuys run the test rigs that produce them, and they are the honest place to send you.
One more limit, and it is the freshness one. The models above are the ones Apple and Beats published on August 24, 2026. If you are reading this later, or looking at an older Beats or an earlier AirPods generation, the chip, the battery figures and the ratings will not match. Check the model name against the maker's own page before you trust any table, including ours.
So which line is for you, on paper
Not a pick, because we have not heard them. A decision path, from published specs only:
- You are all-Apple and want the sealed, quiet one. AirPods Pro 3 is the model with the ear tip, the IP57 rating and the hearing feature set.
- You are all-Apple and dislike anything in your ear canal. AirPods 4 is the one with no ear tip, in two versions, with and without ANC.
- The household has Android phones too. The Beats side is the one with a published Android app, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 page says heart rate works there.
- It falls out when you move. The mechanical answer is on the Beats side: earhook on Powerbeats Pro 2, wingtip on Powerbeats Fit. Note the Fit is listed with H1, not H2.
FAQ
Is Beats owned by Apple?
Yes. Beats is an Apple company, which is why Beats products carry Apple chips and Apple ecosystem features such as one-touch pairing, automatic switching and Find My, all of which are named on the Powerbeats Pro 2 page.
Do Beats use the same chip as AirPods?
Some do. Apple's pages list the H2 chip in AirPods Pro 3, AirPods 4 and Powerbeats Pro 2. Powerbeats Fit is listed with the older H1. We could not load the Beats Studio Pro or Beats Studio Buds + pages on August 24, 2026, so we make no chip claim for those two.
Do Beats work better with Android than AirPods do?
Beats publishes an Android app and lists what it enables, including one-touch pairing, controls, battery status and, on Powerbeats Pro 2, heart rate monitoring. Apple publishes no equivalent AirPods app for Android. AirPods still pair to an Android phone as ordinary Bluetooth earbuds.
Which sounds better, Beats or AirPods?
We do not know, and we will not guess. We have not heard them, and neither line publishes a comparable measured sound figure. That question needs a listening session of your own or a measurement-based outlet such as RTINGS or SoundGuys.
Do any AirPods have a heart rate sensor?
Apple's AirPods Pro 3 specification page lists a heart rate sensor and publishes a battery figure for workouts with heart rate sensing. The AirPods 4 specification page does not list one.