Wondering which is better between the Plantronics backbeat Pro 5100 vs the Apple AirPods pro? Listen, most people will likely prefer the apple AirPods pro over the less known Plantronics backbeat Pro 5100. Yet when you compare these two wireless earbuds, you will soon discover how they are very similar when it comes to many of the highlight features, like how they both use Bluetooth 5.0 and are both water-resistant with a certification of IPX4. Still, which is better, Plantronics backbeat Pro or Apple Airpods Pro?
The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 5100 offers a longer battery life at 6.5 Hrs than the Airpods Pro wireless earbuds. With the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 5100, you also get a recharging case battery life of pf 19.5 hours while the Airpods buds recharging is at 24hrs, giving you a full day’s worth of battery life. When you compare the device’s features plus the charging case used to restore the earbuds, Plantronics backbeat pro 5100 stands out as the best wireless earbuds compared to Airpods buds.
Overall, the Plantronics backbeat pro 5100 wireless earbuds are an excellent choice If you want ultimate true portability and don’t need to compromise on performance, sleek design. Unlike Apple Airpods Pro earbuds, the Plantronics backbeat earbuds are affordable, stylish and it’s the way to go.
But if you want a blend of true wireless and brand community over performance, then the overpriced Apple Airpod Pro is probably your best choice. For those of you who need a hybrid state of the art truewireless earbuds with impeccable performance, then I recommend the Plantronics backbeat Pro 5100 wireless earbuds.
Is Plantronics backbeat Pro buds or Apple Airpods Pro better for working out or hicking?
Most music and workout enthusiasts looking for a new true wireless earbud set should certainly pick up the Plantronics backbeat Pro 5100 earbuds. It’s less expensive than other Apple’s Airpods Pro wireless earbuds yet delivers excellent sound performance better than Apple Airpods Pro.
Though the Apple brand penetration seem to impair the decision making process of most consumers, I can tell you that Plantronics backbeat Pro5100 earbuds features an improved, sleek design, premium sound perfomance and long battery life compared to Apple Airpod Pro.
Seriously, the price you pay for Apple earbuds and the quality you get for Plantronics backbeat pro buds Pro is probably overkill for most consumers.
The two earbuds are also different in many ways; the Apple AirPods offer a longer battery life when used with the charging case; they are too light and have a lot of controls.
However, they do not have a companion app and cannot be very easy to connect to android devices as compared to Apple devices. On the other hand, the backbeat pro 5100 also has a good battery life, and it can be used with the backbeat application.
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Comparison: Plantronics Backbeat Pro 5100 vs. Airpods Pro
| Feature | Plantronics BackBeat Pro | Airpods Pro |
| Battery Life | 6.5 Hrs | 4.5 Hrs |
| Battery Life Plus Recharging case | 19.5Hrs | 24 Hrs |
| Charging Time | 2Hrs | 20 Minutes |
| Quick Charging Time | 10 Minutes | 5 Minutes |
| Microphone Quantity | 4 | Nil |
| Connectivity | 5.0 Bluetooth | 5.0 Bluetooth |
| Recharge Port | Micro-USB Port | Micro-USB |
| Waterproof Certification | IPX4 Certified | IPX4 |
| Over-all Rating | Good | Good |
Plantronics BackBeat Pro 5100
The Plantronics backbeat pro 5100 are the real deal wireless earbuds that are manufactured by Plantronics. They have many great features: sound quality, battery life, and voice assistant support.
Design
Plantronics Backbeat Pro 5100 are small and comprise a weight of 5.9 grams each. They usually come with a state-of-the-art charging case which weights 50.5g. Hard plastic is the material that is used to make the charging case.
The charging case can also be used for other purposes like storing the earbuds. In terms of the earbuds’ design, it is simple and does not comprise any wings. The earbuds are very secure and will not fall off when working out.
These earbuds also come with a comfortable design and do not cause pain to the ears even when worn for a long time. The earbuds come with extra ear tips and these are in different sizes because the ear size differs from person to person.
The earbuds are proof of splash and they are protected from sweat with a rating of IPX4. This makes it suitable for use even during workouts.
Features
There is an auto-pause feature that these earbuds have. This feature pauses the music or sound when one of the earbuds is removed from your ear. Each earbud has a button that you can use to control the earbuds.
There is a button to play/pause the tracks, skip the tracks, manage calls and use a voice assistant; these are located on the right earbud. The button on the left earbud is used for lowering and raising the volume.
In addition to that, there is also a backbeat application that can be used for different functions. You can use the application to change settings like assigning a function to the buttons on the earbud.
Sound quality
The earbuds consist of 5.8mm drivers. These drivers are perfect as they make sure that the sound is impressive. The bass is powerful, the highs and midrange frequencies are well balanced.
The earbuds have 4 microphones and support DSP technology. These ensure that your calls are clear and that there is no disturbance during your calls. Overall, the sound quality of the earbuds is very good.
Battery life
No need to worry about battery life as the backbeat 5100 offer a good battery life. The earbuds can last up to 19.5 hours. Originally, they have a battery life of 6.5 hours; however, you get an additional battery life of 13 hours when you use the charging case.
