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Comparison between Jaybird Vista and Beats PowerBeats Pro.
Both wireless earbuds are a fantastic choice for workout sessions. They’re both very stable during rapid movement, with PowerBeats Pro having an advantage since it uses ear hooks to grab on ears.
Beats win again when it comes to battery life, lasting significantly longer than Vista. On the other hand, Jaybirds appear to be much more robust in construction, sporting military-grade shockproof capabilities.
Vista also offers a much better IPX7 water-resistance, making them washable in water. PowerBeats Pros are “only” sweatproof with its IPX4 rating.
Moreover, not only they have different designs, but they’re also quite different in terms of features. Let’s dive into all the similarities and differences to make your purchase a bit easier.
Quick Comparison
| Beats PowerBeats Pro | Jaybird Vista |
 |  |
| Better stability with ear hooks | Better comfort for long listening sessions |
| Offers a stabler Bluetooth connection | JBS1 chip ensures reliable connection |
| Support for AAC & SBC, great for iOS users | Only supporting SBC Bluetooth audio codec |
| 11h / charge + 24h in case | 6h / charge + 10h in case |
| IPX4 – sweatproof | IPX7 – waterproof & MIL-STD-810G |
| Proximity sensor for auto play/pause | Intuitive mobile app with powerful EQ |
| V-shaped sound with deeper bass | Energetic audio output you can equalize |
| Beats PowerBeats Pro review | Jaybird Vista review |
Both models:
- Are well made with premium-feeling materials
- Have a fun, punchy sound signature to appeal the masses
- Are an excellent pick for sportspeople
- Have built-in physical control buttons
PowerBeats Pro vs Jaybird Vista price comparison
PowerBeats Pro:
Jaybird Vista:
Specifications
| Beats PowerBeats Pro | Jaybird Vista | |
| Type: | In-ear | In-ear |
| Connection: | Wireless | Wireless |
| Back-design: | Closed-back | Closed-back |
| Driver size: | 12mm | 6mm |
| Frequency range: | n/a | 20Hz – 20,000Hz |
| Impedance: | n/a | 23Ω |
| Weight: | 22g both buds | 12g both buds, 35g case |
| Cable length: | n/a | Charging cable 31cm |
| Microphone & controls: | Built-in | Built-in |
| Water-protection: | IPX4 (sweatproof) | IPX7 (waterproof) |
| Bluetooth: | version 5.0 + H1 chip | version 5.0 + JBS1 chip |
| Battery life: | 11h per charge | 6h per charge |
| Charging time: | 1h full charge – 5min for 1.5h | 2h full charge – 5min for 1h |
| Active noise-cancelling: | No | No |
| Charging cable: | Lightning to USB | USB-C to USB |
| Bluetooth codecs: | SBC, AAC | SBC |
| Wireless range: | 33ft (10m) | 33ft (10m) |
| Type: | Built-in mic | Built-in mic |
| Mic design: | n/a | Omnidirectional |
| Mutable: | No | No |
What’s in the Box?
Beats PowerBeats Pro
Jaybird Vista
With packaging you’re getting:
- True wireless earbuds
- Charging case
- User manual
- Jaybird: USB-C cable; PowerBeats Pro: Lightning cable
- Jaybird: 3 ear gels (ear fin/ear tip combo); PowerBeats Pro: 4 pairs of silicone ear tips
Comfort & Fit
Jaybird Vista provides much better comfort, even after a couple of hours of use, whereas PowerBeats Pro stay more securely in your ears.
PowerBeats Pro offers a more foolproof solution when it comes to stability, giving you an ear hook design to prevent the earbuds from falling out of your ears.
However, that kind of design isn’t very ergonomic. Consequently, the housings can start to rub against your skin, which gets slightly irritating. Although not painful, it’s still something you should know about before purchasing.
Jaybird Vista are much better in that regard, giving you a more traditional in-ear design, which is comfortable for hours. With different sized ear fins, you can also achieve excellent stability.
Although we have never experienced that, some users report that those ear fins can cause discomfort after a while. There is also an ear gel with no ear fin, so if that irritation happens to you, maybe try those gels.
Noise Isolation
Both of them rely on passive noise isolation with no additional features to eliminate the outside noise.
Fortunately, the isolation is above average in both. When you’re playing music, you practically can’t hear anything around you.
It would be nice to have ambient sound mode, which is useful if you’re jogging out in the open, but neither of them has it.
Bluetooth
When it comes to connection strength, Vista’s are clear winners. Although their Bluetooth stability isn’t as good as some other wireless headphones, it still outperforms PowerBeats Pro.
Stutters start to appear after trying to pass a second brick wall, which is quite good. PowerBeats Pro can sometimes interrupt even when your phone is inside the pocket.
