Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iOS 14.5 to Introduce Find My Support for Powerbeats Pro [Updated]

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,656
38,085


Beginning with iOS and iPadOS 14.5, Powerbeats Pro users will be able to locate, track, and find their headphones with the built-in Find My app.

powerbeats_pro_jun_2020_feature2.jpg


The Find My app, formerly named Find My iPhone, helps users locate and track devices linked to their iCloud accounts such as their iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, or AirPods. Thanks to Apple's purchase of Beats in 2014, products such as the Powerbeats Pro have enjoyed deep integration with iOS and macOS. However, they have lacked support for the Find My app.

With iOS and iPadOS 14.5, users will be able to locate and keep track of their Bluetooth earbuds right from within the Find My app. Currently, Apple says that if Powerbeats Pro are lost, customers should contact Apple Support, making the process of finding them lengthy.

Like AirPods, users will be able to trigger a sound to play from the Powerbeats Pro to locate them. All in all, the new integration helps blur the line between the software experience for Apple's AirPods line and the Beats brand.

iOS and iPadOS 14.5, expected in the early spring, has quickly become the most significant update to iOS 14 since its launch in September. Starting with the new update in conjunction with watchOS 7.5, users will be able to unlock their iPhones with their Apple Watch, even if they're wearing a mask. Additional features in the update include crowdsourcing for accidents in Apple Maps, brand new emojis, the ability to select a default music streaming service and more.

(Thanks, Francis!)

Update: Dutch website iCulture notes that Beats Flex, and possibly some other Beats products containing Apple's W1 or H1 chips, also appear to support the Find My app in the iOS 14.5 beta.

Update 2: French website MacGeneration was first to spot the addition of Beats in the Find My app, including the Solo Pro.

Article Link: iOS 14.5 to Introduce Find My Support for Powerbeats Pro [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/03/01/powerbeats-pro-find-my-ios-14-support/
Last edited:
Took them long enough to introduce it considering it's pretty much the same tech that's in the Airpods.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SEmAN
hellosil said:
AirPods can do this? I wasn't aware of that, awesome!
Click to expand...
In my experience it’s completely useless. First, it doesn’t make a sound while in the case. Second, it doesn’t actually make a sound until you connect to a loose AirPod, which you generally won’t do as it will be disconnected from your phone and in some kind of sleep mode. Third, the location it shows is only the last connected location. In its current iteration find my AirPod is a gimmick.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: MasterRattler, decypher44, btrach144 and 3 others
I noticed this the other day. I pretty much only wear my Powerbeats Pros when walking my dogs at the park.

I went into Find my iPhone, and there were my PBP. App says they are at the park entrance, since that is when they were last powered up and connected to my phone.
 
Sounds like they won’t have the fully baked in offline lost mode like the iPhones, iPads and Macs have, but this is still a welcome addition! Unless they change something in how the sleep mode affects connectivity and pairing, I don’t see how that would be possible sadly.
 
LeadingHeat said:
Sounds like they won’t have the fully baked in offline lost mode like the iPhones, iPads and Macs have, but this is still a welcome addition! Unless they change something in how the sleep mode affects connectivity and pairing, I don’t see how that would be possible sadly.
Click to expand...

this is exactly the same with AirPods now...
but I guess with airtags coming soon, this might change if the integrate some sort of AirTags to at least the case.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: ZZ9pluralZalpha and LeadingHeat
Cybbe said:
In my experience it’s completely useless. First, it doesn’t make a sound while in the case. Second, it doesn’t actually make a sound until you connect to a loose AirPod, which you generally won’t do as it will be disconnected from your phone and in some kind of sleep mode. Third, the location it shows is only the last connected location. In its current iteration find my AirPod is a gimmick.
Click to expand...
This is my exact experience, too. The AirPods are either in my ears or in the case, so I'm not worried about locating an individual/loose AirPod. I have misplaced the entire case a few times though, in which case the Find My app is basically pointless.

Who are these people that are randomly setting down loose AirPods and forgetting where they are? Even if one fell out of my ear, it would be within a few feet and easy enough to locate.
 
apples_arrogance said:
The real question is: will 14.5 get rid of the app library? And if it does not, will it at least allow diabling it?
Click to expand...
App Library will not change in 14.5... I don't see why they would remove it.
It's useful for a lot of users... I like it personally.

that said, if your icons are all on your home screens, you don't need to use the App Library... just don't swipe pass your last home screen.
 
I hate my Powerbeats pro. Constant problems getting them to make a connection in the case to charge. Happened to me on my original set and my current set that replaced them under warranty. It’s one of the few Apple products I go out of my way to not recommend. Unfortunately a software update won’t solve this problem
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Babygotfont
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that this function was active for some Bluetooth Beats headphones prior to iOS 13. It was taken away for some unknown reason and now it's back. Weird. I wonder what changed?
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Babygotfont
Cybbe said:
In my experience it’s completely useless. First, it doesn’t make a sound while in the case. Second, it doesn’t actually make a sound until you connect to a loose AirPod, which you generally won’t do as it will be disconnected from your phone and in some kind of sleep mode. Third, the location it shows is only the last connected location. In its current iteration find my AirPod is a gimmick.
Click to expand...

Is it of limited usefulness? Yes. Since Bluetooth earphones do not have internet connectivity (Wi-Fi or cellular), the real "reach" of any lost device functionality (which exists for Bluetooth-connected hearing aids, as well) is limited to the range of the Bluetooth device to which they're paired.

As to "third" (location shown is the last connected location)? That's true for iPhone as well. If there's no connection (to WiFi or cellular in the case of an iPhone, Bluetooth in the case of AirPods) then there's no way to get the current location. Want to be able to track something when there's no connection/power? Try a bloodhound or a psychic.

While it wasn't helpful to you for finding the entire AirPods-in-case, I've had enough experience tracking down my father's lost hearing aids (with the lost device feature in the hearing aid app) to know that being able to "home in" on an individual, lost earpiece is certainly useful. Since my only "lost AirPods" incidents have involved losing a single earpiece (although located without resorting to Find My), I'm confident that it's not just my father and I who lose individual earpieces.

An AirTags-equipped charging case would be a very nice thing - as of now, though, charging cases do not have Bluetooth capabilities, so we'll need something more than an iOS upgrade to enable Find My for a lost case.

We expect that AirTags will allow tracking lost items when they are detected by other Bluetooth-capable Apple products, rather than just the devices signed into the same iCloud account to which they've been paired. It seems plausible that an AirPods firmware upgrade might allow that functionality for lost AirPods, but for all I know it may require a new-model wireless chip.

In the end, we can complain about what a feature like Find My for headphones can't manage. That's the "It didn't help me when I needed it, so it's worthless" response. However, if it succeeds in helping locate one out of five lost earpieces that's certainly a "win" for that one person in five who benefits.
 
kalafalas said:
Can confirm I can now see my PowerBeats (gen 4, non-pro) in the find my app :)
Click to expand...
How did you pair them? I’m trying to pair my beats flex to the find my app but can’t for the life of me get past the ‘searching items…’ screen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back
OSZAR »