I am looking at buying new headphones. I want to spend about $150 and I am looking at the AirPods and the Powerbeats. I know that the Powerbeats are water resistant. Has anyone here gone running with the AirPods? How do they hold up?
Unrelated to the running/water thing, note the difference in battery life between the two. I have both, and I can say that Powerbeats pretty much last all day and (IMHO) sound much better. With Airpods I found myself running to a charger quite a bit, then doing the “use the left one while the right one charges” thing.
If you want to enjoy your music in stereo, the PowerBeats are the only way to fly. Plus they have on-headset volume up/down controls, which I find handy all the time now. 
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I love my Powerbeats Pro.
Still, a caveat: I have tried AirPods (for weeks!), but my ears never got used to them—they cause me pain, sadly. Damned Jony Ive and his perfect idea of a human.
(In other words, if you go for them, buy them from Apple so you can return them if you have the same experience.)
I love my Powerbeat Pros. They have an insane battery life, maybe 7-8 hours without needing to recharge, but the main downside is that you don’t want to wear them nonstop for that long because they’re not as comfortable as AirPods, and the bulky case can be annoying to carry around.
I have had AirPods regular and pros as well as Powerbeats pro.
The first gen AirPods were the best for calls and had an ok sound but no noise cancelation made them hard to use in many situations.
The pros are great, mic is slightly inferior to regular ( because of the form factor) but sound and noise cancellation makes for a much better sound experience. The form factor also make them more comfortable to me and they hold better in place.
But when it comes to running, they keep slipping out (tried all buds sizes, even experimented with additional foam )
So for running and other kind of exercise I just got the Powerbeats which are great for that use case and seem in between the two models of airpods for regular audio - I did not test the mic on these.
Battery life seems to be great , much better than AP (which was never that much of an issue to me) and the box is huge compared to AP: would not take it in my jeans pocket for ex.
Let me know if you have questions
AirPods don’t stay in my ears, but other than that they’re fine. If you think they’ll fall out, the Powerbeats are good because they hook over the ear.
One annoyance with the Powerbeats: they don’t fit great in the case, so make sure they are actually charging when you put them back. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself with a single dead headphone when you decide to wear them.
Regardless of which ones you get, make sure they are COMPLETELY dry before you put them back on the charging case!
Ah, yes, I forgot that there’s a distinction. I love my Powerbeats Pros*.
Still, note my complaint about the AirPods. I have tried multiple models, and all of them irritate my ears to the point of being in pain after half an hour of use. I realize that my ears are wrong here (no way Apple’s design is!) but these products aren’t one-size-fits-all.
The nice thing about both the AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro is the replaceable adjustable tips, which help with comfort and sound isolation.
I used to use $13 wired Panasonic earphones for the exceptional fit and acceptable podcast sound quality. They broke every few months but were so cheap I’d buy 3 at a time to last me a year.
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I run a lot, nearly always outdoors and no matter the weather. I’ve gone through two pairs of AirPods, both of which failed just over a year into their lives, I suspect (but have no proof of) due to sweat/rain/snow. Other than that, I loved them for running: they were the best I’d ever used for that purpose.
After the second set failed, I got some PowerBeats Pros. They work, but (for me) they’re not nearly as comfortable or convenient. Also, since they’re more noise isolating than the AirPods, you don’t have as good a sense of your surroundings, though whether that’s a benefit or liability depends on whether you’re running outside or indoors.
A few months ago, I finally purchased a pair of AirPods Pro, and couldn’t be happier. They have all the advantages of both of the others and none of the disadvantages of either. Your mileage may vary, but for me they’re pretty much the perfect earbuds for running.
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