Apple acquired Beats many years ago and has continued to offer headphones under the brand ever since. One of the other initially assumed that Beats would be merged into Apple, but that didn’t happen. Apple continues to have the AirPods line alongside the Beats headphones. The AirPods line is usually best served; there are a few scenarios where we prefer Beats.
Huami is the company’s name that is responsible for many sporty gadgets and wearables. The product range of wearables (all electronics worn on the body) runs under the brand name Amazfit. These wearables also include the tested Amazfit PowerBuds. As the name suggests, Huami mainly targets athletes and fitness lovers with this range.
In the comparision, you can find out whether the Beats Studio Buds can prevail against the Amazfit PowerBuds.
Pros and Cons
| Beats Studio Buds | Amazfit PowerBuds |
| Compact, comfortable design | Affordable |
| high-quality sound | Decent bass |
| Solid ANC for the money | IP55 certification |
| Bluetooth 5.2 support | Confusing app |
| No wireless charging | No volume control |
| No in-ear detection sensor | Inaccurate heart-rate reading |
Specification
| Beats Studio Buds | Amazfit PowerBuds | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Model | Studio Buds | PowerBuds |
| Brand | Beats | Amazfit |
| Released | June 14, 2021 | June 16, 2020 |
| Dimension | 2.83 x 2.01 x 1 mm | 7.09 x 8.66 x 4.33 inches |
| Weight | 5 g (each) | 6 g (each) |
| Earpiece Connection | Wireless | Wireless |
| Type | In-Ear | In-Ear |
| Foldable | No | No |
| Frequency Response | 20 – 20,000 Hz | 20 Hz to 20 kHz |
| Colours | Black, White, Red, Union | Dynamic Black, Yellow, White |
| Driver | Dynamic | 9 mm |
| ANC | Yes | No |
| Impedance | 16 Ohms | 16 Ohms |
| Controls | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Capacity | 340 mAh | 450 mAh |
| Battery Life | 8 hrs | 16 hrs |
| Bluetooth Ver | 5.2 v | 5.0 v |
| Sound Codecs | AAC, SBC | AAC, SBC |
Design
The Beats Studio Buds, like the AirPods, come to the customer in an egg-shaped case, a few interchangeable tips of different sizes, a USB-C cable for charging, and some paperwork (also 3 months of Apple Music) are included. Here is the first “outcry.” In contrast to the PowerBeats, the Beats Studio Buds now use USB-C instead of Lightning. Here it becomes clear that you are not just targeting Apple users.
In addition, the Buds do not have an Apple H1 chip and are therefore not intended for seamless switching between Apple devices or spatial audio. Of course, you rely on Bluetooth, and without the chip, you are a little more universal. What is also missing is wireless charging. Of course, it’s easier to put the case down somewhere and charge it. But plugging in a cable has never cost anyone too much energy.
Like any other wireless headphone model, the Beats Studio Buds sit in the case magnetically held there. The case itself has the usual LED that informs you about the status of the battery and the pairing. If the LED flashes, the case is in pairing mode. If it is red, the headphones are charging.
If you want to pair the buds with a device other than the previous one, press the button in the case and hold it until the LED starts flashing, as mentioned. The buds themselves are IPX4 certified, have active noise cancellation and a transparency mode. So you wedge yourself with the AirPods Pro.
Huami follows a different direction than, for example, Soundcore. It should be small and chic. More like normal earbuds but still useful for a lot of movement. Therefore, the charging case and earbuds are also much smaller than the competition. The single earbud is 22mm long, 22mm wide, and 22mm thick.
The structure consists of two parts. An outer body with a touch surface and a magnet and an inner body that houses the battery and the speaker. The magnet is not responsible for holding it in the charging case but for being able to attach ear hooks as well. That’s right; these hooks are only held in place with a magnet.
Everything about the Amazfit PowerBuds is made of matte plastic. The inner body is additionally covered with soft rubber. The touch field is marked with a red dot pattern on the outside of the headphones. As a special feature, a proximity sensor is used on both headphones. The red sections and the 5 mm speaker output set lovely accents.
But the main focus is definitely on the PPG heart rate monitor on the right earbud. In combination with the Amazfit app, you save on the fitness band. Sure, you still have to have your smartphone with you, but still.
The charging box doesn’t look quite as extravagant. It is quite small at 6.5 x 4.2 x 3.3 cm (L x W x H) . In addition to a modern USB Type-C connection on the back, you also get a single white charging status LED on the front. A single LED has never been a good idea as it gives a kind of binary statement about the charge level, and that’s a bit small. By the way, the earbuds completely do without a status LED. Huami equips the Amazfit Powerbuds with an IP55 certificate.