H1 chip inside the Beats is a huge bonus, making the pairing process with iOS devices a breeze. As soon as you open the charging case, a notification already appears on your device’s screen.
There’s a bit longer pairing process with Jaybird’s, but once you connect them with your device, the next pairing is instantaneous. It helps that Jaybird put JBS1 chip inside Vista, which improves Bluetooth stability and video lag in apps such as YouTube.
PowerBeats Pro’s are also handling video lag very well, although Vista’s take the lead here.
Battery
If long battery life is essential to you, PowerBeats Pro is the way to go. With its 11-hour playtime, they’re hard to beat (the advertised listening time 9 hours). Vista can only do 6 hours at the time.
Beats also win when you include the charging case. With it, you get a total of 24 hours of battery life. That is much more than a total of 16 hours from the Jaybird Vista charging case.
However, size does matter when it comes to portability, and a Vista’s smaller charging case is more pocketable than Beats. But then again, size does correlate to battery capacity.
Thankfully both of them provide a quick charge option if your wireless earbuds suddenly run out of juice.
- Beats offer 1.5 hours of playtime in just 5-minute charge
- Jaybird gets 1-hour of battery for a 5-minute charge
In the end, PowerBeats Pro easily wins in the battery department. It can last longer and charge quicker.
Durability
Each of these earbuds appears to be quite robust, withstanding a decent amount of abuse, although Jaybird can survive harsher conditions.
For instance, with IPX7, Jaybird’s earbuds are much more water-resistant. You can fully submerge them in water for 30 minutes without any problems.
There is also the military standard MIL-STD-810G that makes Vista shockproof.
PowerBeats Pro can only survive sweating with its IPX4 rating while putting them under running water can cause harm.
Your Beats stopped working?
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They’re both made from quality materials, with a soft finish to prevent wearing fatigue.
However, the charging cases are a different story. Jaybird’s one is quite decent. It’s small and light, with a soft finish all around it. The lid doesn’t open all the way up, so be careful not to push it too hard.
PowerBeats Pro case feels slightly cheaper, especially the lid. It’s flimsy, which is not something that you expect from a product at this price.
Features
There are many more differences than similarities, but lets first start with what is the same:
- Both have a physical button that controls functions like answering calls, skip music, adjust volume, and summon smart assistant.
- There is a built-in microphone on both of them for hands-free phone calls
- Both offer a mono mode, where only one earbud can be used to listen to.
But there are some fundamental differences between these two. Jaybird Vista has a mobile app that lets you take care of your EQ settings. The latter is quite powerful, making your earbuds sound just the way you like them. You can also change what specific gestures do so that you’re not stuck with factory set controls.
PowerBeats Pro can pause the music when taken out of your ears, but can’t have their sound changed or tweaked inside the app since it doesn’t exist.
Therefore, if you prefer better customizability, Jaybird Vista is a better choice.
Sound
These two models are both meant to please active users. That is why their sound signature leans towards punchy low-end and bright treble. That is useful when you’re running since the movement of your body makes you feel like the bass is lacking.
But with the inclusion of the Jaybird app, you can completely change the overall sound signature of the Vista. Therefore you can choose a separate EQ preset for workout and home use.
But to summarize each of them:
PowerBeats Pro are still very “Beatsy”, with an overall bassy presentation. The bass is more tamed than in older models but is still bleeding into the midrange, making these wireless earbuds strongly colored.
If your playlist mainly consists of hip hop, EDM, or rap, these can make those genres sound quite enjoyable.
Jaybird Vista is also very punchy out of the box but is also a bit harsh because of slightly forward midrange. Thankfully the MySound app is doing wonders, making you tweak the audio the way you want to. Once you do that, the sound quality out of these is quite amazing.
You can make these reasonably neutral, very bassy, bright, dark; you name it. Despite the equalization, they always remain exciting to listen to, with punchy, controlled bass.
Should You Get Jaybird Vista vs. Beats PowerBeats Pro?
Honestly, it comes down to design preferences and features that might make your life slightly more comfortable.
If you want a secure fit, class-leading battery life, and seamless interaction with your iOS device, PowerBeats Pro are a better pick. There is just something about that H1 chip that makes the experience so much smoother.
But if what you’re looking for extreme durability, overall better comfort, and the option to customize your sound fully, Jaybird Vista offers much more.
The price difference between these two isn’t that big, and in both cases, you’re getting a high-quality product. For a workout companion, you can’t go wrong with either of these wireless earbuds.
PowerBeats Pro:
Jaybird Vista:
You can check other workout earbuds:
From a childhood fascination with sound, Peter’s passion has evolved into a relentless pursuit of the finest headphones. He’s an audio expert with over 5 years of experience in testing both audiophile and consumer-grade headphones. Quote: “After many years, I can confidently tell which headphones are good and which are terrible.” Find his honest opinion in his reviews.
