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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want earbuds that stay locked in through sweat, sprints and heavy sets, choose Beats Powerbeats Pro; if you need over-ear headphones that silence a noisy room and keep going for days, choose JBL Tune 770NC. One is a workout tool that happens to sound good. The other is a listening and focus machine that happens to travel well. They barely compete for the same job — which is exactly why picking between them is easier than it looks.
• Beats Powerbeats Pro — biggest strength: a genuinely secure, sweat-resistant true-wireless design with adjustable earhooks and up to 9 hours per charge (over 24 hours with the case).
• Beats Powerbeats Pro — biggest trade-off: it's an in-ear earbud with noise isolation only — no adaptive noise cancelling, no app-based EQ, no over-ear cushioning.
• JBL Tune 770NC — biggest strength: Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient, up to 70 hours of battery life, and app-tunable sound in a lightweight over-ear frame.
• JBL Tune 770NC — biggest trade-off: it's over-ear and not built around sweat resistance, so it's the wrong shape for hard training.
• Pick Beats Powerbeats Pro if you train hard and want earbuds that won't budge.
• Pick JBL Tune 770NC if you want to block out the world on a plane, in a library or at a desk — for days at a time.
The Powerbeats Pro is built around one idea: staying put. Adjustable earhooks hook over the ear rather than relying on a silicone tip alone, which is what makes them feel stable during movement. The housing is reinforced for sweat and water resistance, so a long run in humid weather or a heavy gym session is squarely within their design brief. Beats also put volume and track controls on each earbud, plus Auto Play/Pause, so you're not fishing for your phone mid-set.
Battery is the other headline. Beats rates them at up to 9 hours of listening per charge, stretching past 24 hours total with the charging case, and a full charge takes about 1.5 hours. That's a lot of sessions between trips to a wall outlet — and because each earbud connects independently over Class 1 Bluetooth, range and connection stability hold up better than you'd expect when your phone is on a bench a few metres away.
Who should buy it? Runners, lifters, cyclists, anyone whose headphones live in a gym bag. The Apple H1 chip also makes pairing and switching smooth if you're in the Apple ecosystem. Who should skip it? If your priority is silence on a flight, deep app-based EQ tinkering, or all-day comfort from an over-ear cushion, this isn't the tool. There's no adaptive noise cancelling here — just the passive isolation an in-ear seal gives you. If you want to compare the current price against the JBL before deciding, that's a sensible last check.
The Tune 770NC is the opposite philosophy: wrap your ears, cancel the noise, and forget about charging. Adaptive Noise Cancelling is the centrepiece — it's designed to cut distractions whether you're studying or deep in an album. When you do want the outside world back, Ambient Aware and TalkThru let you hear your surroundings and voices without pulling the headphones off, all controlled through the free JBL Headphones app.
Battery life is where it pulls away hard. JBL rates up to 70 hours, and a five-minute top-up buys you roughly three more hours of music — the kind of flexibility that matters when you realise your headphones are dead five minutes before a long commute. A full charge takes about two hours over USB-C. The app also lets you pick preset EQ modes or shape the curve yourself, and there's a Video Mode to keep audio and visuals in sync for movies and games. Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio handles the wireless side.
The frame itself is light at 232 grams, over-ear with a plastic enclosure, and it can connect to two Bluetooth devices at once — laptop and phone, for instance — with voice controls covering Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. There's even a 3.5 mm jack for wired listening. Who should buy it? Students, commuters, remote workers, movie watchers, anyone who wants one pair for long listening sessions and calls. Who should skip it? Anyone who trains hard and sweats heavily, because over-ear headphones simply aren't designed for that.
• Best for hard workouts and running → Beats Powerbeats Pro. Sweat-resistant, reinforced, earhook-secured, and they won't slide when you move.
• Best for blocking out noise → JBL Tune 770NC. Adaptive Noise Cancelling plus Smart Ambient is a different league from passive isolation.
• Best for battery life → JBL Tune 770NC. Up to 70 hours versus up to 9 hours per charge on the Beats (over 24 with the case).
• Best for long listening sessions and comfort → JBL Tune 770NC. Over-ear cushions and a 232 g frame are built for hours, not intervals.
• Best for quick top-ups → JBL Tune 770NC. A five-minute charge adds around three hours; the Beats need roughly 1.5 hours for a full charge.
• Best for sound tailoring → JBL Tune 770NC. The app's preset EQ modes and adjustable curve give you control the Beats don't offer.
• Best for staying connected across devices → JBL Tune 770NC. Dual-device Bluetooth 5.3 plus a 3.5 mm wired fallback.
• Best for phone-free control during training → Beats Powerbeats Pro. On-earbud volume and track buttons plus Auto Play/Pause beat reaching for your phone mid-run.
For me, the deciding factor is what you actually do with headphones. If you train — really train — I'd buy the Beats Powerbeats Pro, because the earhook fit, sweat resistance and on-bud controls are purpose-built for movement, and no amount of noise cancelling fixes a headphone that slides off your head mid-sprint. If your day looks more like commutes, study sessions and long listening marathons, I'd buy the JBL Tune 770NC instead: the adaptive noise cancelling, the app EQ and that enormous battery simply cover more of a normal day. Two different jobs, two different answers — pick the one that matches your week, not the spec sheet.
FAQ
Not active noise cancelling. It offers noise isolation from the in-ear seal only. The JBL Tune 770NC, by contrast, has Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient, Ambient Aware and TalkThru.
The JBL Tune 770NC, clearly — up to 70 hours versus up to 9 hours per charge on the Beats, or more than 24 hours total with the Beats charging case.
Honestly, no single pair covers both jobs perfectly. If you mostly listen at a desk, on transit or at home, go with the JBL Tune 770NC. If your listening happens around workouts, go with the Beats Powerbeats Pro.
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