In terms of build quality, the Amazfit PowerBuds are high. Perhaps also because many bells and whistles and gap dimensions have been avoided, the logo on the lid should have been a bit more present; otherwise, the choice of colors could be more comprehensive.
Comfort
Beats Studio Buds- The earbuds sit snugly in the ears and do not fall out during activity. Ergonomics and adjustable ear cushions provide a secure fit.
The fact that they are more compact and lighter is clear, another plus for the Bits karma for matte velvet plastic; it is pleasant to the touch. The Beats Studio Buds fit well enough, much better than the AirPods Pro or second generation. But some colleagues did not fit any of the silicones. What is the conclusion – headphones should always be tried on before buying. Everyone’s ears and the concept of “comfortable fit” is very individual.
Amazfit prides itself on being designed for athletes without compromise. The Soundcore Spirit X2 recently showed us what this looks like.
The PowerBuds take a visually somewhat more discreet direction but still want to be prepared for all eventualities. The design works beautifully even without the hooks. It is up to you whether you “stick” them to the earbuds with a magnet. Because even if you don’t expect it, the magnetic hooks increase the hold. Attaching and putting on the Amazfit PowerBuds with hooks is a bit fiddly, but you should probably use them for more extreme sports.
The earbuds ( 5.2 g ) are only comfortable once you have found the right attachments. The included plugs already seal very well; with attachments made of memory molded foam, you can quickly improve the earbuds in every position. Unfortunately, the plugs for the charging station are too big on average.
Sound
Once in the ear, the Beats Studio Buds produce a decent sound supported by good passive noise cancellation in the tips. What I don’t really like is the active noise cancellation. That leaves quite a bit of the constant noise that the AirPods Pro quickly picks out of your ears. Better than nothing, of course, but I don’t think it’s perfect.
The sound of the Beats Studio Buds, on the other hand, is again at an excellent level. Unlike many Beats models of the past, the Studio Buds don’t have as much bass leaning instead of having a more neutral profile. In my opinion, the mids could be a bit more present. Details are there, but the mid-range frequencies are somewhat neglected in contrast to the good treble and bass. You can sometimes hear it pretty well if you take film music to your chest. The instruments are well separated and not distorted even at high volumes.
A few words about the microphone quality: Your voice is properly transported to your counterpart through the built-in microphones. However, the whole thing is not at the level of the AirPods either, as my meeting participants were able to confirm.
Despite the missing and higher-resolution codec, the headphones are fully convincing. Huami has focused on proper components and clean coordination. In addition, the right people were probably at work.
Highs are clear; the details are diverse and are not swallowed up. Bass booms properly without becoming sloppy. Kick passes come precisely when you expect them and the mids can be distinguished from the individual sound levels just as beautifully and clearly as the highs from the lows.
The tuning is not particularly emphasized for particular areas, if at all, then there is only a slight bass emphasis, which fits nicely into the overall picture, despite the sport focus.
If you need more, switch on the “ Motion Beat Mode ” in the app. This should use an algorithm to recognize and reinforce the driving elements in a song, which spurs you on even more.
The effect only becomes noticeable at higher volumes and is only activated when you select a sport mode in the app and start a session. The tuning becomes much more bass-emphasizing. The bass really smashes along, but the rest of the sound is heavily distorted.
Battery
The battery life of Beats Studio Buds did not please me too much, but it did not disappoint either. The Beats Studio Buds, last 8 hours on a single charge, making them a great headset considering the quality microphone and noise cancellation. The Beats Studio Buds charging case lasts 24 hours, which is standard for TWS headphones.
The Beats Studio Buds take about two hours to charge with the case. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging, the device charges via USB-C.
Amazfit PowerBuds- The charging station comes up with 450 mAh. The website advertises 3 charges, giving 24 hours of non-stop sonication. Which, of course, doesn’t quite work since you still have to charge the earbuds. But the 3 charges are possible, but not much more.
The earbuds are ready again faster when you activate the charging station. 15 minutes in the station allows up to 3 hours of playback. When listening to music at 50% with the heart rate monitor disabled. Unfortunately, inductive charging did not make it into the Amazfit PowerBuds station.
Conclusion!
Beats join a hard-fought market and, 150 USD is also too expensive. If you shoot the things for 100-120 USD, you can take a look. Otherwise, we recommend Apple users save a little more money and buy the AirPods Pro in one deal. All other users (including Apple users, of course) can also squint in the direction of the Jabra Elite 85t, the Soundcore series, or alternatives from Sennheiser and Co.
The Amazfit PowerBuds, Huami delivers a couple of decent true wireless earbuds that can hold their own against many competitors. Overall, the Amazfit PowerBuds get an excellent buy recommendation. Still, they are not an excellent value for the money, especially since the strong competition with the massive Soundcore Spirit X2 is not far away.
