Beats just released its long-anticipated Powerbeats Pro 2. Despite several new features — including the H2 chip, wireless charging support, ANC and Transparency modes, and a more secure earhook design — this is the first earbuds by Apple to offer a heart rate sensor.
While we praised Powerbeats Pro 2 in our review, we noted that the heart rate sensor only activates on the iPhone when you don’t have an Apple Watch paired. On Android, it’s a bit different. In this article, you’ll learn how to use it.
Powerbeats Pro 2 heart rate sensor 101
Powerbeats Pro 2 heart rate sensor features four different sensors:
- LED senor: Emits green LED light at a rate of over 100 pulses per second; light is emitted through the skin and hits red blood cells;
- Photodiode: Receives reflected light from the red blood cells, which is modulated by the blood flow;
- Optical Lens: Helps direct and separate transmitted and received light;
- Accelerometer: Helps compensate for motion artifacts to drive better accuracy and consistency in the data collection.
Beats says the custom algorithm developed for Powerbeats Pro 2 takes data delivered from readings in each of the two earbuds, parses the data to create an accurate heart rate measurement, and releases output every five seconds.
How to measure heart rate on iOS
As long as you don’t have an Apple Watch paired with your iPhone, your heart rate measurement will start alongside a new workout. At the Powerbeats Pro 2 launch, Beats partnered with a few key apps. Once you start an exercise with them, Powerbeats Pro 2 will start measuring your heart rate. These are some of the apps:
More apps will be added in the future. During your workout, you can ask Siri to tell your heart rate. Once you finish your workout, the earbuds will stop measuring your heartbeats automatically.
How to measure heart rate on Android
On Android, Beats says all fitness and wellness apps with heart rate monitoring capabilities on the Android platform should be fully compatible with Powerbeats Pro 2.
Unlike iOS, Android users need to set the measured heart rate for a workout session manually.
- Go to the Beats app
- Take the Heart Rate switch to turn it on
- Start a workout in your favorite app
- Open the Beats app to turn off the monitoring once you stop your workout
Wrap up
All
data will be available within the Health app for iOS users or on Android’s main health app. Below, you can read our Powerbeats Pro 2 review.