Adding to that, they also give 1 hour of playback time when charged for 10 minutes. In terms of the earbuds, they take two hours to be charged while the case takes up to three hours to be fully charged.
Connectivity
The earbuds are wireless. They thrive on Bluetooth 5.0 for connection and they can reach up to 10 meters. The app can also be used to pair your device to the earbuds. Bluetooth 5.0 is very reliable and stable. To define it in simple terms, this 5.0 connection makes sure that you can take your calls and listen to music even 5 meters away from your device without having dropouts.
Advantages
- Sweat-resistant and splash-proof
- Supports many features, including Spotify
- Good sound quality
- Secure and comfortable fit
- Portable charging case
Disadvantages
- The backbeat app does not have EQ settings
Airpods Pro
The Airpods Pro are made by apple. The earbuds are wireless and have features like active noise cancelling. They are also sweat resistant and have a very comfortable fit. The earbuds also have many functional features and controls that are easy to use.
Design
The earbuds are lightweight. You can barely feel that you have the earbuds plopped into your ears. This also ensures that you feel comfortable with the earbuds and that they do not feel heavy.
They also have stems that are shorter than those in the regular Airpods. In the stem there is a capacitive force sensor. When you squeeze a small ridge on the Airpods you can be able to pause tracks, skip the tracks, activate the noise-canceling or the transparency mode.
You can also be able to change the functions that the squeezing ridge should perform. For example, you can set the ridge to control Siri, active noise canceling and more.
Features
The Airpods Pro also have an accelerometer and an optical sensor inside the earbuds. These work to pause the music automatically when you remove the earbuds.
The earbuds also fit securely on your ears, they do not slip off even when jogging; however, they can start to slip off when you are sweating a lot.
The earbuds are also water-resistant with a rating of IPX4. Therefore, they can easily be used when there is rain. These earbuds might come at a high price but they have a very good design.
The Airpods also have a transparency mode feature. This feature helps to ensure that some noises can be heard when the active noise cancelling feature is enabled.
You can enable this feature by using the iPhone controls or simply long pressing the force sensors.
This transparency mode feature is of great help to people who love to go jogging while wearing the Airpods so that they can keep track of what is happening in their surroundings.
It can also be deactivated by pressing the force sensor that was used to enable it. However, the Airpods do not let you choose the amount of noise that you want to let it when this feature is activated.
Sound quality
The Airpods Pro have custom drivers that ensure that the sound is high quality. They also have a bass that is improved as compared to the regular Airpods. The mid-range and high frequencies are also well balanced. These Airpods Pro also have an adaptive equalizer.
The sound quality offered is good on almost all music genres. It provides vocals that are clear. The Airpods Pro also has active noise cancelling. The active noise cancellation offered is very strong.
This can be activated by squeezing the ridge of the stem. It can also be done by using the iPhone volume section.
The Airpods Pro have two microphones in them. There is an internal and external microphone. The internal microphone is there to ensure that the sounds are of great quality and that they are changed when they do not sound the right way.
The external microphone helps cancel out background sounds to ensure that the environment is peaceful. It effectively cancels out the noise and works well on the train. The active noise cancellation is great but some loud sounds may still be heard.
The Apple Airpods Pro has good call quality, which is rare to find in most earbuds nowadays. The calls are clearly heard on both sides and the background noises are barely heard.
Connectivity
The Airpods use an H1 chip. This makes pairing the earbuds to iPhone devices very easy. However, it may take a little longer to pair to Android devices.
The iOS devices also allow you to change the toggling buttons. You can toggle between the ANC/ transparency mode, Transparency/OFF and ANC /OFF. It also allows you to tweak the microphone settings.
The earbuds have Bluetooth version 5.0 for connectivity. This allows you to connect devices smoothly and faster. It also allows you to connect to multiple devices.
The apple Airpods Pro has a lot of controls. It allows you to change the tracks, play or pause as well as switch the ANC in or off. This can be done by simply tapping the earbuds. For example, double tapping will skip the song forward, triple tapping will skip it backwards and single pressing will answer or end the call. For iPhone users, you can also find the controls for these airpods in the control centre. You can also use the control centre to adjust the volume, change the ANC settings and more.
Battery Life
The Airpods Pro have a battery life of up to 4.5 hours. With the charging case, the Airpods give you up to 24 hours of battery life. Charging the earbuds for 5 minutes gives you at least an hour of playback time.
Advantages
- Modern design
- Has active noise cancellation
- Comfortable and secure fit
- Good sound quality
- Has controls that are functional and easy to use
Disadvantages
- Battery life is not that long
- Does not have a companion app
- Expensive
Conclusion
Plantronics backbeat pro 5100 and AirPods pro are very similar earbuds. However, depending on a person’s preferences, the earbuds can really be different for most people. For instance, a great choice if you are looking for good quality, longer battery life, and water resistance, then go for the Apple AirPods. The Plantronics backbeat is a great option for people who like to work out since they provide a secure and comfortable fit and don’t easily slip off. They also have a companion app that you can use to use the earbuds to the full potential.
